FederalDaily - October 30, 2007
OPM Upgrades Labor Agreement Data Retrieval System
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Oct. 29 announced the launch of the agency’s revamped
Labor Agreement Information Retrieval System (LAIRS). The upgraded LAIRS, which contains federal sector
labor agreements and bargaining unit information, incorporates new software that lets users search
using key words and terms, and create reports from available information, OPM said. The system now
includes the agency’s previously published “Union Recognition in the Federal Government” and “Negotiability
Determinations by the Federal Labor Relations Authority” reports. According to OPM Director Linda
Springer, “OPM worked closely with agency and union representatives to improve the system,” and
to use new technology to produce “a more useful tool for the federal labor-management relations
community.” OPM said the new database includes data on all bargaining units certified by FLRA,
the complete texts of federal sector collective bargaining agreements, and a regularly updated summary
of negotiability determinations issued by FLRA. To access the system, go to http://lairs.opm.gov.
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Landrieu Critical of Staged FEMA ‘Press Conference’
Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for staging
a press conference during which FEMA employees posed as reporters while real reporters were barred
from asking questions. Parts of the staged press conference, called in the wake of the California wildfires
last week, was carried live by some cable networks. In an Oct. 26 letter to FEMA Administrator R. David
Paulison, Landrieu sought an explanation for the Oct. 23 press briefing by FEMA Deputy Administrator
Harvey Johnson. At the conference, four FEMA employees asked generally easy questions—such as “Are
you happy with FEMA’s response so far?”—while actual reporters were sequestered to
a listen-only teleconference line. The agency has given no explanation for the short notice that didn’t
allow reporters to get to the press conference on time. “I am disappointed to learn that Administrator
Johnson misled the press and the public by taking questions from his own staff pretending to be reporters,” Landrieu
wrote, “and that the agency did not disclose this misrepresentation.” To see more, go to: http://landrieu.senate.gov/~landrieu/releases/07/2007A26B49.html.
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Bill Contains Family Leave Provision for Servicemembers
Lawmakers again have attached a provision to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
that would let families of wounded military personnel take up to six months of unpaid leave. The Support
for Injured Servicemembers Act is an amendment to SCHIP, H.R. 3963, which the House passed on Oct.
25 by a vote of 265-142. If signed into law, the amendment would expand for the families of injured
servicemembers the benefits provided under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which currently
allows for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually. The expanded 26-week benefit would implement a
key recommendation of the Dole-Shalala Commission on the Care for Wounded Warriors. President Bush
has threatened to veto the main bill due to concerns over costs related to the expansion of the SCHIP
program. Bush vetoed an earlier SCHIP version which also contained the FMLA provision. To see more,
go to: http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/4105.
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