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Civil Rights for Civil Servants
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Schedule Policy/Career and Civil Service Protections
President Trump’s June 3, 2026 executive order moving roughly 8,000 federal positions into Schedule Policy/Career has understandably drawn intense attention across the federal work...
Political Loyalty and Federal Hiring Law
Recent reporting has raised an uncomfortable question about how some federal hiring decisions may be framed. According to a summary circulated by a law school career services offic...
Why Merit Systems—and Giving Back—Still Matter
For many federal employees, the idea of a “merit system” can feel abstract—something discussed in regulations or performance plans. But for those who grew up without safety nets, m...
Federal Unions Challenge OPM’s “Loyalty Question” in Hiring
Three of the largest federal-employee unions—AFGE, AFSCME, and NAGE—just filed a 54-page lawsuit that could reshape the foundation of federal hiring. Their target: a new “loyalty q...
Inspector General Removals and Why Federal Employees Should Care
On October 15, the White House removed Parisa Salehi, the Senate-confirmed Inspector General (IG) at the Export-Import Bank—without giving Congress the 30-day notice and written ra...
New Federal Hiring Order: What It Means for Career Employees
Last week’s presidential hiring order doesn’t end the freeze—it reshapes it. Under the directive, every agency must create an Annual Staffing Plan reviewed by OPM and OMB. But befo...
Why Forced Bell Curves Fail Federal Performance Management
Federal performance isn’t a classroom test or a corporate sales contest—it’s complex, interdependent work that often requires everyone performing well at once. Forced distribution,...
Legal Risks of OPM’s May 29 Hiring Memo
Federal hiring may be undergoing a radical shift. The May 29, 2025, Merit Hiring Plan memo imposes new requirements that deviate sharply from the principles of neutral, skills-base...
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