Workforce
Probationary appeal rights under further threat by OPM proposal
Under proposed rules issued last week, newly hired federal workers would no longer be able to appeal adverse actions to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
After confusion, State will move forward with hundreds of layoffs
A judge said a statutory moratorium on RIFs does not require they be withdrawn entirely.
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Trump’s return-to-office mandate exempted feds with disabilities. Many are being ordered to work in-person anyway
Some agencies have put new conditions on granting telework as a reasonable accommodation for federal employees with disabilities.
Democrats decry reports that Trump will further slash FEMA's workforce
Leaked documents show FEMA could cut thousands of employees, though the agency says no final decisions have been made.
US DOGE Service is hiring following mass workforce losses across the government
The group housing Trump’s controversial cost-cutting program is one of several tech teams that are recruiting.
Arbitrator: Trump’s union EOs violate ‘hierarchy of law’
Independent federal arbitrator Marvin Hill defied the Trump administration's demand that he dismiss an internal grievance against the Defense Department, remarking that to do so would require "re-writing" most legal textbooks.
A pandemic-era NSF internship pilot may have done more than fill a temporary gap
The remote program may have helped students who could not take part in person and offers lessons for how internships could work going forward.
ICE more than doubled its workforce in 2025
The Trump administration has reconfigured its onboarding and training process to quickly deploy agents into the field.
Report: Federal statistical system needs help to meet its ‘basic mission’ in the face of upheaval
Statistical agencies have lost scores of staff under the Trump administration, threatening their ability to meet their mission, according to a new report from the American Statistical Association.
The twists and turns of Trump’s 2025 war on unions
Since returning to office, the Trump administration has engaged in a series of efforts to sideline labor representatives within the federal government.
Supreme Court won’t halt judge’s probe into civil service laws’ virility, for now
The unsigned order, which prompted no public dissents, suggested the Trump administration could return to the high court if the federal district court’s factfinding mission commences before justices consider whether to formally take on the case.
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GSA backs off planned layoffs within its technology team after court order
The Technology Transformation Services has lost 67% of its staff since Jan. 25.
CISA opens 100 applications for CyberCorps students
Earlier hiring snags had forced the scholarship program to pause recruitment of top student talent for cyber jobs.
Updated
Additional shutdown layoffs must be rolled back, judge rules
The order is set to impact around 700 workers at four agencies.
Appellate judges mull challenge to Trump’s efforts to bust most federal labor unions
Much of the discussion in oral arguments for three separate lawsuits revolved around whether an administrative board could hear unions’ legal claims and whether President Trump used a faulty definition of 'national security' when he devised two executive orders banning unions at most federal agencies.
Air traffic controllers calling out sick during shutdown may have acted illegally, FAA chief says
Agency will “ask tough questions” of those workers even as administrator concedes agency has “a retention issue” among controllers.
Ethics agency spells out holiday do’s and don’ts for federal employees
Ethics rules generally prohibiting government workers from giving presents to their bosses or accepting gifts from non-governmental organizations are particularly relevant around the holidays.
At least one agency is making a renewed, less generous ‘deferred resignation’ offer to staff
The Trump administration is continuing efforts to cut the federal workforce.
TSA plans to bust labor union despite court order blocking it
The Trump administration’s efforts to unwind collective bargaining for airport security screeners have been blocked since June, when a federal judge found the initiative was aimed at “punishing” the nation’s largest federal worker union.
House passes bill nullifying Trump’s anti-union EOs
Twenty Republicans crossed party lines to support legislation to unwind what opponents described as the largest act of “union busting” in U.S. history.
