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

• Telework Ruling: An arbitrator ordered the Forest Service to restore telework and remote work for nearly 20,000 employees, finding the agency broke both its union contract and the Telework Enhancement Act when it canceled those agreements in 2025.

• RIF Rehiring: The State Department is recruiting for many of the same jobs it cut in last summer's reduction in force, and laid-off employees say they are being passed over — putting a spotlight on reemployment-priority rights after a RIF.

• Health Benefits: A new OPM rule is now in effect requiring you to prove a family member's eligibility with documents every time you add them to FEHB or Postal Service coverage — including during Open Season.

Top Stories:

1. Arbitrator Orders the Forest Service to Restore Telework for Nearly 20,000 Employees

Source: Federal News Network, July 13, 2026

TL;DR: A third-party arbitrator has ordered the U.S. Forest Service to restore telework and remote work agreements for close to 20,000 employees represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE). In a decision issued July 10, 2026, Arbitrator Robert T. Simmelkjaer found that the agency violated its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with NFFE, as well as the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, when it issued return-to-office (RTO) orders in early 2025 and then rescinded existing telework and remote work agreements. The contract lets management change, suspend, or terminate a telework arrangement only for reasons tied to an individual employee's performance or conduct, and requires advance notice and a stated reason; the arbitrator found the 2025 orders were unilateral and not based on individual circumstances. He also concluded the agency's actions were an unfair labor practice and a prohibited personnel practice that violated merit system principles. The order directs the Forest Service to restore telework and remote work, restore leave balances, give employees who left because of the orders an opportunity to rejoin, and post a signed notice acknowledging the violation. The Forest Service has 30 days to decide whether to appeal and, as of the report, had not said whether it would. Arbitrators reached similar results against the Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development earlier this year.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you are an NFFE-represented Forest Service employee whose telework or remote work was canceled in 2025, the ruling orders those arrangements — and any lost leave — restored; watch for implementation guidance from the agency and your local union, and note the agency's 30-day window to challenge the award.

• Telework terms written into a union contract remain enforceable through the negotiated grievance and arbitration process even when a broad RTO directive is issued — the contract still controls how and when management can end an arrangement.

• If you left the agency because of the RTO order, the decision contemplates a chance to return; keep your separation paperwork and watch for how the agency handles any rejoin offers.

Legal Insight:

The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-292, codified at 5 U.S.C. §§ 6501–6506) requires each executive agency to establish a telework policy, but it does not displace the bargaining obligations and contract terms that govern conditions of employment. Under the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, an agency that unilaterally changes a negotiated condition of employment can commit an unfair labor practice (5 U.S.C. § 7116(a)(1), (5)), and contract disputes run through the negotiated grievance procedure and binding arbitration (5 U.S.C. § 7121). The agency's avenue now is to file exceptions to the award with the Federal Labor Relations Authority within 30 days (5 U.S.C. § 7122; 5 C.F.R. § 2425.2).

2. The State Department Is Hiring for Jobs It Cut Last Year — and Laid-Off Employees Ask About Their Priority Rights

Source: Federal News Network, July 10, 2026

TL;DR: A year after roughly 1,350 State Department employees received reduction-in-force (RIF) notices, the department is recruiting again for many of the same roles. Laid-off employees who spoke with Federal News Network said the department has not reached out to them and that their job applications have gone unanswered. About 80% of the cuts fell on civil service employees, many of them regional or subject-matter specialists. The department launched a Foreign Service recruitment campaign in April and signed a roughly $1 million contract with a private recruiting firm to draw 600 to 1,000 candidates to the Foreign Service Officer Test. One former official said many postings are open only to internal applicants, which he argued bypasses the mechanism that would otherwise require the department to consider laid-off employees; a department spokesperson said separated employees face "no restrictions" on applying. The account raises a practical question for anyone separated by a RIF: what priority am I owed when my agency starts hiring again?

For federal employees, this means:

• A RIF eliminates positions, not people — competitive-service employees separated by a RIF are generally entitled to placement on their agency's Reemployment Priority List (RPL) and to consideration ahead of most outside candidates for jobs they are qualified for, but you usually must register and keep your information current.

• If you were separated or downgraded, you may also hold CTAP/ICTAP selection priority for vacancies in the local commuting area; the Foreign Service runs under a separate personnel system, so Foreign Service officers should check their own reemployment rules rather than assume the competitive-service rules apply.

• Preserve your RIF notice and separation documents, confirm in writing whether a given posting is open to status candidates or internal-only, and remember that a RIF action itself is appealable to the MSPB.

Legal Insight:

RIF rules require agencies to run reductions by tenure, veterans' preference, length of service, and performance (5 U.S.C. § 3502; 5 C.F.R. Part 351), and separated competitive-service employees are entitled to reemployment consideration through the Reemployment Priority List (5 C.F.R. Part 330, Subpart B) and to CTAP/ICTAP priority (5 C.F.R. Part 330, Subparts F and G). An employee who believes the RIF procedures were not followed may appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, generally within 30 days of the action's effective date (5 C.F.R. § 351.901; 5 C.F.R. § 1201.22). Because reemployment-priority rights carry registration steps and short deadlines that are easy to miss, an employee who has been through a RIF should consider speaking with a federal employment attorney.

3. A New OPM Rule Is Now in Effect — You Must Document a Family Member's Eligibility Every Time You Add Them to FEHB

Source: Federal Register (OPM final rule, 91 Fed. Reg. 32,875), June 2, 2026

TL;DR: As of July 2, 2026, a final Office of Personnel Management (OPM) rule requires enrollees to submit documents proving a family member's eligibility every time they add that person to Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) or Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) coverage — including during Open Season, not only after a qualifying life event (QLE, such as marriage, birth, or adoption). Enrollees must also document the QLE itself before adding someone based on it. The rule (91 Fed. Reg. 32,875, published June 2, 2026; effective July 2, 2026) implements Section 90101 of the FEHB Protection Act of 2025, which directed OPM to stand up a verification process by July 4, 2026. Acceptable proof includes government-issued marriage and birth certificates, adoption or foster paperwork, tax returns for adult children under 26, and, for a disabled adult child, a medical certification of incapacity for self-support. If an enrollee does not provide adequate documentation, the employing office, OPM, or the carrier may remove the individual from the enrollment. OPM has said the change responds to a 2022 Government Accountability Office finding that ineligible family members were receiving benefits with no monitoring mechanism in place.

For federal employees, this means:

• Before your next Open Season this fall — or any mid-year change — gather eligibility documents now (a marriage certificate for a spouse, birth certificates for children), because you will need them to add a family member even if that person was covered under a prior enrollment.

• A qualifying life event will require two kinds of proof: documentation of the event and separate documentation that the new family member is eligible.

• If a family member is removed for lack of documentation, you have 60 days from the initial decision to request reconsideration from the employing office or OPM — and that reconsideration is final, so respond quickly and completely.

Legal Insight:

The rule amends the FEHB regulations to require documentary proof of family-member eligibility and to authorize removal of undocumented individuals (5 C.F.R. § 890.308; 5 C.F.R. § 890.1608 for the PSHB Program), implementing Section 90101 of the FEHB Protection Act of 2025 (Pub. L. No. 119-21) under OPM's FEHB rulemaking authority (5 U.S.C. § 8913). A reconsideration request must be filed within 60 days of the initial removal decision, and the reconsideration decision is final within the agency. Because a removal can leave a spouse or child without coverage and the reconsideration window is short, an enrollee facing removal of a family member should consider consulting a federal employment or benefits attorney.

Mindful Moment of the Day

The Commute Decompression

After a difficult in-office day, the commute home can become a replay booth for everything that went wrong. Your mind may return to the meeting, the email, the backlog, or the look on someone’s face. Before starting the car, boarding transit, or walking away from the building, take one minute to mark the transition. Feel your keys, badge, bag, or phone in your hand. Breathe out and say, “Work is real, and I am leaving it for now.” This does not erase the day. It gives your body permission to stop carrying the office at full volume into the rest of your life. 

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