Workforce

Labor Department rehires removed probationary workers

DOL’s decision comes after fired probationary employees were ordered back to work at the Agriculture Department.

Exclusive Workforce

NIH faces renewed DOGE directive to cut staff, putting thousands in line for RIFs

The Elon Musk-backed group is calling the shots even after President Trump’s edict that they let individual agencies take the lead.

Defense

‘5 bullet points’ email now a weekly task for Pentagon civilians

A short explanation of recent achievements is due every Tuesday, SecDef says in additional guidance.

Exclusive Defense

Pentagon is placing probationary employees on leave in advance of mass firings

The terminations are expected within weeks under plans to fire nearly one-tenth of DOD’s 55,000 “probies.”

Workforce

Trump administration outlaws unions at TSA

The Homeland Security Department on Friday misrepresented the proportion of union officials performing representational work at the agency and claimed ousting labor organizations would make the agency “more agile.”

Workforce

GSA continues slow drip of RIFs, nearly wiping out entire offices

More cuts are coming. Staff in the Technology Transformation Services were told Thursday that their team will be halved.

Management

Trump administration moves to politicize top HR officials following firing at IRS

Guidance from the Office of Personnel Management justified the decision by citing chief human capital officers’ role in implementing Biden-era diversity policies.

Workforce

Good government group hopes federal workforce report serves as a future baseline amid tumult

The Partnership for Public Service’s annual Best Places to Work in the Federal Government report found higher satisfaction and engagement among civilian employees in 2024, and president and CEO Max Stier said he hopes the numbers will inform the Trump administration as it reshapes federal agencies.

Pay & Benefits

Anything but boring 

A flurry of firings and RIFs has many federal employees looking for answers when it comes to retirement planning.

Management

Official who safeguards whistleblowers drops lawsuit protesting his firing by Trump

An appeals court had allowed the Trump administration to remove Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger while it heard his case.

Management

Official who fought to reinstate fired probationary feds can be removed during legal fight, court says

A federal judge had ruled that President Donald Trump’s firing of Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger was unlawful, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit determined that he could be removed while they weigh the case.

Workforce

MSPB orders temporary reinstatement of nearly 6,000 probationary workers at USDA

These Agriculture Department employees must be allowed back to their jobs for 45 days, as the Office of Special Counsel continues to investigate the Trump administration’s purge of recently hired, promoted or transferred federal employees.

Management

GSA says it will republish a retracted list of potential federal buildings to sell

The Public Buildings Service, which handles government property, is currently experiencing sizable layoffs.

Transition

Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to freeze USAID payments

In a 5-4 ruling, the justices require the administration to honor existing aid and contracts obligations while the legal battle continues.

Defense

At least one Pentagon agency has begun firing probationary workers

The Defense Logistics Agency has begun dismissing its share of the Defense Department’s 5,400 targeted employees.

Pay & Benefits

A pair of House bills aim to give fired feds relief

Legislation from Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., and Derek Tran, D-Calif., seeks to secure benefits for federal employees recently fired by the Trump administration and help get some of their jobs back. 

Transition

‘Reclaim power from unaccountable bureaucracy’: Trump touts early actions against federal workforce in address to Congress

The president praised Elon Musk’s cost-cutting initiatives during his speech to Congress, the first of his second term.

Exclusive Workforce

VA plans to lay off as many as 83,000 employees this year

A leaked memo released Tuesday called for VA to slash its workforce to 2019 levels that were in place before millions of veterans became newly eligible for care.