Attorneys for Federal Employees — Nationwide

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Today at a Glance

• IRS Telework Lawsuits: The National Treasury Employees Union filed two new federal suits against the IRS last week — one to enforce a July arbitration award that ordered telework restored, and one challenging the February termination of the IRS–NTEU contract as unexplained.

• USDA Relocations: USDA asked Judge Chhabria on Friday to put his own October 13 stay on hold while it appeals; the unions must respond by noon Pacific on Wednesday. The NRCS critical-vacancy portal closes today.

• State Department Hiring After the RIF: State is reopening its Lateral Entry Pilot Program for mid-career Foreign Service hires while employees it laid off last year wait for a way back — a look at what reemployment priority covers and what it does not.

Top Stories:

1. NTEU Sues the IRS Twice in Two Days — One Suit Says the Agency Cannot Ignore a Binding Telework Arbitration Award, the Other Says the Contract Termination Was Never Explained

Source: Federal News Network, October 30, 2026

TL;DR: On October 29, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) sued the IRS in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia over the agency's refusal to follow a July 17, 2026 arbitration decision. The arbitrator found that the IRS violated its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and a remote-work memorandum when it canceled frequent telework and remote work in February 2025, and ordered the IRS to rescind personnel actions based on those cancellations. Six days later, a July 23 "Leaders' Alert" told IRS managers that the "[c]urrent telework policy remains in effect" and that the arbitrators "no longer have jurisdiction over the IRS." NTEU's complaint argues that the grievance was filed in March 2025 — before Executive Order 14251 excluded the IRS from the labor statute and almost a year before the contract was terminated — so the right to finish the arbitration survived, and it asks the court to set aside the directive under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The case is NTEU v. IRS, No. 1:26-cv-03812 (D.D.C.), before Judge Jia M. Cobb. A day earlier, NTEU and an IRS employee filed a second APA suit in the District of Massachusetts, No. 4:26-cv-40246, alleging that the IRS's February 27, 2026 termination of the 2022 National Agreement — which ran to October 1, 2027 — largely copied an OPM template, offered no reasoned explanation, and never considered letting the contract run out its term.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you are an IRS bargaining-unit employee whose telework ended in February 2025, the July award ordered relief for you, but the IRS has not implemented it. Nothing changes at your desk unless the court rules for NTEU.
• The D.C. suit is narrow by design: it accepts the contract termination as valid for purposes of the case and asks only whether a grievance already in arbitration can be erased by a later termination.
• Arbitrators have ruled for unions in telework grievances at HUD, SSA, EPA, and the Forest Service. Whether those awards can be enforced once an agency has left the labor statute is the question this case puts to a court.

Legal Insight

Under 5 U.S.C. § 7122(b), an arbitration award becomes "final and binding" if no exception is filed with the Federal Labor Relations Authority within 30 days, and "[a]n agency shall take the actions required by an arbitrator's final award." The IRS's position is that Executive Order 14251 removed it from Chapter 71 of Title 5 altogether, so neither the arbitrator nor the FLRA has authority over it; NTEU agrees the FLRA cannot hear the dispute, which is why it is asking a district court to review the directive as final agency action under 5 U.S.C. §§ 704 and 706(2)(A). Individual employees cannot bring this suit — it belongs to the union — but if the court sets aside the directive, the award's remedies are back on the table.

2. USDA Asks the Judge to Lift His Own Stay While It Appeals — the Unions Must Answer by Noon Pacific on Wednesday, and the NRCS Critical-Vacancy Portal Closes Today

Source: Government Executive, October 29, 2026

TL;DR: On Friday, October 30, the Justice Department filed a motion in AFGE v. USDA, No. 3:26-cv-09976-VC (N.D. Cal.), asking Judge Vince Chhabria to stay his October 13 order — which halted USDA's office closures and out-of-area relocations and reassignments under 5 U.S.C. § 705 — while the government's appeal to the Ninth Circuit proceeds. USDA appealed on October 15; the judge had refused a stay request at the September 29 hearing, and the new motion says fresh declarations change the balance. The government argues the order "significantly hinders USDA's operations across the board," pointing to 25 vacant Forest Service fire management officer and assistant positions it usually fills by reassignment and to Agricultural Research Service projects it says are being crowded out by the cost of keeping the Beltsville campus open. A companion motion asked for a ruling by Friday, November 6; the unions said they "dispute the asserted need for expedited briefing" but offered to file their opposition by November 5. On Sunday, November 1, Judge Chhabria ordered the plaintiffs to respond by Wednesday, November 4, at 12 p.m. Pacific. The filings came a day after Government Executive reported a new round of Natural Resources Conservation Service "permanent reassignment" letters dated October 28, stating that the geographic move "will not be effective until the current court order injunction is lifted." NRCS's critical-vacancy portal for hub positions in Fort Worth, Fort Collins, and Raleigh closes today, November 2.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you received an October 28 reassignment letter, Friday's filing does not change your status today: the stay remains in effect unless and until Judge Chhabria or the Ninth Circuit lifts it. Keep the letter and do not treat a move that is "not effective until the injunction is lifted" as a decision you must make now.
• The earliest the stay could change is after Wednesday's noon deadline; the government asked for a ruling by November 6. If the stay is lifted, the letters' effective dates and any deadlines to accept or decline become live questions quickly.
• The stay motion is about USDA's operations, not any one employee's rights; your options if a directed reassignment is enforced depend on the rules below and the exact wording of your letter.

Legal Insight

A stay pending appeal is judged under the four Nken v. Holder factors, 556 U.S. 418, 434 (2009), and under Fed. R. App. P. 8(a)(1) the district court ordinarily decides first. The underlying order rests on 5 U.S.C. § 705, which lets a reviewing court "postpone the effective date of an agency action" to prevent irreparable injury while the case is decided. An employee who ultimately declines a directed reassignment outside the commuting area can be removed only through an adverse action with the notice and reply rights in 5 U.S.C. § 7513, and a removal on that ground makes the employee "displaced" for interagency selection priority under 5 C.F.R. § 330.702. If you are weighing whether to accept a move, talk with your union or a federal employment attorney before any deadline in your letter passes.

3. State Reopens Its Mid-Career "Lateral Entry" Pilot a Year After Its RIFs — What Reemployment Priority Covers, What It Does Not, and Why the Foreign Service Is Different

Source: Government Executive, October 30, 2026

TL;DR: The State Department announced that it will soon accept applications for its Lateral Entry Pilot Program (LEPP), which brings mid-career professionals into the Foreign Service above the entry level, this time seeking expertise in areas including artificial intelligence and foreign assistance. Congress directed the pilot in section 404 of the Department of State Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017, Pub. L. No. 114-323, which requires participants to pass the Foreign Service exam; State says candidates must pass the Foreign Service Officer Test and Assessment. The announcement follows the 2025 dismantling of USAID, which cost about 2,000 USAID employees their jobs, and State's own July 2025 reduction in force (RIF) of nearly 1,350 employees — roughly 250 of them Foreign Service members, the rest civil service. The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) said USAID officers who already earned their place in the Foreign Service "should not be treated as newcomers to their own profession." A State spokesperson said the department "is abiding by all laws and regulations regarding the eligibility of employees who were separated as part of a reduction in force to apply for open positions." Two Democratic bills — the PATH to the Foreign Service Act and the Foreign Service Test-Free Reentry Act — would create a path back for separated USAID employees and let the Secretary waive entrance exams for career Foreign Service officers involuntarily separated between January 20, 2025, and January 31, 2030.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you were separated from State by RIF as a competitive service employee, you had the right to register on the department's Reemployment Priority List (RPL) on or before your separation date, and registration lasts two years. If you registered, State must give you placement priority for most competitive service vacancies in your commuting area before hiring from outside.
• The RPL does not reach Foreign Service positions. The Foreign Service is filled under the Foreign Service Act, and the regulations let an agency appoint under an excepted service authority even when RPL registrants exist. That is why AFSA is asking Congress, not OPM, for a fix.
• Former employees applying to other agencies should claim Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) priority on every application: an agency may not hire from outside its own workforce for a competitive service vacancy at GS-15 or below in the same commuting area if a well-qualified ICTAP candidate has applied, absent an exception.

Legal Insight

The RPL rules are in 5 C.F.R. part 330, subpart B: an agency "must give its RPL registrants placement priority for most competitive service vacancies before hiring someone from outside its own permanent competitive service workforce" (§ 330.201(a)); registration runs two years from the RIF separation date (§ 330.208(a)); the agency may not appoint another individual to a vacancy for which a qualified registrant is available (§ 330.210(b)); and a registrant who believes the agency hired someone else improperly may appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (§ 330.214), generally within 30 days of the action (5 C.F.R. § 1201.22(b)(1)). The exceptions in § 330.211 include appointments under an excepted service authority, which is where Foreign Service hiring falls; the Foreign Service Act's RIF provision, 22 U.S.C. § 4010a, addresses how a Foreign Service RIF is conducted and challenged, not rehiring. If you were RIF'd and believe a position you registered for was filled from outside, consult a federal employment attorney promptly.

Legal Tip of the Day

When You Receive a Proposed Removal or Suspension

If you receive a notice proposing a removal, suspension, or other action against you, the clock has usually started. Read the notice for the reply deadline and for who receives your response, and write down both the date you received it and the deadline. Ask in writing for copies of the materials the agency relied on, and ask in writing for more time if you need it. Do not assume an extension has been granted until you have it in writing. Reply in writing, stick to facts you can support, and keep your own copy of everything in a private file outside government systems. Do not assume a verbal assurance from a supervisor changes the notice or the deadline, and do not ignore the notice hoping it will go away. 

In Case You Missed It

A few quick hits from our recent posts:

VA Ends Union Contract for 320,000 Employees: What the Court Fight Means for Federal Workers

USDA Sends New Reassignment Letters Despite Court Order: What NRCS Employees Should Do

OPM Ends the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey: What the Final Rule Changes

Worried About Retaliation or Being Targeted for Speaking Up?

If you’ve reported misconduct, safety concerns, discrimination, or waste/fraud/abuse—and now you’re seeing sudden schedule changes, bad performance reviews, or threats of discipline—you may be in whistleblower or retaliation territory.

We represent federal employees who:

• Reported concerns and then saw adverse actions

• Were sidelined, reassigned, or given impossible workloads after speaking up

• Face investigations, PIPs, or proposed removals that look like payback

• Need help navigating OSC complaints, EEO claims, or MSPB appeals tied to retaliation

A free, confidential consultation can help you sort out what’s normal agency behavior and what may cross the line—and what to do before your options narrow.

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Disclaimer:

This briefing is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney‑client relationship. Federal employment law is fact‑specific and time‑sensitive; you should consult a qualified attorney about your own situation and deadlines. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

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