Workforce
Hundreds of DHS staff face reassignments to border security, immigration
Affected workers — including people in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — have been given a week to respond or risk termination from federal service.
Management
Federal employee appeals board gets quorum after Senate confirms new member
Congressional Democrats also introduced legislation that would allow federal employees to file appeals in a civil court if the Merit Systems Protection Board is backlogged.
Workforce
Air traffic control staffing steady, but stress during shutdown worries DOT
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that staff absenteeism in the nation's aviation system is a concern, but added that the current effects are limited.
Workforce
How Trump’s OPM director wants to attract tech talent after months of workforce cuts
OPM Director Scott Kupor wants to bring on new feds with cutting edge skills, but the government’s recent flood of layoffs and resignations could complicate that effort. With a government shutdown ongoing, too, the administration is threatening more layoffs.
Exclusive
Workforce
On Tuesday, the Trump admin said furloughed feds were not guaranteed back pay. On Wednesday, it sent notices saying they were
Just one day after taking a different argument, the Trump administration notes federal law guarantees back pay for employees sent home during a shutdown.
Pay & Benefits
Revived bill aims to ease financial strain on federal employees during shutdown
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., has reintroduced legislation by former Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., that would require regulators to issue new guidance to help prevent financial hardship for federal employees and contractors caused by budget impasse.
Workforce
Federal employees crowdsource resources to support each other during shutdown
Several nonprofits and state and local governments are offering assistance to civil servants due to the lapse in federal funding.
Pay & Benefits
Trump administration’s claims against automatic furloughed worker backpay lack legal, historical basis
Experts say the White House’s new theory that the 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act does not guarantee feds backpay following a shutdown fails a basic tenet of legal analysis.
Pay & Benefits
Trump says he can pick and choose which feds get back pay. Republicans in Congress mostly disagree
Asked if furloughed workers will get retroactively paid, Trump say “it depends.”
Workforce
Homeland Security intelligence office sent deferred resignation offers to shed staff in recent months
The DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis is working to incrementally reduce the size of its workforce, following plans for mass cuts that faced severe pushback from stakeholders over the summer.
Updated
Pay & Benefits
OMB deletes reference to law guaranteeing backpay to furloughed feds from shutdown guidance
An Office of Management and Budget FAQ document now states that only excepted employees forced to work without pay are guaranteed backpay at the conclusion of a lapse in appropriations.
Management
Senate again votes against ending shutdown, something White House said would trigger layoffs
There is still no path toward reopening government and Trump reiterates RIF threat.
Management
Senate confirms Rhodes to lead White House procurement office
Kevin Rhodes has been a senior adviser to the Office of Management and Budget since February and focused his efforts on the Federal Acquisition Regulation overhaul.
Workforce
More employees set to receive furlough notices as shutdown drags on
Agency plans will change significantly in the coming days and weeks if Congress fails to reopen government.
Workforce
Trump administration ‘co-opted the voices’ of Education employees in shutdown blame game, union lawsuit alleges
Furloughed Education Department employees reported that their out-of-office email messages were modified to emphasize that Senate Democrats voted against a GOP government funding measure.
Management
Keep Senate confirmation for top intelligence lawyers, civil liberties groups urge
A provision in the 2026 annual intelligence community bill would lift Senate confirmation rules for the chief counsels of the CIA and ODNI. Advocates warn the change would weaken transparency and public oversight of the intelligence community.
Management
Bisignano to lead IRS in addition to SSA duties, raising questions about the Senate confirmation process
Experts warned that the move could further facilitate the consolidation of Social Security and IRS databases for use in immigration enforcement.
Workforce
Shutdown’s ripple effect: Contractors, small businesses face devastating economic hit
At least 1 million contractor employees face lost paychecks as the funding lapse disrupts their companies' services to agencies and freezes federal operations.
Pay & Benefits
Democrats introduce bill to ease TSP withdrawals, loans during shutdowns
The Emergency Relief for Federal Workers Act would clarify that lapses in appropriations qualify federal workers to take a hardship withdrawal from the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program and eliminate the associated 10% penalty in those instances.
Management