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Today at a Glance

• DHS Recalled All Furloughed Employees Friday — Effective Today. But the Message Comes With a Warning: If Available Funding Runs Out Before Congress Acts, You'll Get a New Notification of Your Work Status: Secretary Mullin sent an all-hands notice Friday afternoon directing all furloughed DHS staff — approximately 8% of the 270,000-person department — to return to their next scheduled shift. That is today for most. DHS is using funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The notice states explicitly that if those funds run out before an FY2026 appropriation is enacted, employees will be notified again.
• The First Circuit Denied the VA's Emergency Stay Motion — the Injunction Protecting 300,000 Employees' Contract Rights Remains in Full Force: On April 6, the First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the VA's emergency request to stay Judge DuBose's preliminary injunction pending appeal. Dubose wrote that the VA falls "far short" of meeting its legal burden. The First Circuit denial was without prejudice, meaning VA may refile under proper appellate procedures, which they had failed to follow. For now, the contract is in effect in form and substance.
• Congress Returned This Morning — But a Shutdown Vote Is Not on Today's Schedule. The Earliest a House Floor Vote Can Happen Is Tuesday, April 14.

Top Stories:

1. DHS Called All Furloughed Employees Back to Work Friday. They Are Expected Back at Their Desks Today — But the Shutdown Still Has Not Ended, and the Pay Has a Ceiling.

Source: Federal News Network — April 10, 2026

TL;DR: On Friday afternoon, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent a message to all DHS employees — excepted and non-excepted alike — directing furloughed staff to return to duty on their next regularly scheduled workday. For most employees, that is today. The recall covers approximately 1,200 CISA employees who had been furloughed, roughly 4,000 FEMA civilian employees, Coast Guard civilians, and administrative staff at CBP and ICE who had been working without pay. DHS confirmed it is using funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to pay returning staff. The back pay for the period from February 14 through April 4 has already been processing, with most employees seeing deposits this past week. Critically, the official message includes an explicit caveat: "Should the department exhaust currently available funds before an FY 2026 appropriation is enacted, you will receive a new notification of your work status at that time." The underlying shutdown — a lapse in statutory appropriations — has not ended. Congress returned today, and is expected to take up the DHS funding question this week.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you are a DHS employee who was furloughed and received the Friday recall notice, you are expected at work today. If you have questions about your specific status, contact your supervisor in writing before or at the start of your shift and keep a record.
• The phrase "available funds" in the DHS message is doing significant legal work. DHS has not been given a congressional appropriation — it is operating on redirected funds that have a finite ceiling. If Congress does not act before those funds run out, the furlough could resume. Monitor communications from your agency and your union closely this week.
• Your back pay for February 14 through April 4 should have arrived by now under the April 10-16 window DHS provided. If you have not seen a deposit, contact your payroll office in writing today. Verify the amount against your regular pay rate and the number of pay periods in the covered window. Document any discrepancy the same day you spot it.

Legal Insight:

The recall does not resolve the underlying legal questions created by the shutdown. The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 guarantees statutory back pay for all work performed or furloughs endured during a lapse in appropriations, once a congressional appropriation is enacted. That guarantee attaches to the full period of the lapse — February 14 through the date of enactment — regardless of what executive order funding covers. If there is a gap between what executive order payments covered and what the GFETA guarantees, you have a statutory right to the difference. Because payroll dispute timelines and correction mechanisms vary significantly by DHS component — FEMA, CISA, Coast Guard, and TSA each have separate HR and payroll operations — consider talking with your union and a qualified federal employment attorney if a discrepancy is not resolved promptly after the shutdown ends legislatively.

2. The First Circuit Denied the VA's Emergency Stay Motion. The Injunction Protecting 300,000 Employees' Contract Rights Is Still in Full Force.

Source: AFGE National VA Council — April 6

TL;DR: On April 6, the First Circuit Court of Appeals denied the VA's emergency motion to stay Judge DuBose's preliminary injunction pending appeal. The court's denial was "without prejudice," meaning the VA can refile the motion consistent with the appellate court's procedural rules — but the injunction remains in place in the meantime. Judge DuBose had separately denied the VA's request for an emergency stay the same day, writing that the VA falls "far short" of meeting its legal burden to justify one. The combination of both the district court and the First Circuit declining to stay the order means that as of today, the VA-AFGE Master Collective Bargaining Agreement remains "applicable and binding in both form and substance," as Judge DuBose's March 27 enforcement order requires. VA Central Office has told facilities to comply. The First Circuit appeal itself is still proceeding, and the government can be expected to pursue the stay motion through proper channels.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you are a VA employee covered by AFGE's National VA Council, your contract rights are legally enforceable today. That includes Weingarten rights — the right to union representation in any investigatory meeting that could lead to discipline — CBA-mandated parental leave, progressive discipline protections, and grievance procedures. If your local facility is not honoring those rights, document the specific date, the specific right denied, and the name of the official involved, and report it to your union steward immediately.
• The "without prejudice" language in the First Circuit's denial means the VA can make another attempt to obtain a stay through the proper appellate filing process. If the First Circuit later grants a stay, the contract obligations would be suspended again during the appeal. Watch for further orders from the First Circuit and updates from AFGE/NVAC.
• The fact that both the district court and the First Circuit declined to grant an emergency stay is meaningful. The standard for a stay requires showing a likelihood of success on the merits of the appeal, irreparable harm without a stay, and that the equities favor a stay. Two courts finding those standards unmet — even on an emergency basis — is a signal about where the legal weight currently sits.

Legal Insight:
The denial of an emergency stay does not resolve the underlying appeal on the merits. The First Circuit will still decide whether Judge DuBose's preliminary injunction was correctly granted. If the First Circuit ultimately sides with the VA, the contract protections could be reversed. In the meantime, the injunction is in effect and enforceable. If you experienced a specific denial of your contract rights during the period between August 5, 2025 — when the VA originally terminated the contract — and the present, those denials may be individually actionable through the grievance and arbitration process under the restored CBA, and potentially through EEO channels if the denial was connected to a protected characteristic. Do not delay filing grievances for specific violations while waiting for the appellate outcome. Talk to your union steward now.

3. Congress Is Back. A Shutdown Vote Is Not on Today's Schedule. The Earliest It Can Happen Is Tuesday — and the Two-Chamber Standoff Has Not Changed.

Source: Montgomery Today — April 12, 2026

TL;DR: The House returned from recess at 2:30 p.m. ET today, April 13. A vote to end the DHS shutdown is not on the schedule for today. Based on reporting through the weekend, the earliest a House floor vote on the DHS funding bill could occur is Tuesday, April 14. When the House does vote, the two options remain: the Senate-passed bipartisan bill that funds most of DHS except ICE and CBP, or the House Republican 60-day continuing resolution that funds all of DHS but that Senate Democrats have called dead on arrival. House Democrats have signaled they would provide votes for the Senate bill if Speaker Johnson puts it on the floor. House Freedom Caucus members have said they will not support the Senate bill. Neither path has a clear guaranteed majority today. Meanwhile, the Senate returns from recess and is expected to take up an Iran war powers resolution this week — adding another item to an already compressed legislative calendar.

For federal employees, this means:

• For DHS employees who were recalled to work today: your work status for this pay period depends on DHS's available funds and on whether Congress passes an FY2026 appropriation this week. Both remain open questions as of this morning.
• For all federal employees watching the shutdown: the political dynamics that created this 58-day shutdown — the longest agency-specific shutdown in U.S. history — have not materially changed since Congress left for recess two weeks ago. A deal is possible this week. It is not guaranteed.
• Once a deal passes — whenever that is — the GFETA guarantees kick in for the full lapse period. If you are a DHS employee, the statutory back pay obligation covers every day of the lapse from February 14 forward, not just the period covered by executive orders. Keep your records.

Legal Insight:
A legislative resolution of the shutdown triggers two separate processes that federal employees need to watch. First, the appropriation itself — which restores statutory funding authority and formally ends the lapse. Second, the back pay process — which agencies must initiate to make whole every employee who worked or was furloughed during the lapse. Under the Back Pay Act, 5 U.S.C. § 5596, and the GFETA, agencies are required to process back pay with interest. Because mass back pay calculations after an extended shutdown are prone to errors — incorrect pay periods, missing overtime, wrong base rates — document your expected payment before it arrives and compare it carefully when it does. Report any discrepancy in writing the same day. Consider talking with your union and a qualified federal employment attorney if a discrepancy is not corrected within your agency's standard payroll correction window.

Legal Tip of the Day

When You’re Placed on a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) 

A PIP can feel like a warning sign—and often it is. It may be presented as a chance to improve, but it can also become the foundation for future discipline or removal. What matters most is how the situation is handled from the beginning. Start documenting everything: expectations, feedback, and any support (or lack of support) provided. Follow instructions carefully, but also keep copies of your work and communications outside of government systems. Small details can make a difference later. Our firm can help clarify what a PIP means in your specific situation and how to respond strategically. 

In Case You Missed It

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