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Today at a Glance

• EEOC Demographic Reporting: The EEOC has made it optional for federal agencies to report workforce data by race, sex, and ethnicity under Management Directive 715, the framework in place since 2003. Your individual right to file an EEO complaint, and the deadlines that go with it, did not change.

• Probationary Workforce Losses: A new GAO report finds probationary employees left federal service at a higher rate than the workforce overall in 2025 — about 19% versus 15% at the agencies studied — with most departures recorded as voluntary. Probationers keep only narrow appeal rights.

• Paid Family Leave Bill: A bipartisan House bill reintroduced June 11 would give federal employees up to 12 weeks of paid leave each year for their own serious illness or to care for a family member. It is proposed legislation, not current law.

Top Stories:

1. EEOC Makes Agencies' EEO Demographic Reporting Optional

Source: Federal News Network, June 11, 2026

TL;DR: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new instructions on June 3, 2026 making it optional for federal agencies to report workforce demographic data — breakdowns by race, sex, and ethnicity — under Management Directive 715 (MD-715), the reporting framework agencies have used since 2003. Agencies also no longer have to address diversity and inclusion principles, "trigger" obligations, or gender identity in their annual reports, and "barrier analysis" — the assessment used to identify obstacles to hiring or promotion for particular groups — is now optional. Agencies may omit any details they conclude would raise legal or policy concerns or conflict with the President's executive orders. EEOC Chairwoman Andrea Lucas said in a June 4 statement that the change lets agencies meet their MD-715 obligations "without creating legal or policy conflicts" while the commission works toward a modernized directive. Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal, who voted against the revisions, called it a "'head in the sand' approach to eliminating discrimination." The instructions took effect after a five-day commission vote without public comment, and a planned public meeting was canceled. Reporting on employees' disability status was not changed.

For federal employees, this means:

• Your individual rights did not change. The reporting shift does not affect your ability to file an EEO complaint, and the 45-day deadline to contact an EEO counselor still applies.

• Agencies are still legally required to collect and maintain employment data on race, national origin, sex, and disability — even where they no longer have to report all of it to the EEOC.

• Workforce-level data has long been the tool agencies use to spot patterns of discrimination; with reporting now optional, data will likely be less consistent across agencies, which can make systemic problems harder to surface.

Legal Insight:

MD-715 implements the federal government's affirmative equal employment opportunity program under Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16, and the federal-sector regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 1614. Agencies remain bound by 29 C.F.R. § 1614.601 to collect and maintain demographic employment data, and an individual employee's path to relief — EEO counselor contact within 45 days under 29 C.F.R. § 1614.105(a)(1), followed by a formal complaint — is unchanged. The shorter reporting requirements do not extend any filing deadline, so if you believe a personnel action was discriminatory, consult a federal employment attorney promptly to preserve your claim.

2. GAO: Probationary Employees Left at a Higher Rate Than the Rest of the Workforce in 2025

Source: Federal News Network, June 12, 2026

TL;DR: A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that probationary employees left federal service at a higher rate than the workforce as a whole during the 2025 reductions. Across the agencies GAO analyzed — those with health- and safety-related missions — probationary employees separated at an average rate of about 19%, compared with about 15% of all employees. The pattern was uneven: roughly 42% of the Agriculture Department's probationary employees separated (versus about 30% of others) and 34% at the Energy Department (versus 19%), while the Interior Department and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission saw lower probationary separation rates than their overall workforces. Of the probationary separations, GAO reported that about 41,500 (78.6%) were recorded as voluntary, roughly 9,400 (17.8%) resulted from a reduction in force (RIF) or other termination, and about 1,900 (3.6%) were transfers to another agency. GAO's Dawn Locke noted that executive orders and OPM guidance led to the separation of more than 50,000 early-career employees, even though OPM had launched an early-career hiring push three months earlier. A federal court ruled in September 2025 that OPM had unlawfully directed agencies to fire probationary employees en masse.

For federal employees, this means:

• A probationary period is a trial period — usually one to two years — and it applies not only to new hires but also to current employees newly promoted into supervisory or managerial roles.

• Under OPM's 2025 final rule, agencies may weigh organizational needs and the "efficiency of the service," not just performance and conduct, when deciding whether to keep a probationer.

• Probationers have narrow appeal rights: a termination can generally be challenged at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) only on grounds such as partisan political or marital-status discrimination, or an agency's failure to follow required procedures.

Legal Insight:
Most probationary employees are not "employees" entitled to Chapter 75 adverse-action protections until they complete the service requirement in 5 U.S.C. § 7511; their termination procedures and limited appeal rights are set out at 5 C.F.R. §§ 315.804, 315.805, and 315.806. Probationers nonetheless keep their discrimination and whistleblower protections, and the September 2025 ruling in AFGE v. OPM, No. 3:25-cv-01780-WHA (N.D. Cal.), illustrates that how a termination is carried out can matter. If you were separated during your probationary period, the window to act is short — consult a federal employment attorney quickly to assess whether an MSPB appeal, EEO complaint, or OSC disclosure may be available.

3. Bipartisan Bill Would Give Federal Employees Up to 12 Weeks of Paid Family and Medical Leave

Source: Government Executive, June 11, 2026

TL;DR: A bipartisan trio of House members — Reps. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) — reintroduced the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act on Thursday, June 11, 2026. The bill would give civilian federal employees up to 12 weeks of paid leave each year for their own serious health condition or to care for a spouse, child, or parent. It would also cover absences tied to a family member's deployment into active-duty military service and situations involving a family member who has survived domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. The measure is meant to fill the gap left when Congress created paid parental leave: the House version of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act would have included broader paid family leave, but that portion was dropped during negotiations with the Senate, and federal employees gained paid parental leave only, effective October 2020. A version of the bill was first introduced in 2021. It is at the introduction stage and has not been enacted.

For federal employees, this means:

• This is proposed legislation, not current law. Today, paid leave for federal employees is generally limited to paid parental leave for the birth or placement of a child, while other family and medical leave remains unpaid.

• If enacted, the bill would let you use up to 12 weeks of paid leave per year for your own serious illness or to care for a close family member — coverage the Family and Medical Leave Act currently provides only on an unpaid basis.

• Watch for committee action. Reintroduced bills can move slowly, and benefits like this typically advance, if at all, through the annual defense authorization or appropriations process.

Legal Insight:
Federal employees' family and medical leave rights are set out at 5 U.S.C. §§ 6381–6387, which guarantee up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year for a serious health condition or to care for a family member. The 2019 paid parental leave law added paid status at 5 U.S.C. § 6382(d)(2), but only for leave connected to the birth or placement of a child. The reintroduced bill would extend paid status to the remaining FMLA-qualifying reasons; until it becomes law, those categories of leave remain unpaid.

Legal Tip of the Day

Don’t Miss Your EEO Deadline

If you believe discrimination played a role in a workplace decision, do not wait too long to act. Federal EEO matters have short deadlines, and informal conversations with supervisors or HR may not preserve your rights. Write down the date of the event, what happened, who was involved, what protected status may be connected, and what documents support your concern. Keep notices, emails, and calendar entries in a safe personal location, not only on government systems. Do not wait to “see how things play out” if the deadline may be running. Southworth PC can help federal employees understand EEO timelines and evaluate whether workplace events may support a discrimination claim.

In Case You Missed It

A few quick hits from our recent videos and posts:

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Strong Federal Employee Defense Is Built Before the Hearing

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