The proposed human capital system is designed to be aligned with the department's mission requirements and is intended to protect the civil service rights of DHS employees. Many of the basic principles underlying the DHS regulations are consistent with proven approaches to strategic human capital management, including several approaches pioneered by GAO, and deserve serious consideration. However

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether the President's fiscal year (FY) 1996 budget complies with the workforce ceiling mandated by the Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994. GAO noted that: (1) in FY 1994, full time equivalent (FTE) civilian executive branch positions were below the target level; (2) in FY 1995, FTE positions will likely be fewer than the FY 1995 target; (3) the

GAO found that: (1) most school officials believed that their graduates had little interest in federal employment due to the lack of job availability information, low starting salaries, a burdensome application process, the poor image of the federal workforce, and inadequate federal recruiting policies; (2) although graduates' views of federal employment varied by school, most believed that priva

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed whistleblower protection and the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), focusing on: (1) the extent of federal employee whistleblower protection awareness; (2) the effectiveness of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989; and (3) federal agency efforts to implement whistleblower statutes. GAO noted that: (1) although the Whistleblowers Protection Act

GAO discussed the impact of the President's economic plan on federal employees. GAO noted that: (1) the government needs to attract and retain employees of high caliber to meet the challenges facing the government; (2) it has identified the importance of federal pay reform to attract and retain quality employees; (3) the President's proposals represent a reversal of positive steps taken to addres

GAO noted that: (1) to attract and retain a high-quality work force, the government must sustain the initiatives begun in the last 4 years and respond to other emerging issues; (2) federal managers do not always have the flexibility, systems, or processes they need to downsize the federal work force effectively; and (3) issues facing the federal government include modernizing employment practices

GAO found that: (1) a number of obstacles existed that would likely frustrate prospective applicants and perhaps discourage pursuit of federal employment; (2) multiple telephone calls were required to reach FJIC; (3) calls were connected on the first try in only 18 of 43 attempts, and in 6 cases calls never got through; (4) FJIC were clean and organized, but small, sparsely furnished, and uninvit

GAO found that: (1) two-thirds of respondents said they probably or definitely would accept a federal job again if they were making the decision again today; (2) the remaining one-third said they would not or were not sure what they would do; (3) 13 percent of respondents said they were actively seeking paid jobs outside the federal government; (4) one-third said it was likely they would leave wi

GAO found that: (1) Department of Labor economists and other experts do not agree with the reports' conclusion that labor shortages and skill gaps are likely to occur by 2000; (2) experts agree that the demographic composition of the labor force has changed and will continue to change; (3) OPM and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data indicate that many demographic work-force changes and conditio

GAO found that: (1) 35 placement officials reported that graduating seniors were either very or generally interested in meeting with federal recruiters; (2) 5 of those 35 placement officials added that some students were only interested in certain agencies and 3 placement officials believed that the recession had helped increase student interest in federal employment; (3) 24 placement officials b