Attorneys for Federal Employees — Nationwide

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Shaun in the News

Hey feds — Shaun just spent a full hour with Alex Witt on Federal News Network's Fed Thread, and it's worth the listen. He gets into the mistake that quietly ends federal careers: not the wrong decision, the one made too late. He also breaks down exactly what to do the second you learn you're under investigation, before panic takes over. Listen here:

Your biggest career mistake could happen before you realize you made it | Federal News Network

🎧 Listen: Civil Rights for Civil Servants

Shaun Southworth & Lydia Taylor on what's happening to the federal workforce. Latest episode: Apple · Spotify · Amazon Music · Youtube

Listen to the latest episode of Civil Rights for Civil Servants They kept a file on you. It's time you kept one on them. For the last year and a half, federal employees have lived through hiring freeze... player.captivate.fm

Today at a Glance

• TSA Privatization Records Fight: AFGE sued TSA this week for withholding records about its "Gold+" plan to expand private airport-screening contractors, alleging the agency blew past FOIA's statutory deadlines without so much as a response.
• Hiring Surge, With Strings Attached: OPM told agencies to make at least a third of fiscal 2027 hires early-career workers, but employees separated in past RIFs still have a legal claim on many of those same jobs.
• FOIA "Still Interested" Tactic Struck Down: A federal judge vacated the Energy Department's policy of closing out older FOIA requests unless requesters re-confirmed interest, a tactic several agencies have used to shrink their backlogs.

Top Stories:

1. AFGE Sues TSA Over Records on Its Airport-Screening Privatization Plan

Source: Federal News Network, August 6, 2026

TL;DR: The American Federation of Government Employees filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia this week to force TSA to turn over records about its "Gold+" initiative, a plan under which private contractors would take over both the screening workforce and the screening technology at additional airports. AFGE says it filed a Freedom of Information Act request for Gold+ records on May 11, and that TSA has since given no estimated completion date, released no records, and made no determination on the request at all. Three airports have already agreed to shift from federal screeners to privatized screening under the initiative. AFGE, which represents roughly 47,000 Transportation Security Officers under a collective bargaining agreement, argues TSA is keeping Congress, airport authorities, and the public "in the dark" about a program it calls a major expansion of airport privatization. The suit follows a January 2026 ruling in which a federal judge found TSA had violated a court order in a separate attempt to dissolve that same collective bargaining agreement outright.

For federal employees, this means:

• If your agency is expanding contractor screening or a "privatization" initiative, a FOIA request is often the only way employees and their union learn what is actually planned before it affects jobs.
• An agency's silence past FOIA's response deadline is not a lawful response — it is grounds to sue to compel disclosure.
• TSA's workforce has separately fought off, and won, a challenge to its collective bargaining agreement; a privatization initiative like Gold+ is a related but distinct threat to bargaining-unit jobs, and the legal tools for challenging it differ.

Legal Insight

FOIA requires an agency to determine within 20 business days whether it will comply with a request, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i), and a requester may sue in federal district court to compel disclosure once an agency misses that deadline, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B). TSA's screening workforce operates under a separate personnel authority created by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, 49 U.S.C. § 44935 note, which is why TSOs' bargaining and appeal rights have repeatedly been litigated apart from Title 5. Employees whose positions could be affected by a privatization initiative should talk to a federal employment attorney about what notice and bargaining rights apply before any transition takes place.

2. OPM Tells Agencies to Ramp Up Hiring — But RIF'd Employees Still Have First Claim on the Jobs

Source: Federal News Network, August 5, 2026

TL;DR: A July 30 OPM memo directs agencies to build "annual staffing plans" for fiscal 2027 with a governmentwide goal that at least 33% of new hires be early-career workers, drawing on pipelines like the Pathways Program and OPM's Tech Force initiative. The push comes after the federal workforce shrank by roughly 271,600 employees since early 2025, and OPM Director Scott Kupor acknowledged the government will likely still post a net loss of headcount this fiscal year even with the new recruiting push. OPM also wants at least 60% of 2027 hires to come through "shared certificates" — pooled hiring lists one agency builds that others can hire from — and wants agencies to prioritize hiring outside the Washington, D.C. region. Recent pooled announcements already target roles such as project managers, HR specialists, and IT specialists, fields that lost significant staff during 2025's cuts. Even so, the number of federal hires fell by about 6,000 in June 2026, and open USAJobs postings are down nearly 43% since 2024.

For federal employees, this means:

• A hiring surge does not erase reemployment rights: agencies must still give priority consideration to their own surplus employees, and in many cases to displaced employees governmentwide, before filling vacancies with new hires.
• If you were separated in a RIF or took a deferred resignation and want back in, ask your former agency's HR office in writing whether you are enrolled on the applicable reemployment or transition list before a "shared certificate" vacancy closes.
• Agencies shifting hiring outside the D.C. area may also be relocating existing positions; if your job is affected, that can trigger separate notice and placement obligations distinct from ordinary hiring.

Legal Insight

Federal hiring remains governed by the merit system principle that recruitment come from qualified individuals through fair and open competition, 5 U.S.C. § 2301(b)(1), and an agency filling a vacancy must first offer priority placement to eligible separated or surplus employees under the Career Transition Assistance Plan and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan regulations, 5 C.F.R. Part 330, Subparts F and G, and the Reemployment Priority List, 5 C.F.R. Part 330, Subpart B. A federal employment attorney can help confirm whether you were properly enrolled on these lists and whether a new hire should have gone to you first.

3. A Federal Judge Strikes Down an Agency Tactic for Closing Out Old FOIA Requests

Source: Federal News Network, August 5, 2026

TL;DR: U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled on August 5 that the Energy Department's "Still Interested Inquiry" policy violates the Freedom of Information Act. Under the policy, first published in the Federal Register in August 2025, Energy required anyone with a FOIA request filed before October 1, 2024 to email the agency confirming they still wanted it processed, or the agency would close the request outright. The nonprofit American Oversight sued over the policy in September 2025, arguing it let Energy quietly shrink its FOIA backlog by administrative fiat rather than by actually answering requests. Judge Jackson agreed, holding that nothing in FOIA authorizes an agency to impose a blanket requirement that every requester reaffirm interest in a pending request, and pointing to Justice Department guidance that tells agencies to use "still interested" letters sparingly. The ruling vacates the policy governmentwide at Energy.

For federal employees, this means:

• Federal employees frequently use FOIA to obtain their own personnel files, EEO investigative files, or agency records relevant to an MSPB or EEOC case; an agency cannot lawfully make you re-confirm interest just to run out the clock on an old request.
• If an agency closed your FOIA request because you did not respond to a "still interested" notice, that closure may itself be unlawful and worth challenging.
• The ruling underscores that FOIA's deadlines and disclosure obligations are enforceable in court, not merely aspirational.

Legal Insight

FOIA obligates an agency to make records "promptly available" once a proper request is made, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A), and the statute contains no mechanism allowing an agency to unilaterally close a pending request based on the requester's failure to respond to an inquiry the agency invented. A requester whose FOIA case was closed under a similar policy, at Energy or elsewhere, may have grounds to reopen it or to sue to compel disclosure under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B).

Legal Tip of the Day

When Fitness-for-Duty Questions Come Up

A fitness-for-duty request can arise after medical leave, workplace conflict, safety concerns, or questions about performance. These requests may require a careful balance between cooperating with the agency and protecting medical privacy. Ask for the request in writing, including the reason, deadline, required documentation, and where records should be sent. Keep copies of everything and consider whether the request is tied to a specific job concern. Do not ignore the request, but do not provide broad medical records without understanding what is being asked.

In Case You Missed It

A few quick hits from our recent posts:

DOGE Cuts Delayed a $10 Million Wildfire Prevention Grant. Minnesota Is Paying for It.

Are FBI Agents At-Will Employees? What Garman v. Patel Means for Your Due Process Rights