Workforce
Trump administration directs agencies to fire recent hires en masse
Thousands of employees were already let go as of Thursday, a number that is expected to skyrocket in the coming days.
Workforce
Judge extends order blocking USAID leave notices and evacuations
The U.S. Agency for International Development must put on hold plans to place thousands of its employees on paid administrative leave for one more week, as a federal judge weighs whether to issue a preliminary injunction in the case.
Exclusive
Workforce
OPM fires its own probationary period staff
Employees’ physical and IT system access was deactivated at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. On-site staff were also asked to quickly exit the Office of Personnel Management’s premises.
Pay & Benefits
Retirement: How to navigate the current chaos
Amid “deferred resignation” turmoil, federal workers are in uncharted territory. Here’s a little guidance.
Updated
Management
Senate confirms RFK Jr. to lead HHS
Kennedy’s confirmation comes during a legal battle over whether the National Institutes of Health can cap the percentage of funding it provides for indirect research costs.
Workforce
GSA to cut at least 100 employees, feds inside the agency say
Employees within the agency’s Technology Transformation Services received calls from supervisors Wednesday informing them of their impending dismissals.
Updated
Workforce
Federal judge clears way for 'deferred resignations'
U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. found that unions must first adjudicate their claims before the Merit Systems Protection Board or Federal Labor Relations Authority before suing in court.
Workforce
EPA orders most workers back within weeks, breaking union covenants
The Office of Personnel Management previously issued guidance purporting to grant agencies the authority to disregard telework provisions in union contracts based on a blanket assertion of ‘management rights.’
Workforce
OPM continues to tweak 'deferred resignation' provisions as unions press court challenge
As the parties await a written decision from a federal judge in Massachusetts, unions fighting the controversial ‘Fork in the Road’ directive have highlighted how recent Trump firings could limit federal workers’ legal recourse.
Updated
Oversight
Inspectors general file lawsuit to fight firings
The litigation comes as a Democratic member of the Merit Systems Protection Board who Trump removed is also asking the courts to stop her ousting.
Workforce
Some agencies begin purges of recent hires even as OPM directs federal offices to pump the brakes
Going forward, agencies are told to prioritize low performing probationers for firing. Some have already taken a different approach.
Management
Managing in the federal government requires new and different strategies
COMMENTARY | “Strategic human capital management” was included on the first High Risk List in 1990. It’s been on the list for 35 years.
Pay & Benefits
How new executive orders will impact FEHB coverage next year
Pay and benefits news you may have missed.
Workforce
Trump orders agencies to plan for widespread layoffs and attrition-based hiring
The order tasks agencies to work in conjunction with Elon Musk’s DOGE to dramatically scale back government capacity.
Updated
Workforce
Trump apparently fires FLRA chairwoman
Susan Tsui Grundmann’s term at the agency that oversees federal sector labor disputes was not set to end until July.
Breaking News
Management
Trump fires one-third of federal employee appeals board
The Democratic member was three years into a seven-year term on the three-member panel.
Workforce
Federal employee union celebrates early wins against Trump but preparing for the long haul
Since Trump’s election, the American Federation of Government Employees has achieved record-breaking membership.
Tech
OPM skirted agency norms in assessing the privacy of its new email system
Anonymous federal employees filed a lawsuit alleging that the new email system could be placing their sensitive personal information at risk.
Transition
Tech is power in Musk’s campaign to roll over federal civil servants
COMMENTARY | Instead of brigades of men with guns storming government buildings, President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are deploying young men with zip drives to infiltrate federal agencies, argues one observer.
Transition