Author Archive
Oversight
OSC recommends bonuses for whistleblowers at Maryland USDA facility
The reallocation of $50 million to upgrade a dilapidated federal research facility would not have been possible without the rights afforded workers through collective bargaining, union leaders argued.
Workforce
House Dems warn Trump’s special counsel pick is anathema to job’s duties
Paul Ingrassia, 28, has been nominated to lead the office that investigates politically motivated firings and Hatch Act violations, despite statements supporting a purge of workers and cavorting with neo-Nazis.
Workforce
Trump’s anti-union executive order has been blocked, again
A federal judge in California tailored his decision around the administration’s violations against labor groups’ First Amendment rights, avoiding thornier questions about presidential power.
Workforce
Most fed-targeting provisions in Senate reconciliation bill don’t pass Byrd muster
The Senate parliamentarian over the weekend found that many proposals targeting federal workers and their unions violate the Byrd rule and would require 60 votes to advance in the chamber.
Workforce
OPM calls for quicker firings, more stringent performance standards
While experts agree that performance ratings in the federal government are inflated, the federal government’s HR agency’s proposal could exacerbate existing problems.
Management
Senate reconciliation bill would give Trump ‘carte blanche’ to reorganize agencies, lay off feds
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee authorizes a $100 million war chest for OMB to reorganize government without congressional oversight.
Pay & Benefits
Senate strips most retirement cuts from reconciliation, but anti-civil service provisions remain
Under language released by a Senate panel Thursday night, new federal workers who decline to serve as at-will employees will pay nearly 15% of their paycheck toward their pension benefit.
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Workforce
Employee groups challenge ‘favorite EO’ question as agencies begin rollout
Experts warn that the Trump administration’s new essay questionnaire for most federal job applicants amount to a litmus test to politicize agency hiring.
Workforce
OPM recommends telework, other flexibilities for D.C.-area feds ahead of military parade
The Trump administration previously took pains to end the regular use of telework by federal workers earlier this year.
Workforce
Federal workforce advocates flood opposition to renewed Schedule F
With just a day remaining before the deadline to submit comments on the Trump administration’s proposed Schedule F regulations, the vast majority of more than 30,000 submissions were opposed to the measure.
Pay & Benefits
Oversight Dems: Commerce reneged on probationers’ health benefits
Some recently fired probationary workers have also been unable to access their personnel records to show to insurance companies and prospective employers.
Workforce
Appeals court: Has Trump neutered the Civil Service Reform Act?
A three-judge panel on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals revived a lawsuit challenging the gag order on federal immigration judges in light of the president’s decision to fire the U.S. special counsel and members of the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Workforce
Federal judge blocks dissolution of union at TSA
Though the Transportation Security Administration has broad latitude to design and administer its own personnel system, U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman found its contract with AFGE to be a “self-imposed restriction” on that power.
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Workforce
Lynch: OPM’s hiring plan includes ‘blatant loyalty test’
The Trump administration last week unveiled its new ‘Merit Hiring Plan’ that in part quizzes job applicants about their favorite Trump policy or executive order.
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Pay & Benefits
TSP funds rebound following months of losses
Only one portfolio in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program finished May in the red.
Pay & Benefits
Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget would strip trans federal workers of insurance coverage
If enacted, the provision would bar the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program from covering federal employees and their family members’ gender affirming care treatments.
Workforce
OPM ‘merit’ hiring plan includes bipartisan reforms, politicized new test
The federal government’s HR agency on Thursday instructed agencies to cease collecting data on the demographic makeup of their workforces.
Workforce
TSA union urges judge to block ‘retaliatory’ order outlawing bargaining at agency
An attorney representing the Trump administration argued that U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman did not have jurisdiction to hear the case and described the administration’s approach to labor groups as “a different management style.”
Pay & Benefits
House passes reconciliation bill that cuts federal employee retirement benefits
Though Democrats were able to excise a plan to base federal retirees’ annuity payments on their highest five years of salary, rather than the current high-3, proposals to eliminate the FERS supplement and to charge employees for their civil service protections remain on the table.
Workforce
Judges issue promising rulings for groups fighting Trump’s anti-union order
A federal judge in Kentucky tossed the Trump administration’s bid to secure a court victory prior to formally rescinding union contracts under the guise of national security, while another jurist sought new avenues to potentially block the March executive order’s implementation.
