Press Releases

Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, sent a letter to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Acting Director Michael Rigas expressing concerns about the apparent mishandling of the 2020 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS).

“For a second time this year, OPM has abruptly postponed the administration of the FEVS, providing conflicting and contradictory reasoning for the need to do so,” wrote Chairman Connolly.  “It is concerning that OPM would, without reasonable warning or justification, delay the FEVS for a second time.  Views of federal employees should never be ignored, especially during a time of crisis.”

On March 31, 2020, OPM explained that it postponed the 2020 FEVS commencement to July 13, 2020, to support “critical agency missions as well as maximize employee participation in the survey.”  Chairman Connolly wrote a letter acknowledging the decision to delay the survey on April 17, 2020, and requested a briefing to ensure the agency was prepared to administer the survey in July.

On May 6, 2020, OPM briefed Subcommittee staff on its continued efforts to administer the survey starting in July and to include additional questions that would examine federal employees’ continued operations of government during the coronavirus pandemic.  At this meeting, OPM staff indicated that they were taking all necessary steps to ensure that the survey would be administered in July and that it would not be delayed again. 

Without reasonable notice or evidence-based justification, on July 9, 2020, Acting Director Rigas sent a memorandum indicating that the survey would be postponed, again, until September 14, 2020.

The Subcommittee seeks a briefing and all requested documents by August 24, 2020.

Click here to read today’s letter.