Attorneys for Federal Employees — Nationwide

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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

• 2027 Retirement COLA: Federal retirees will receive a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment under CSRS and 2.6 percent under FERS, effective December 1 and payable in January, while most current employees face a proposed pay freeze for 2027.

• FMLA Eligibility Rules: OPM published a direct final rule in today's Federal Register writing the 2021 and 2023 statutory changes into regulation, so prior temporary, Postal, and honorable active military service all count toward the 12-month FMLA requirement; it takes effect December 14 unless significant adverse comments arrive by November 16.

• Schedule G Appointees: OPM data show at least 25 political appointees already serving under Schedule G, a category created by executive order in July 2025 that OPM has not yet written into regulation; comments on the proposed rule are due November 17.

Top Stories:

1. Federal Retirees Get a 3.6 Percent COLA Under CSRS and 2.6 Percent Under FERS — How the "Diet COLA" Formula Works, Who Is Left Out, and When the Money Arrives

Source: Government Executive, October 14, 2026

TL;DR: The Social Security Administration announced Wednesday that Social Security benefits will rise 3.6 percent in 2027, up from 2.8 percent this year. Federal retirement cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) key off the same inflation measure, so retirees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) will receive a 3.6 percent increase and retirees under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) will receive 2.6 percent. The FERS figure is lower because the FERS statute subtracts one percentage point whenever inflation exceeds 3 percent. The adjustment takes effect December 1 and shows up in the January 2027 annuity payment. The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) said the increase will be largely absorbed by the 10.9 percent average rise in the enrollee share of FEHB premiums for 2027, and it renewed its call for the Equal COLA Act, which would give FERS retirees the full adjustment. Government Executive also noted that most current federal employees are slated for a pay freeze in January under the plan the President formally proposed in August, with some law enforcement officers receiving an average 3.8 percent increase.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you are a FERS retiree under age 62, you generally will not receive this COLA at all; the exceptions are disability retirees, survivor annuitants, and those who retired under the special provisions for law enforcement officers, firefighters, and air traffic controllers.
• If you retired within the last year, your first COLA is prorated by the number of months you have been on the annuity rolls, so your January increase will be smaller than the headline number.
• If you are still working and weighing a 2027 retirement date, a pay freeze and a 2.6 percent FERS COLA are two different numbers; run your estimate with both before you pick a date.

Legal Insight

CSRS annuities are adjusted each December 1 by the full percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) between the third quarter of this year and the third quarter of the last year an adjustment was made. 5 U.S.C. § 8340(b). FERS annuities follow a different formula: the full change if inflation is 2 percent or less, a flat 2 percent if inflation is between 2 and 3 percent, and the change minus one percentage point if inflation exceeds 3 percent. 5 U.S.C. § 8462(b)(1). The statute also withholds the FERS adjustment from most retirees under age 62, 5 U.S.C. § 8462(c)(3), and prorates the first increase for anyone on the rolls less than 12 months, 5 U.S.C. § 8462(c)(1). None of these rules changes without an act of Congress; the Equal COLA Act (H.R. 491 / S. 624) would remove the one-point reduction, but it has not advanced.

2. OPM Writes the Expanded FMLA Eligibility Rules Into Regulation — Prior Temporary, Intermittent, Postal, and Honorable Active Military Service Now Count Toward the 12-Month Requirement, Effective December 14 Unless Adverse Comments Arrive

Source: Federal Register (OPM direct final rule), October 15, 2026

TL;DR: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a direct final rule in today's Federal Register that updates its Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations to match statutory changes Congress made in 2021 and 2023. Under the amended statute, which OPM has applied through guidance memoranda since 2021, the 12 months of service an employee needs before using FMLA leave can include virtually any prior federal civilian service, including temporary and intermittent appointments and work for the Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission, as well as honorable active service in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, or Marine Corps, including full-time National Guard duty and Reserve active duty (Coast Guard and Public Health Service commissioned corps service do not count). The rule also confirms that annual and sick leave earned under a leave system outside title 5 can be substituted for unpaid FMLA leave, and it moves Veterans Health Administration employees covered by the title 38 leave system out of the title 5 FMLA rules and into the parallel VA provision. Because paid parental leave is a form of substituted FMLA leave, the same service-counting rules decide who qualifies for the 12 weeks of paid parental leave. The rule takes effect December 14, 2026, unless OPM receives significant adverse comments by November 16, 2026. OPM says the changes alter no one's existing rights because the statute has been in force since 2021 and 2023.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you are new to your agency but have prior federal service of any kind, including a temporary or seasonal appointment, Postal Service work, or qualifying active-duty military service, that time counts toward FMLA and paid parental leave eligibility; get your SF-50s and DD-214 into your file before you need the leave.
• Current temporary and intermittent employees still cannot use title 5 FMLA leave, even though that service will count later once they hold a covered position.
• VHA physicians, nurses, and other title 38 employees should look to VA's own FMLA rules, which the statute requires to track the title 5 program as closely as practicable.

Legal Insight

Title 5 FMLA eligibility requires 12 months of qualifying service, 5 U.S.C. § 6381(1)(B). Section 1103(f) of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 116-283) rewrote that provision to count service as an "employee" under 5 U.S.C. § 2105 in any federal position, and section 1114(a) of the Fiscal Year 2024 NDAA (Pub. L. 118-31) added honorable active military service. The direct final rule codifies both changes at 5 C.F.R. § 630.1201(b)(1)(ii) and the leave-substitution change, 5 U.S.C. § 6382(d), in subpart L. If your agency denied FMLA or paid parental leave because it did not count prior temporary, Postal, or military service, that denial is worth revisiting, because the statute has counted that service since January 2021 (December 2023 for military service); ask for the decision in writing and consult a federal employment attorney or your union representative about a renewed request or a grievance.

3. At Least 25 Political Appointees Are Already Serving Under "Schedule G," a Category OPM Has Not Yet Written Into Regulation — What the July 2025 Order Says About Removals, and the November 17 Comment Deadline

Source: Government Executive, October 14, 2026

TL;DR: The Partnership for Public Service reported that an unannounced update to OPM's data on presidentially appointed positions shows at least 25 people serving under Schedule G, a new excepted-service category for noncareer, policy-making or policy-advocating positions that the President created by executive order on July 17, 2025. Twenty-two of the 25 work at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the earliest appointment dates to August 2025, more than a year before OPM proposed the regulations that would add Schedule G to the Code of Federal Regulations. The Partnership's Chris Piper wrote that "Twenty-five is what we can see, not necessarily what exists," because agencies have discretion over what they report. OPM told Government Executive that the executive order itself is the authority for Schedule G, that OPM issued implementing guidance to agencies in July 2025, and that the pending proposed rule "would make conforming amendments" rather than establish it. That proposed rule, published September 18, would add a new 5 C.F.R. § 213.3701 for Schedule G positions and extend to them the same exclusions that apply to Schedule C and Schedule Policy/Career appointees, including exclusion from the performance-based removal procedures in 5 C.F.R. part 432. Comments are due November 17, 2026.

For federal employees, this means:

• Schedule G covers noncareer positions expected to turn over with a presidential transition; it is not the same as Schedule Policy/Career, which covers career positions and is the category that reaches career employees.
• If you are a career employee offered a Schedule G appointment, understand that you would be leaving a position with statutory adverse-action rights for one the executive order places outside the Civil Service Rules on removal; get the terms in writing before you accept.
• Anyone with a view on how Schedule G positions should be defined, documented, or limited can file a comment on RIN 3206-AO92 at regulations.gov by November 17, 2026.

Legal Insight

The President may except positions from the competitive service when conditions of good administration warrant it, 5 U.S.C. § 3302(1), and Executive Order 14317 invoked that authority, along with 5 U.S.C. § 7511, to create Schedule G for "positions of a policy-making or policy-advocating character normally subject to change as a result of a Presidential transition." Exec. Order No. 14317, § 4, 90 Fed. Reg. 34753 (July 23, 2025). Section 7511(b)(2)(A) removes chapter 75 adverse-action procedures and MSPB appeal rights from positions the President has excepted and designated as policy-making or policy-advocating, and the order amended Civil Service Rule VI so that the Civil Service Rules and Regulations do not apply to removals from Schedule G positions except as a statute requires. OPM's proposed rule, 91 Fed. Reg. 59076 (Sept. 18, 2026), would add § 213.3701 and conform parts 302, 317, 359, 432, 550, 731, and 920. If you are a career employee weighing a move into a Schedule G position, consult a federal employment attorney about what rights you would be giving up before you accept.

Mindful Moment of the Day

The Two Numbers Pause

You have been running retirement numbers at the kitchen table, and the figures keep disagreeing: a freeze for you, a smaller COLA than the headline, a deadline that keeps coming up. Before you recalculate again, pause. Feel your feet on the floor and let three slow breaths lengthen the exhale. Silently say, "I do not have to settle this tonight." Then take one small step within your reach: write down the one question you most need answered and who could answer it, such as your HR benefits office or your retirement estimate. Mindfulness here does not mean pretending the uncertainty is easy; it means noticing the pressure to decide right now without letting it make the decision for you.  

In Case You Missed It

A few quick hits from our recent posts:

Would You Give Up a Raise to Keep Your Alternative Work Schedule? What the Survey and the Law Say

USDA Relocations Frozen for All Eight Components: What the Judge's Order Means for You

Supreme Court Takes DOGE Records Case: Did DOGE Ever Give a Binding Order?

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.