Federal Daily - September 3, 2009

TSP Monthly Returns for August 2009

Rates of Return were updated on September 1, 2009.

The monthly G, F, C, S, and I Fund returns represent the actual total rates of return used in the monthly allocation of earnings to participant accounts. The returns are shown after deduction of accrued TSP administrative expenses. The F, C, S, and I Fund returns also reflect the deduction of trading costs and accrued investment management fees. The most current G, F, C, S, and I Fund rates of return are shown above. Returns are updated after the monthly allocation of earnings, usually by the fourth business day of the month.

:: Back to Top ::

GSA Gives Shipping Contract to UPS

In a move the agency said could save the government more than $1 billion, the General Services Administration (GSA) on Sept. 1 announced it has awarded a five-year contract for express and ground domestic delivery services to United Parcel Service (UPS). The new UPS contract costs are projected to be 6 percent lower than costs in the previous contract, GSA said. “This second-generation Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative contract offers shipping costs that provide deep discounts for participating agencies off commercial retail rates,” said Commissioner James A. Williams of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service. To see more, go to: www.gsa.gov.

:: Back to Top ::

Interior Employee Awarded $149,000 in Sexual Harassment Case

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Office of Federal Operations has awarded $149,459 to an Interior Department employee who complained she was sexually harassed by her agency supervisor for two years. The employee alleged that her male supervisor: “rubbed her shoulders, called her into his office to pick up trash off the floor in front of his desk, put a bottle of oil on her desk for her hair; [and] told her that there was ‘nothing he did not know about a woman's body,’” according to the EEOC complaint. When she was going out of town, her supervisor said, “I hope you don’t give up nothing,” and told her that her outfit was “risqué,” the complaint said. In making the decision, EEOC rejected as inadequate a previous Formal Agency Decision awarding the woman $19,843, according to an Aug. 31 statement by her attorneys, Josh Bowers and Gary Gilbert. The award includes $100,000 for emotional distress and $43,359 for past and future medical expenses. The supervisor has since retired from the agency, EEOC said. To see more, go to: www.JoshBowersLaw.com.

:: Back to Top ::

Military Should Take Over Security of U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Group Says

The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) called for the U.S. military to take over supervision of security at the U.S. embassy in Kabul after allegations that lewd and drunken behavior within the embassy private guard force is putting diplomats at risk in the Afghan capital. In a Sept. 1 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, POGO charged that private guards from the security company ArmorGroup held parties in their camp, creating a “Lord of the Flies” environment where they allegedly stripped near naked, drank vodka and abused locals. “The lewd and deviant behavior of approximately 30 supervisors and guards has resulted in complete distrust of leadership and a breakdown of the chain of command, compromising security,” POGO said. ArmorGroup employs 450 guards to provide security at the embassy under a five-year, $189 million contract that was extended in June. The company is a subsidiary of Florida-based Wackenhut Services Inc. In a separate letter to the State Department, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., asked agency officials to reexamine the use of private guards in light of the most recent concerns. To see more, go to: www.pogo.org/pogo-files/letters/contract-oversight/co-gp-20090901.html.

:: Back to Top ::