Attorneys for Federal Employees — Nationwide
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Today at a Glance
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DOL Data Leak: An internal Labor Department memo says a data leak exposed the personal and medical information of nearly 3,150 employees who requested disability accommodations. The data went to a personal email address outside the agency.
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RIF and Suitability Appeals Move to OPM Tomorrow: Two final rules take effect September 2 that shift appeals of reduction-in-force and suitability actions from the Merit Systems Protection Board to OPM itself. A union coalition is suing to stop the overhaul.
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Shutdown Watch: The House returns from recess this week with a stopgap funding vote at the top of its list. Current government funding runs out September 30.
Top Stories:
1. Labor Department Data Leak Exposed Medical Information of Nearly 3,150 Employees Who Sought Disability Accommodations
Source: Government Executive, August 31, 2026
TL;DR: An internal Labor Department talking-points memo obtained by Government Executive says a data leak discovered this summer affected nearly 3,150 employees — all of whom submitted a reasonable accommodation request between October 2023 and June 1, 2026. The department has told employees about an incident on July 22 in which an email containing a spreadsheet of personally identifiable information tied to accommodation requests was sent to an individual's personal email address outside the DOL network, and an initial investigation found that more than one email with this kind of information went to the same address. According to the department, the individual had authorized access to the information for their DOL duties but no authority to send it to a personal account. The spreadsheet included employees' names, duty locations, work email addresses, job titles, supervisor names and emails, pay grades and series, and information about the disabilities or medical conditions behind their accommodation requests. The director of the department's Civil Rights Center told employees that no Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or more specific medical diagnoses were included. DOL says it mailed notification letters to everyone affected; union officials say the department waited about a month after discovering the leak to notify employees and still has not answered basic questions, including who sent the data and why it went out more than once. The leak lands on top of what employees describe as a backlog of hundreds of pending accommodation requests at the department.
For federal employees, this means:
- If you work at Labor and submitted a reasonable accommodation request any time since October 2023, assume you may be in the affected group. Watch your mail for the notification letter and keep it with your records.
- Write down, with dates, anything suggesting your medical information reached people who should not have it — comments from coworkers or supervisors, or changed treatment after the leak became known. Contemporaneous notes are worth far more later than memory.
- Confidentiality of accommodation-related medical information is a legal requirement, not a courtesy. An improper disclosure can itself be the basis of an EEO complaint or a Privacy Act claim, separate from any discipline the sender faces.
Legal Insight. The Rehabilitation Act applies ADA standards to federal agencies, 29 U.S.C. § 791(f), and EEOC regulations require that medical information obtained from employees — including documentation supporting reasonable accommodation requests — be kept on separate forms, in separate medical files, and treated as a confidential medical record. 29 C.F.R. § 1630.14(c)(1). The Privacy Act separately restricts disclosure of covered records without the employee's consent and allows civil suits, including damages for intentional or willful violations. 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b), (g). An EEO claim over an improper medical disclosure starts with contacting an EEO counselor within 45 days of learning of the disclosure, 29 C.F.R. § 1614.105(a)(1), so affected employees weighing their options should consult a federal employment attorney promptly.
2. Two OPM Rules Take Effect Tomorrow — RIF and Suitability Appeals Move From the Merit Systems Protection Board to OPM
Source: Federal Register (OPM final rule, Reduction in Force Appeals), August 3, 2026
TL;DR: Starting Wednesday, September 2, appeals of reduction-in-force (RIF) actions and suitability actions move from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) to OPM itself. Two OPM final rules published August 3 take effect that day: one replaces the Board with OPM as the adjudicator for appeals of RIF separations, demotions, and furloughs of more than 30 days (91 FR 49230), and a companion rule does the same for suitability action appeals. The RIF rule applies only where the agency issues a specific RIF notice on or after September 2, and suitability appeals already filed with the MSPB before that date stay at the Board. Under the new process, Government Executive reports, appeals will be decided on a written record by OPM's Office of Merit System Accountability and Compliance, with final review by the OPM Director — and employees would no longer be able to appeal final decisions in federal court, as they could from the Board. OPM's own tally showed 99% of the roughly 1,250 public comments on the RIF-appeals rule opposed it. On August 24, a coalition of unions led by AFGE, with NFFE, IFPTE, and AFSCME, sued in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, arguing the suitability and performance rules violate the Civil Service Reform Act and the Administrative Procedure Act; the complaint says OPM "has granted itself plenary and, in its view, unreviewable authority to fire employees across the government." As of this briefing, the rules remain on track to take effect while that case proceeds.
For federal employees, this means:
- If you receive a specific RIF notice dated September 2 or later, your appeal now goes to OPM under new procedures in 5 C.F.R. part 351 — not to the MSPB. Read the appeal-rights section of any notice word for word: the forum, the deadline, and the filing rules have all changed.
- Cases already at the Board stay there. A RIF notice issued before September 2, or a suitability appeal filed with the MSPB before that date, proceeds under the old rules.
- The rules state that collateral statutory remedies are preserved. Claims that a RIF or suitability action was really whistleblower retaliation, discrimination, or a veterans' preference violation may still have their own separate routes — which makes choosing the right forum a threshold decision, not an afterthought.
Legal Insight. The prior rule, 5 C.F.R. § 351.901, let an employee who was furloughed more than 30 days, separated, or demoted by RIF appeal to the MSPB; the new subpart I of 5 C.F.R. part 351 replaces that with a record-based appeal decided inside OPM. Suitability actions under 5 C.F.R. part 731 follow the same path under the companion rule. The pending union lawsuit challenges OPM's authority under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706(2), but no ruling has stopped the September 2 effective date. Anyone facing a RIF or suitability action on either side of that line should consult a federal employment attorney before filing anything — the forum and deadline rules differ, and a wrong first filing is hard to undo.
3. Congress Returns This Week With a Stopgap Funding Vote First — Current Funding Runs Out September 30
Source: Federal News Network, August 31, 2026
TL;DR: The House returns to Washington this week from its August recess with a stopgap spending bill at the top of its list. The measure is designed to keep the federal government fully funded through early December, which would take a shutdown off the table before the November midterm elections. The Senate passed a broadly bipartisan continuing resolution running to December 11 before the recess, according to Federal News Network's earlier reporting, while the House had not yet acted. Current appropriations expire at midnight on September 30, the end of the fiscal year. What the House does in the next two weeks will determine how much shutdown risk remains in September — and whether the real funding fight simply moves to December.
For federal employees, this means:
- Nothing changes now. Pay and operations continue as normal through September 30 no matter when the vote happens.
- If Congress does not enact funding by September 30, agencies will activate lapse plans: excepted employees keep working without pay until funding resumes, and furloughed employees must stop working entirely. Watch for your agency's contingency guidance later this month.
- Back pay after a lapse is guaranteed by statute, but it arrives only after the lapse ends. If the stopgap passes, mark early December as the next pressure point and plan your cash cushion accordingly.
Legal Insight. The Antideficiency Act bars agencies from obligating funds in advance of appropriations, 31 U.S.C. § 1341(a), with a narrow exception that lets excepted employees work during a lapse in emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property, 31 U.S.C. § 1342. The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 guarantees both furloughed and excepted employees retroactive pay at the earliest date possible after a lapse ends, 31 U.S.C. § 1341(c). Those protections are automatic — no filing is required to receive back pay.
Mindful Moment of the Day
The Backlog Without Shame
Backlogs can create a quiet sense of shame, especially for mission-driven employees who care about the people waiting on decisions, benefits, claims, inspections, or responses. You may feel like the delay is personal, even when the causes are staffing, systems, policy changes, and volume. When shame shows up, pause and speak to yourself plainly: “I care, and I am one person.” Then choose one concrete action that moves one item forward. Mindfulness helps you hold compassion for the people affected without turning impossible conditions into self-punishment. You can remain responsible without making yourself the entire system.
In Case You Missed It
A few quick hits from our recent posts:
No 2027 Raise for Most Federal Employees: What the Alternative Pay Plan Freeze Means
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Federal Judge Orders DOGE to Turn Over IRS Taxpayer-Data Communications by September 14
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Inside the Unions' Lawsuit Against OPM: Can One Agency Fire You and Hear Your Appeal?
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Facing Harassment or Discrimination?
If you’re dealing with slurs, exclusion, hostile emails, or sudden negative treatment after speaking up, you don’t have to wait until things get unbearable to explore your options.
We regularly represent federal employees in:
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EEO complaints for discrimination, harassment, and hostile work environment
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Retaliation for prior EEO activity or protected conduct
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Reasonable accommodation disputes
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Related discipline or performance issues that follow on the heels of complaints
In your free, confidential consultation, we’ll walk through what’s been happening, key dates (including the short EEO deadlines), and the tools available to you—formal and informal.
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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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