Attorneys for Federal Employees — Nationwide

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Today at a Glance

• VA Union Contract: On Friday the First Circuit stayed the Rhode Island district court's August 7 order that had required the VA to treat its AFGE master agreement as automatically extended past August 8. The appeals court said the district court likely lacked jurisdiction to decide that contract question while the injunction is on appeal.

• Retirement Records: A new House bill would give anyone who left federal service on or after January 20, 2025 a four-year window to get missing SF-50s and benefits records fixed through OPM, as OPM reports its retirement backlog fell to 8,814 claims, the lowest level in its published monthly data.

• RIFs and Administrative Leave: The State Department Inspector General found that USAGM's June 2025 RIF notices had to be rescinded for errors and that 420 employees were still on paid administrative leave in July at a cost of $3.2 million every two weeks. Story 3 covers what the RIF and administrative-leave rules require.

Top Stories:

1. The First Circuit Stays the Order That Kept the VA–AFGE Contract Alive Past August 8 — the Judge Decided a Contract Question She Likely Could Not Reach While the Case Was on Appeal

Source: Government Executive, October 5, 2026

TL;DR: On Friday, October 2, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit granted the Department of Veterans Affairs' motion to stay an August 7, 2026 enforcement order in American Federation of Government Employees Local 2305 v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, No. 1:25-cv-00583 (D.R.I.). That order from Judge Melissa DuBose had found that the parties' communications satisfied the master collective bargaining agreement's automatic-extension clause, so the agreement continued past its August 8, 2026 end date even though the VA had announced it would treat the contract as terminated for all VA employees as of that day. The panel held that the enforcement order "likely modified" the March 13 preliminary injunction because it "raise[d] new substantive issues" and "resolv[ed] disputed facts" that did not exist when the injunction issued, and that once an appeal has been taken a district court "ordinarily may not alter the judgment under review" without the appellate court's leave. The court did not decide whether the contract was in fact extended; it wrote that "there remains an unresolved dispute between the parties" on that question and that it "express[es] no view" on how the stay affects the VA's pending appeal of the injunction itself. The underlying preliminary injunction, which the First Circuit largely left in place on May 16, ordered the VA to reinstate the agreement for the remainder of its agreed-upon term.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you work at the VA, expect the department to treat the master agreement as expired as of August 8, 2026 unless a court says otherwise. Check with your local union on any pending grievance, arbitration, or contract-based protection.
• Your statutory rights do not depend on the contract. Adverse-action appeal rights to the MSPB, the 45-day EEO counselor deadline, and whistleblower protections through OSC exist by statute and regulation, not by agreement.
• This is not the end of the case. The First Circuit said the extension question remains "unresolved," it did not decide it, and the VA's appeal of the March preliminary injunction is still pending.

Legal Insight

Appellate courts may review district court orders "granting, continuing, modifying, refusing or dissolving injunctions," 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1), and once such an appeal is filed the district court generally cannot change the injunction without the appellate court's permission; that procedural rule, not the merits of the union's claim, decided Friday's motion. The VA's authority to end the contract traces to Executive Order 14251 (March 27, 2025), issued under 5 U.S.C. § 7103(b)(1), which lets the President exclude an agency from the federal labor-relations statute on national-security grounds. Without a collective bargaining agreement there is no negotiated grievance procedure under 5 U.S.C. § 7121(a)(1), so a VA employee facing a proposed removal, suspension, or demotion should assume the statutory routes — an MSPB appeal under 5 U.S.C. § 7513(d) for Title 5 employees, or the separate title 38 process for VA medical professionals — are the ones available, and should consult a federal employment attorney before any response deadline runs.

2. A New House Bill Would Give Recently Separated Feds Four Years to Get Missing SF-50s and Benefits Records Fixed — as OPM's Retirement Backlog Hits Its Lowest Level on Record

Source: Federal News Network, October 5, 2026

TL;DR: Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) is sponsoring the Federal Employee Records Relief Act, a new House bill reported by Federal News Network on Monday. The bill text posted on his House website would let any "covered individual" — someone who separated from federal employment "for any reason on or after January 20, 2025" — ask OPM to provide copies of personnel records including separation SF-50s, to complete "administrative correction" of a missing, incomplete, or erroneous record that affects separation, position, pay, or leave status or benefits enrollment and termination dates, and to provide written information on benefits coverage end dates and continuation options. OPM's Retirement Services office would run the program, other agencies would have to furnish records on request, and requests could be filed for four years after enactment, including by annuitants. The bill is limited to administrative fixes and does not require any agency to change how a separation was characterized "absent a final order, settlement, or other binding legal determination." The backdrop is OPM's own September processing report: the agency received 8,080 retirement claims, processed 13,227, and ended the fiscal year with 8,814 claims pending, down from a peak of 65,237 in February. FedSmith, which tracks the reports, says that is the lowest backlog in OPM's published data, which goes back to 2012. Average processing time was 66 days in September; digital claims took 56 days and paper claims 149.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you left federal service since January 20, 2025 and your SF-50, leave payout, or benefits paperwork is wrong or missing, this bill is not law yet. You already have a right under the Privacy Act to see your records and request corrections, and your former agency's HR office remains the first stop.
• If you are planning to retire, file digitally through OPM's Online Retirement Application. OPM's September report shows digital claims moving far faster than paper.
• Keep your own copies of your eOPF, SF-50s, leave and earnings statements, and benefits elections before your last day; the problems the bill targets are records that were never issued or could not be found after separation.

Legal Insight

The Privacy Act already requires an agency that maintains a system of records to let you review and copy your own record and to let you request amendment of a record you believe is "not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete," acknowledging the request within 10 working days and either correcting the record or explaining the refusal and how to seek review. 5 U.S.C. § 552a(d)(1)–(3). Health-insurance continuation after separation is also existing law: 5 U.S.C. § 8905a lets most separated employees elect temporary continuation of FEHB coverage, generally within 60 days of the separation or of the agency's required notice, for up to 18 months. The bill would add a dedicated OPM process and a four-year window on top of those rights; it would not reopen whether a separation was lawful.

3. State's Inspector General: USAGM Sent RIF Notices It Had to Rescind for Errors, and 420 Employees Were Still on Paid Administrative Leave in July — Here Is What the RIF and Administrative-Leave Rules Require

Source: Government Executive, October 5, 2026

TL;DR: In a September 2026 evaluation (AUD-AFA-IB-26-25), the State Department's Office of Inspector General found that the U.S. Agency for Global Media "did not apply key practices" when it reduced operations under Executive Order 14238. The day after the order, USAGM placed 994 of its 1,147 federal employees on administrative leave and canceled 594 of 602 personal-services contracts. In June 2025 it sent RIF notices to 639 employees but had to rescind them "because of errors"; implementation-team members told the IG that USAGM "did not follow guidance from the Office of Personnel Management on performing RIFs and did not consider collective bargaining agreements," and one said they were removed from the team after raising that concern. Updated notices went to 532 employees in August 2025. According to the report, a federal judge in Washington ruled on March 7, 2026 that the August RIF was null and void and ordered employees back to work, and the D.C. Circuit stayed the return-to-work portion on March 31. As of July 30, 2026, 420 affected employees remained on paid administrative leave, at an estimated cost of $3.2 million every two weeks, and the IG found that recalls from leave happened "on an ad hoc basis," including Persian-language staff recalled when the Iran conflict began.

For federal employees, this means:

• A RIF notice has required contents and a required notice period. A notice that is wrong on your competitive area, retention standing, or effective date can be challenged, and an agency that gets it wrong may have to start over, as USAGM did.
• Paid administrative leave has rules. The statute caps it at 10 workdays per calendar year, and Congress said in 2016 that it "should be used sparingly." If you have been on leave for months, ask in writing what authority the agency is using and when you will be returned to duty or given a decision you can appeal.
• Keep every notice, rescission, and recall letter. The dates on those documents control your appeal rights.

Legal Insight

A competing employee selected for release in a RIF is entitled to "a specific written notice at least 60 full days before the effective date of release," 5 C.F.R. § 351.801(a)(1), and the Administrative Leave Act provides that "[d]uring any calendar year, an agency may place an employee in administrative leave for a period of not more than a total of 10 work days," 5 U.S.C. § 6329a(b)(1). Where a RIF appeal goes now depends on the date of the notice: for RIF notices issued on or after September 2, 2026, OPM's revised 5 C.F.R. § 351.901 sends the appeal to OPM and makes that the "sole and exclusive" route, while earlier RIFs, including USAGM's 2025 notices, remain MSPB matters. Either way the window is short, generally 30 days from the effective date, so anyone who receives a RIF notice should consult a federal employment attorney or their representative before the effective date, not after.

Mindful Moment of the Day

After the Headline Reverses

One week you read that the contract still stands; the next, a court has paused that order. Notice what your body does as the headline lands: the jaw tightens, the breath goes shallow, the mind starts drafting worst cases. Pause there. Feel your feet on the floor and take three slow breaths, letting each exhale run a little longer than the inhale. Then say one plain sentence to yourself: "Today, my job is the work in front of me." Before the day ends, take one small step that is yours to take: save a copy of your latest SF-50, or write down a date you've been carrying in your head. Mindfulness here does not mean ignoring the news; it means meeting it without letting it run your whole day.  

In Case You Missed It

A few quick hits from our recent posts:

FEHB Premiums Rise 10.9% for 2027 as Pay Freeze Looms: 3 Moves Before Open Season Ends

Judge Orders Bureau of Prisons to Reinstate Union Contract Through May 2029

AFGE Sues EPA Over Discipline of 139 Employees Who Signed a Dissent Letter

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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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