Southworth PC | Changes to EEOC and MSPB. One is a report. One has a deadline: Monday.

Hey feds,

I don't send extra emails. The daily briefing is the deal, and I try to keep it. Today earns the exception, because two things are moving at once — and they are not moving at the same speed.

THE ONE WITH A DEADLINE: MONDAY

On July 2, OPM and the Merit Systems Protection Board jointly proposed a rule called "Promoting Employee Accountability." This one is not a rumor. It's published, it's 81 pages, and the public comment window closes Monday, August 3.

I've read every page. Twice — I know. If it goes final as written:

— As little as one business day to answer a proposed short suspension.

 — Medical issues you don't raise in that answer? The rule treats silence as a waiver.

— Ten consecutive calendar days absent without approved leave, and you're considered to have "voluntarily" quit. No proposal notice. No reply.

— And the Douglas factors — your years of service, your clean record, how others were treated for the same conduct — become optional. The rule's words: "no particular set of factors must be considered in every case."

This morning, our firm filed its answer: a 52-page opposition, every section addressed, all twelve Douglas factors defended one by one — because the Board specifically asked the public which factors to keep. The full letter, seven comment ideas, and sample language you can adapt are all here:

→ Read the letter and the comment guide: https://www.attorneysforfederalemployees.com/blog/2026/07/douglas-factors-rule-comment-deadline/

Then file your own. It takes about ten minutes: fedlegalhelp.com/MSPBcomment takes you there too. Here's why it's worth your ten minutes: the agencies are legally required to consider every substantive comment before this rule goes final — and objections they ignore can sink a rule in court later. Right now the docket holds a few hundred comments. There are more than two million of you.

A few ground rules. Comment in your personal capacity — your own time, your own device, speaking for yourself, not your agency. Comments are public, so leave out anything sensitive. And specific beats angry, every time: one concrete paragraph about what a one-business-day deadline would mean in your office is worth more than a page of adjectives.

Comments must be received by Monday. Don't leave it for the weekend.

THE ONE THAT'S A REPORT: NOTHING HAS CHANGED

You may have seen it — the law firm KCNF reported last night that the EEOC, apparently working with OMB, is preparing sweeping changes to the federal-sector EEO process, reportedly including the guaranteed right to a hearing before an EEOC administrative judge, and class complaints. Credit and thanks to Elaine Fitch at KCNF for surfacing it: https://kcnfdc.com/blog/major-changes-coming-to-the-federal-sector-eeo-process/

Here's what I need you to hold onto: no proposed text is public, and nothing has changed. If you have an EEO case pending, do not alter a single deadline or decision because of a report. A proposed rule is expected as early as September. The day it publishes, I'll read every page and give it to you in plain English — the same way we just did with this one. That's the job.

Let's keep this in perspective

One is a storm on the radar. The other is raining now, and the window to speak closes Monday. So: file your comment, forward this email to a coworker who needs it, and then go have your weekend. Calm is not surrender — it's how you make sure the thing you send is the thing you meant.

Thank you, everybody, for your support.

With gratitude,

Shaun

CEO, Southworth PC