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Civil Rights for Civil Servants
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Merit or Loyalty? Measuring OPM's Merit Claim Against the Record
Merit system principles are back in the public conversation. OPM Director Scott Kupor argued in the Washington Post that this administration is reviving merit in the federal workfo...
Three Doors: The Only Ways Your Rating of Record Can Change After It Is Issued
Your rating of record cannot be quietly changed after it is issued. Under the performance appraisal rule that took effect on August 6, 2026, there are exactly three ways a rating o...
OPM's Forced Distribution Rule: What It Means for Your Federal Performance Rating
Federal performance ratings are about to look very different. This week, the Office of Personnel Management finalized the biggest overhaul of federal employee performance ratings i...
OPM RIF Rules: What Federal Employees Should Do Now
Much of the current advice to federal employees about OPMā€™s proposed reduction-in-force changes begins and ends with one point: download your performance appraisals. That is import...
State Departmentā€™s New Performance Playbook
The State Department appears to be testing a model other agencies may soon copy. In July 2025, it carried out roughly 1,350 layoffs, including about 246 Foreign Service officers on...
Forced Distribution Ratings and Federal Law
Federal employees across multiple agencies are hearing a new message about performance ratings: only a small percentage of employees can receive the highest ratings. At first glanc...
OPMā€™s New Performance and RIF Rules: Why Feds Should Pay Attention
Federal employees often experience policy changes one rule at a time. But sometimes the legal significance becomes clear only when multiple proposals are viewed together. Three rec...
Proposed OPM Rule Could Replace Seniority in RIFs
Federal employees have long understood one principle about reductions in force (RIFs): years of service matter. Seniority has historically been a key factor protecting experienced ...
Forced Performance Ratings and RIF Risk
Many federal employees assume performance ratings only matter if they fall to the very bottom of the scale. In reality, the bigger risk in a forced distribution system often happen...
IRS Union Contract Termination: The Legal Fight
Federal employees at the IRS and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service recently received alarming news: Treasury announced that the agenciesā€™ collective bargaining agreement with the Na...
OPMā€™s Push for Forced Performance Ratings Explained
Federal employees are getting an early warning about a major shift in how performance may be evaluated in the FY 2026 appraisal cycle. According to statements from OPM Director Sco...
Are Forced Performance Rating Quotas Legal for Federal Employees?
Federal employees across agencies are hearing a troubling message at the end of the appraisal year: even strong performance wonā€™t matter because only a small percentage of people c...
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