FEDweek -

The MSPB has finalized rules ending standards it has used since the early 1980s to weigh the appropriateness of a penalty—often firing—in appeals by federal employees of disciplinary actions for alleged misconduct.

By Ian Smith, FedSmith

President Trump has issued the alternative pay plan letter for the 2027 federal pay raise, or in this case, a pay freeze for most federal employees. He proposed keeping base pay and locality pay frozen at 2026 rates. The letter, dated August 26, 2026, states that the president has determined that “base pay and locality pay for civilian Federal employees will not change from the 2026 rates.”

Unlike last year, when Trump surprised federal employees with a 1% raise despite a budget that was silent on civilian pay, the 2027 alternative pay plan letter follows through on the White House’s 2027 budget proposal, which did not include a pay raise for federal civilian employees.

By Ian Smith, FedSmith

President Trump has not yet sent Congress the alternative pay plan letter that will determine the 2027 federal pay raise, and the statutory deadline to do so arrives August 31. The letter is the clearest remaining signal of whether federal employees face a full pay freeze next year or another modest increase similar to the one delivered a year ago.

A Deadline That Rarely Slips

Under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA) of 1990, the president must submit an alternative pay plan to Congress by the end of August, or a statutory formula tied to private-sector wage growth automatically takes effect instead, producing a far larger locality pay increase than any administration has allowed to take hold since the law passed. FedSmith has explained the mechanics of this deadline before, and last year’s letter covering the 2026 raise arrived on August 28, just three days before the cutoff. A similarly late announcement is likely again this year.

FEDmanager - 

Congress is off on its August recess but when it comes back, a number of bills are awaiting that could have a major impact on federal workers.
The bills do everything from improving identity theft protection to expanding paid leave.

Erich Wagner, Government Executive -

Legislation aimed at improving the amount of paid leave federal employees are eligible each year took another step forward as Democratic senators introduced companion legislation shortly before Congress left for its August recess.

Tammy Flanagan, Government Executive -

The Thrift Savings Plan can be one of the most valuable retirement assets for federal employees (as well as members of the uniformed services), but once you leave federal service, the distribution decision is not just a matter of deciding how much cash you need. There are other important considerations to understand before you can select the dollar amount you will need to make your retirement financially secure. Remember that once a TSP withdrawal is processed, it generally cannot be reversed, so these are all important considerations to understand before deciding on your distribution plan.

By Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive

he Trump administration’s reforms to the federal government cost the U.S. economy more than $165.6 billion, according to a new estimate from the Partnership for Public Service.

“This is an administration that has claimed that it is trying to reduce waste, and yet the choices that it has made have created phenomenally larger waste,” said Max Stier — the president and CEO of the good government group, which has been critical of the president’s overhauls to the government workforce — during a press call on April 9.

One of the largest individual sources of the costs is nearly $53.2 billion tied to disengaged civil servants. Researchers relied on a Gallup finding that disengaged employees cost their organizations about 34% of their salaries, along with the percentage of disengaged federal employees in a 2025 Partnership survey.

By Eric Katz, Government Executive

President Trump on Friday proposed a $2.2 trillion fiscal 2027 budget, an overall increase on current spending that would include cutting non-defense agencies by 10%, or by $73 billion.

The proposed reductions were far less severe than the 22% in non-defense spending that the White House suggested chopping in his fiscal 2026 blueprint after Congress largely ignored those suggestions, though most major agencies would still see their budgets reduced under the new submission.

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

The Social Security Administration must restore many of its employees’ ability to work remotely, according to an independent arbitrator who ruled Wednesday that the agency violated and illegally repudiated its contract with the American Federation of Government Employees when it called most workers back to the office full-time last March.

In January 2025, shortly after President Trump’s return to office, he issued a presidential memorandum purporting to end telework for most federal workers. SSA officials initially stated that it intended to “fully comply” with that memo and said employees would “soon be working in the office five days a week (full-time) with very few exceptions.”

By Eric Katz and Erich Wagner, Government Executive

Federal supervisors are poised to soon face limitations on how many employees they can rate as above average in their annual performance reviews after the Trump administration on Monday proposed upending the process for evaluating civil servants.

The Office of Personnel Management’s proposed rule would implement the first major overhaul of the federal employee performance management system in decades. The Trump administration is aiming to correct for what it views as inflated ratings within the federal workforce.

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

The Office of Personnel Management this week proposed two new sets of regulations that would grant itself the authority to adjudicate the appeals of some federal workers’ firings, wresting control from the Merit Systems Protection Board.

In proposed regulations published in the Federal Register Monday, OPM proposed taking over adjudication of suitability appeals, which refer to decisions on whether someone is appropriate for federal employment. Last year, President Trump signed an executive order instructing OPM to take over suitability decisions, which previously were handled by each individual agency.

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

President Trump on Tuesday touted shedding nearly 300,000 employees from the federal payroll during his first year back in the White House as part of a rambling address to reporters largely devoted to defending his administration’s crackdown on immigrant communities and dissent and threatened expansionism.

The comments on the federal workforce came during a more than hour-long presentation at the start of a briefing with reporters aimed at highlighting the administration’s first-year accomplishments. Trump read prepared remarks noting that the federal payroll has fallen by 270,000 workers since his inauguration last January, though he quickly inflated that figure to “millions.” The Office of Personnel Management has estimated federal job losses to the tune of 317,000 during fiscal 2025.

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

he Trump administration last week proposed new rules that would strip newly hired federal employees of their access to the Merit Systems Protection Board and further erode the grounds upon which they can challenge adverse personnel actions.

For the first year of federal employment, new hires to the government already generally enjoy fewer removal protections than their tenured counterparts. Despite that, agencies may only terminate a probationary employee over performance or conduct.

Last April, after multiple judges reverted the Trump administration’s efforts to purge probationary employees across government by the thousands, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at making it easier to remove them, adding agency needs and organizational goals to the list of reasons managers may cite in said firings.

By Eric Katz and Erich Wagner, Government Executive

Draft final regulations from the Office of Personnel Management will cite “accountability to the president” as grounds for stripping tens of thousands of federal employees of their civil service protections, according to excerpts reviewed by Government Executive.

First devised late in President Trump’s first term and reissued in January, Schedule F—now renamed Schedule Policy/Career—is a new job classification within the government’s excepted service for "policy-related" positions. Employees in positions targeted for conversion would become effectively at-will employees.

By Eric Katz, Government Executive

The federal government is set to reopen after being shut down for a record-setting 43 days after the House on Wednesday evening approved a bill to resume operations across agencies.

President Trump is expected to quickly sign the spending package into law, meaning agencies could open as soon as Thursday morning. Most agencies will be funded through January under the new stopgap continuing resolution, though the Veterans Affairs Department, Agriculture Department and legislative branch agencies will be funded through September.

By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom, Government Executive

Some members of Congress are asking for their salaries to be withheld during the government shutdown, while federal workers on Friday missed their first full paycheck since many operations closed on Oct. 1.

With no movement toward a deal to end the shutdown, the House remained on a prolonged break from Capitol Hill, the Senate left for its usual long weekend and President Donald Trump prepared to depart for a trip to China, where he will likely focus much more on foreign policy and tariffs than the funding lapse.

The president, lawmakers and federal judges all receive their regular paychecks during government shutdowns, unlike the 2 million civilian federal employees and thousands of staffers who work in the legislative branch. Members of Congress are paid $174,000 a year and leaders are paid more.

By Jory Heckman, Federal News Network

Starting in January 2026, many federal retirees will see a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase in their Social Security benefits and federal retirement annuities.

That’s a higher rate than last year, and higher than projections set by AARP and the Senior Citizens League. About 75 million people, including retirees and individuals with disabilities, receive Social Security benefits.

The annual COLA is meant to keep federal retirees’ and Social Security recipients’ benefits on pace with rising inflation. But not everyone will receive the full adjustment.

By Erich Wagner and Eric Katz, Government Executive

Senate Democrats and Republicans each defeated the other party’s plan to pay at least some federal employees on time amid the ongoing government shutdown, though both sides appeared to open the door to bipartisan negotiations on the issue.

The Senate voted 54-45 on a motion to begin floor consideration of legislation unveiled earlier this week by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., that would immediately pay all “excepted” employees who are forced to work during the appropriations lapse, as defined by the Office of Personnel Management. The measure needed 60 votes to advance; Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, both D-Ga., voted in favor of the motion.

By Eric Katz, Government Executive

As the Senate continues to take failed votes to reopen the government, the chamber will soon shift to a new approach that would ensure on-time paychecks for feds working during the shutdown.

In its 20th day, Senate Democrats were expected to reject for the 11th time a short-term spending measure to fund agencies through Nov. 21. Senate Republicans are looking to ramp up pressure on Democrats by allowing normal paychecks for employees required to continue reporting to their jobs without immediate compensation during the shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters he would on Monday evening take the first procedural step to bring the measure up for consideration, with a vote taking place either Wednesday or Thursday.

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

More than 150 lawmakers, led by Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Wednesday demanded that the Trump administration guarantee that furloughed federal employees are granted backpay at the conclusion of the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has entered its third week.

Last week, the Office of Management and Budget floated a theory that the 2019 Government Employees Fair Treatment Act, which automatically provides backpay to furloughed federal workers following appropriations lapses and was signed by President Trump during the 2018-2019 partial government shutdown, merely authorizes Congress to provide backpay after a shutdown. OMB revised its shutdown FAQ document to remove reference to the law’s guarantee, and the Internal Revenue Service revoked shutdown guidance to employees, issued just days prior, that made reference to backpay.

By Eric Katz, Government Executive

Updated Oct. 10 at 2:28 p.m.

The Trump administration began issuing significant layoffs on Friday, the White House budget director said, following through on a threat to inflict pain on the federal workforce as a consequence of the government shutdown.

“The RIFs have begun,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said in a post on X Friday afternoon, referring to “reductions in force.”

An OMB spokesperson confirmed the layoff notices were going out and would be “substantial.”

By Drew Friedman, Federal News Network

Federal employees and annuitants are heading for yet another year of large increases to their health insurance premiums, in both the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program and the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) program.

The Office of Personnel Management announced Thursday that FEHB participants will pay an average of 12.3% more toward their insurance premiums starting in January 2026 — or in dollars, an average of $26.40 more per pay period.

By Eric Katz, Government Executive

President Trump on Tuesday suggested he would select some furloughed federal workers to receive back pay while denying it for others, despite a legal requirement that all employees sent home during the funding lapse be made whole for their time missed during a shutdown.

Trump’s comments followed the Office of Management and Budget stripping from its shutdown guidance that federal law requires agencies to provide back pay to furloughed workers, as Government Executive reported on Tuesday, and the White House subsequently drafting legal guidance arguing the statute does not, in fact, issue that mandate. Lawmakers of both parties on Tuesday pushed back on OMB’s view, suggesting all federal employees were guaranteed back pay when the government reopens.

By Eric Katz, Government Executive

The Internal Revenue Service, like many agencies around government, has weathered the shutdown by using existing funds to keep employees on the job.

By Wednesday morning, however, those funds had run dry and the agency began sending furlough notices to tens of thousands of workers. Effective immediately, they would be sent home and no longer working for as long as the government remains closed.

The notices contained largely boilerplate language, with one excerpt of note:

“Although you will be placed in non-pay and non-duty status during the furlough, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 requires employees of the federal government who are furloughed or required to work during a lapse in appropriations to be compensated for the period of the lapse,” the messages read, according to multiple copies obtained by Government Executive. “The employees must be compensated on the earliest date possible after the lapse ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates.”

By Eric Katz and Erich Wagner, Government Executive

Updated Oct. 7 at 10:20 a.m.

The Office of Management and Budget on Friday quietly revised a shutdown guidance document to remove references to a law passed in 2019 to guarantee that all federal workers are provided backpay at the conclusion of a lapse in appropriations.

Prior to Oct. 3, OMB’s Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations document highlighted the Government Employees Fair Treatment Act, the law enacted in 2019 as part of the deal to end the 35-day partial government shutdown during President Trump’s first term to ensure both furloughed and excepted federal workers receive backpay once government funding has been restored. Prior to the law’s passage, Congress had to OK furloughed workers’ backpay following each individual lapse in appropriations.

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Monday that he had named Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano to serve in a newly created CEO role at the Internal Revenue Service, raising concerns both about Bisignano’s newly split priorities and the Trump administration’s effort to consolidate government databases of Americans’ personal information to aid in its mass deportation efforts.

In addition to his duties running the Social Security Administration, Bisignano will be responsible for “overseeing all day-to-day IRS operations,” the Treasury Department said in a press release Monday.

By Sophia Cai, Politico

The White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, specifically targeting employees who work for programs that are not legally required to continue.

The Office of Management and Budget move to permanently reduce the government workforce if there is a shutdown, outlined in a memo shared with POLITICO ahead of release to agencies tonight, escalates the stakes of a potential shutdown next week.

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

Newly elected Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., this week formally took over for his predecessor, the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, in leading advocacy for an array of bills aimed at improving the pay and civil service protections of federal workers.

Walkinshaw was elected to Connolly’s seat earlier this month, defeating Republican Stewart Whiston in a special election by a 50-percentage point margin. Connolly died in May following a battle with esophageal cancer.

The House on Tuesday granted Walkinshaw’s unanimous consent request to become lead sponsor for four bills that Connolly had previously introduced, all relating to federal personnel policy.

By Eric Katz, Government Executive

House Republicans on Tuesday put forward a short-term funding measure to keep federal agencies open through Nov. 21, though Democrats quickly said the move undermined ongoing bipartisan talks.

Republicans lauded the measure as “clean” and free of "poison pills,” though they did not negotiate its provisions with their Democratic colleagues. House leadership is looking to quickly move forward with the bill before current funding expires at the end of the month, with the House Rules Committee set to meet on the continuing resolution on Tuesday and a full vote on the floor expected by the end of the week.

By Jory Heckman, Federal News Network

The Trump administration is calling on Congress to pass a four-month stopgap spending bill, in order to avoid a government shutdown, according to congressional appropriators.

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a statement Tuesday that the Trump administration is seeking a continuing resolution through Jan. 31, 2026.

The administration is seeking a longer CR than some lawmakers previously considered. But the House and Senate aren’t close to getting 12 spending bills for fiscal 2026 through the normal appropriations process.

By Erich Wagner, Government Executive

The Office of Personnel Management on Monday finalized regulations more than a half decade in the making aimed at giving federal hiring managers greater flexibility in selecting applicants for federal jobs.

The “rule of many” in federal hiring was first enacted as part of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act and looks to meld the positive aspects of two other federal hiring formats: the “rule of three” and category rating.

By Ann Werts, FedSmith

Recently, an ad on Facebook (no doubt targeted at me because of my federal employee relationships) invited federal employees age 60 and older to attend a federal benefits training. Of course, these financial advisors are interested in older feds about to retire (hey, I was a financial advisor for 22 years before retiring and letting my licenses lapse – I get it).

In reality, by that point, there aren’t a lot of things employees nearing retirement can change about their employment that will have much of an impact (other than working to age 62). There’s a much greater opportunity to make a difference by reaching those who are farther from the retirement finish line where even small tweaks can matter.

This article is for those who are looking to maximize their benefits in a simple, easy-to-implement fashion. Let’s look at something manageable: your annual leave, something you’ll want to pay attention to no matter where you are in your federal career.

By Eric Katz, Government Executive

Federal agencies are suffering from too many layers of political leadership, according to a new report that found the current process overwhelms the White House, overburdens the Senate and ultimately leads to less oversight of the executive branch.

The agencies throughout government that maintain up to five layers of Senate-confirmed political appointees are dealing with redundancy, a lack of clarity within senior roles and longstanding vacancies, the Center for Presidential Transition within the Partnership for Public Service said.