The following is a question submitted by a reader to Federal Times columnist Reg Jones, a charter member of the senior executive service and the resident expert on federal employee retirement issues. A Fed Times reader asks: “I am 60 years of age and am applying for a federal position.  My intent is to work for five years from date of employment. What does, “high three” mean?  How is it determined, or calculated?” Is it worth delaying retirement to maximize high-3 at next GS level? Reg’s response: Your “high-3′ is the average of your three highest consecutive years of basic pay, the ..read more

(AP) — A federal judge Wednesday sentenced a longtime U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent to four years in prison for leaking DEA intelligence to defense lawyers in a $100,000 bribery scheme that prosecutors said jeopardized drug cases and the lives of confidential informants. John Costanzo Jr. was found guilty last year of bribery and honest-services wire fraud, joining a growing list of DEA agents convicted of federal crimes. Another former DEA supervisor, Manny Recio, is scheduled to be sentenced next month in the same case. DEA failure to punish opioid distributor fuels revolving do ..read more

The Coast Guard Reserve alerted thousands of its personnel to a data breach last week, nearly three months after someone improperly sent their personally identifiable information to unapproved recipients, the service confirmed Tuesday. An April 18 notification from the Coast Guard Reserve warned that a data exposure discovered Jan. 24 distributed the private material to “individuals with no authority to view the information,” a retired Coast Guardsman, who received the notification and spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Military Times. The incident, which affected 10,700 Coast Guard Res ..read more

This year, more than 4 billion voters in 50 countries—around half the world’s population—will go to the polls in the biggest election year in history. The U.S. faces a particularly contentious general election season, with unprecedentedly high stakes for election security. Our country is under threat from cyberattacks targeting our voting infrastructure and the spread of misinformation fueled by advanced artificial intelligence technologies via social media. These challenges not only undermine the electoral process but can also erode public trust. This isn’t just about safeguarding technology ..read more

The Biden administration is again putting pressure on the federal-employee health care system to protect and expand coverage for infertility treatments as reproductive care becomes increasingly politicized in states that question its use. The Office of Personnel Management shapes priorities for the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, and this summer it will be negotiating final rates and terms with its providers for the 2025 plan year. Seeing an opportunity to voice their expectations, more than 100 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to OPM on Monday urging it to require all FEHB carrier ..read more

The following is a question submitted by a reader to Federal Times columnist Reg Jones, a charter member of the senior executive service and the resident expert on federal employee retirement issues. A Fed Times reader asks: “Between the Postal Service and the VA hospital, I have 38 years of service. But I will wait until I am 62 years old to retire, possibly older. I have over 2,300 hours of sick leave. Say if I retire with exactly one year (2,080 hours ) and 40 years of work, would that be 1% more for my pension? Does that bring my work years to 41 instead of 40? Or if I keep the 2,300 (37.5 ..read more

(AP) The USPS said it will follow through with its plan to reroute Reno-area mail processing to Sacramento, a move that drew bipartisan ire from Nevada lawmakers while raising questions about the rate at which mail ballots can be processed in a populous part of a crucial swing state. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has cast the permanent measure as a cost saving move, but federal, state and local lawmakers have complained about a lack of transparency in the process that could slow mail throughout the region. Can Biden fire US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy? Under the plan, all mail from the Ren ..read more

The Senate overwhelmingly passed 79-18 President Joe Biden’s $95 billion foreign aid request on Tuesday night to arm Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending it to the White House after six months of delays in Congress. Biden submitted the request in October but Republican leaders in the Senate and House struggled to pass the package for more than six months amid increased opposition to Ukraine assistance within their caucuses. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., did not mince words at a Tuesday press conference where he rebuked what he called the “isolationist” wing of his party with ti ..read more

U.S. companies would no longer be able to bar employees from taking jobs with competitors under a rule approved by a federal agency Tuesday, though the rule is sure to be challenged in court. The Federal Trade Commission voted Tuesday 3-2 to ban measures known as noncompete agreements, which bar workers from jumping to or starting competing companies for a prescribed period of time. According to the FTC, 30 million people — roughly one in five workers — are now subject to such restrictions. The Biden administration has taken aim at noncompete measures, which are commonly associated with high-l ..read more

The following is a question submitted by a reader to Federal Times columnist Reg Jones, a charter member of the senior executive service and the resident expert on federal employee retirement issues. A Fed Times reader asks: “I retired from military with 14 years as an E6.  I am not receiving annuity from that retirement. I am also a federal employee. I bought back my military time for leave purposes. When I get ready to retire, will I have to pay a deposit to have my 14 years applied for retirement purposes? I am trying to see if it would be beneficial for me to waive my military time an ..read more