Workforce
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.
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.
Bipartisan leaders push suicide prevention program, more mental health support for DHS law enforcement
Suicides within and assaults against the DHS law enforcement have been increasing, lawmakers say.
Featured eBooks
FBI agents fired over 2020 protest actions sue for reinstatement
A dozen former FBI agents said their decision to kneel while responding to 2020 protests against police brutality was a tactical one, required as the result of the first Trump administration’s decision to deploy federal agents without crowd control equipment or training.
New podcast spotlights stories of historical postal employees, offering a ‘playbook’ for defending public institutions
“People of Agency” recounts the history of the U.S. Postal Service by focusing on civil servants who have shaped the agency.
OPM says 92% of fed departures this year were voluntary. Those who left disagree
Staff only left "the most amazing job I could ever have" under significant pressure, former federal employees said.
200 DOJ employees who left under Trump say admin is making ‘coordinated effort’ to undermine career staff
The Justice Department is actively pushing out career employees working on civil rights, they say.
Education Department civil rights staff returning to work to tackle complaint backlog
More than 200 Office for Civil Rights employees targeted as part of a larger RIF effort at the Education Department in March, they are now being brought back to the office.
Trump is using $70K bonuses for a hiring surge at one agency. Democrats want to stop him
The hiring of hundreds of new officers will allow Trump to centralize his power in Washington, senators say, though administration suggests the effort is boosting safety.
Insights & Reports
House strips its own provision protecting Defense civilians’ union rights from NDAA
A source familiar with congressional negotiations said that the bipartisan language effectively nullifying President Trump’s anti-union executive orders as they pertain to the Pentagon was dropped due to lack of support in the Senate.
Ex-feds axed in DEI purge file class action suit
A group of four former federal employees described the mass reduction in force of those in purportedly “diversity”-related jobs as a means for the Trump administration to “punish perceived political enemies” and disproportionally targeting protected-class employees for dismissal.
DOJ says lower court ruling would ‘wreak havoc’ on the civil service absent Supreme Court intervention
A federal judge was set to review whether Trump has neutered civil service laws, but the Supreme Court has paused that effort while it considers the administration's request.
