Attorneys for Federal Employees — Nationwide

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Today at a Glance

• Federal Employees Are Being Asked to Sign Forms Acknowledging They Are Now At-Will: OPM has released a template acknowledgement form that agencies will present to employees converted to Schedule Policy/Career. The form states your service is at-will and that you have no MSPB appeal rights. Signing is not mandatory — but refusal does not stop the conversion.
• OPM's Performance Rating Overhaul Comment Period Closes Today: The proposed rule that would force a distribution of performance ratings — capping how many employees can receive top scores and making performance a primary RIF factor — closes for public comment today, March 26.
• The Interior Department's Year-Long Administrative Leave Story Gets a Critical Update: Employees recalled after more than a year on paid leave are returning to restructured roles, with new reporting chains and a department actively scanning for any remaining DEI activity. The human cost of this story is only now coming into full view.

Top Stories:

1. Federal Employees Are Being Asked to Sign Forms Acknowledging Their Jobs Are Now At-Will — Here Is What You Need to Know Before You Do

Source: FEDweek — March 24, 2026

TL;DR: More than two weeks after OPM finalized the Schedule Policy/Career rule, no employees have yet received formal conversion notices — positions recommended by agencies are still pending approval by President Trump via executive order. But OPM has already released the template form that agencies will use when conversions happen. The form asks employees to acknowledge that their service is at-will and that their position carries no MSPB appeal rights. NTEU says signing is not mandatory and refusal will not trigger discipline — but refusal also does not stop the conversion from taking effect.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you receive this form, you are not being asked whether you consent to the conversion. You are being informed it has happened and asked to acknowledge it in writing. Those are two very different things.
• OPM's own guidance states that an employee's refusal to sign does not prevent the conversion and agencies should not take administrative action against someone who refuses. That is worth knowing before anyone puts a pen to paper under pressure.
• The form also states that Douglas Factors — the standards the MSPB has historically used to determine whether a penalty is proportionate — will no longer apply to employees in this category. Agencies are not required to use performance improvement plans or progressive discipline before taking action.

Legal Insight:
If you are in a position that your agency has recommended for Schedule Policy/Career conversion, the most important thing you can do right now is document your current employment status in writing — get a copy of your current SF-50 before any conversion is processed, note your current grade, title, and competitive service status, and keep copies of any notices you receive. The acknowledgement form is not a waiver of rights that predate the conversion, and litigation challenging the entire Schedule Policy/Career framework is ongoing. PEER v. Trump and related cases are actively proceeding. Nothing about this acknowledgement form changes those lawsuits or your status as a party affected by their outcome. Because the legal landscape is actively shifting, consider talking with your union and a qualified federal employment attorney before signing any document related to your employment classification.

2. OPM's Proposed Performance Rating Overhaul — Comment Period Closes Today

Source: Federal News Network — February 24, 2026

TL;DR: Today, March 26, is the final day to submit public comments on OPM's proposed rule to overhaul the federal employee performance management system — the largest such overhaul in 30 years. The rule would implement a forced distribution of ratings, capping how many employees can receive top scores, and would make performance appraisals the primary factor in any future RIF. It also removes the prohibition on forced distribution systems for senior-level and scientific or professional employees.

For federal employees, this means:

• If the rule is finalized as proposed, receiving a top performance rating will become harder — by design. Agencies will be required to ensure their ratings reflect a distribution, not a baseline of strong performance across the board.
• Because OPM's proposed RIF rule makes recent performance ratings the most important factor in layoff order, a lower performance rating under the new system would move you higher on the RIF list. These two proposed rules are linked — and together they represent a significant restructuring of how job security is determined in the federal civil service.
• The comment period is one of the few formal mechanisms federal employees and unions have to put their concerns on the official record before a rule is finalized. After today, that window closes.

Legal Insight:
Performance appraisals under the current system are governed by 5 U.S.C. Chapter 43 and 5 C.F.R. Part 430. If the proposed rule is finalized, those regulations will change — and performance-based actions taken under the new framework will be governed by the new standards, not the ones in place today. Employees who currently have strong performance records should obtain copies of their most recent appraisals and keep them. If you receive a performance rating you believe is inaccurate or retaliatory — particularly in the period leading up to a potential RIF — that rating can be challenged. Because performance-based adverse actions and RIF protections are governed by specific statutory and regulatory timelines, consider talking with your union and a qualified federal employment attorney if you have concerns about how your agency is managing your performance record right now.

3. Interior Department Recalls Employees After More Than a Year of Paid Inactivity — Into Different Roles, With New Reporting Chains and Active DEI Surveillance

Source: Government Executive — Updated March 25, 2026

TL;DR: An updated Government Executive report on the Interior Department employees placed on involuntary paid administrative leave in February 2025 — for work related to DEI and environmental justice — confirms that approximately three dozen employees have now returned to work in restructured roles under a management-directed reassignment. The department has consolidated HR and administrative functions away from individual bureaus and into Secretary Burgum's office. Interior's HR chief has sent a memo to staff asking them to report any remaining DEI activity within the agency. One returning employee described having a "major brain drain" after a year away, expressing both excitement and apprehension.

For federal employees, this means:

• This is a case study in what involuntary administrative leave followed by management-directed reassignment looks like from start to finish — and the human cost is real. These employees were paid to do nothing for over a year, returned to jobs that no longer look the same, and are now operating under a department actively monitoring for DEI activity.
• The OPM guidance limiting administrative leave for workforce realignments to 12 weeks is now being applied going forward — but these employees were held for more than a year under prior conditions. That gap matters legally for similarly situated employees at other agencies.
• The memo encouraging staff to report remaining DEI activity within the agency is a significant development. If you are at Interior and concerned about how your work or your history could be characterized under that directive, that concern deserves serious attention.

Legal Insight:
Federal employees who were placed on extended involuntary administrative leave and have now been recalled to different roles under a management-directed reassignment should take several steps immediately. Confirm in writing that your grade, pay, and benefits have not been adversely affected. Review your new position description carefully and compare it to your prior duties. If your reassignment amounts to a constructive demotion — same grade, substantively diminished duties — or if you believe it was retaliatory for prior protected activity, those are potentially actionable claims. OPM guidance generally holds that paid administrative leave counts as creditable service, but verify your official records reflect this accurately. Because management-directed reassignments and constructive adverse action claims have specific timelines and burden-shifting frameworks, consider talking with your union and a qualified federal employment attorney right away.

Mindful Moment of the Day

Reset Between Heavy Tasks

Federal work can throw you from a tough interview or call straight into data entry or another case with no real break. Before you switch tasks, close your eyes (if you can) and take 10 slow breaths, feeling your chest rise and fall. Name the last task as complete—“That interview is done for now”—and then name the next task—“Now I’m just updating this one file.” This simple bridge keeps emotional residue from the last task from flooding into the next one.