Attorneys for Federal Employees — Nationwide

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Today at a Glance

• USDA Relocations Go Before The Judge Today: Judge Vince Chhabria hears the unions' request for a preliminary injunction at 10 a.m. Pacific, and the stay protecting employees with reassignment letters runs out October 2 unless he extends it. Both sides filed briefs Monday on whether Congress's committee-approval rule binds USDA.

• Rating Cycle Closes Tomorrow: September 30 ends the fiscal 2026 appraisal period for most GS employees, the first under OPM's 40 percent cap on top ratings. Agencies can now approve awards up to $25,000 on their own, ratings can no longer be grieved under a union contract, and comments on OPM's PIP-and-removal rule close tonight.

• Pentagon Personnel Database Breached: Intruders had access to a Defense Manpower Data Center system for nine months, exposing Social Security numbers and other unencrypted records of nearly 3 million people. DMDC holds records on DoD civilians as well as troops; notices are going out.

Top Stories:

1. USDA Relocations Go Before the Judge Today — the Stay Ends October 2 Unless Extended, and Both Sides Just Briefed Whether Congress's Committee-Approval Rule Binds USDA

Source: Federal News Network, September 15, 2026

TL;DR: At 10 a.m. Pacific today, Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco hears the unions' motion for a preliminary injunction against USDA's reorganization, which would move roughly 2,600 Washington-area employees to hubs across the country. His September 14 administrative stay, which runs through October 2, bars USDA from enforcing directed-reassignment deadlines and from firing, separating, disciplining, or marking AWOL any employee "based on the employee's decision to decline reassignment, not to respond to a notice of reassignment, or not to relocate." It covers eight components — Food and Nutrition; Research, Education and Economics; Forest Service; Foreign Agricultural Service; Rural Development; Farm Production and Conservation; General Counsel; and Civil Rights — but not moves within the National Capital Region. On Sunday the judge ordered both sides to explain by Monday how Congress and USDA have treated Section 716 of USDA's appropriations act since 2014, which bars using reprogrammed or transferred funds to relocate employees or reorganize unless the Secretary notifies and "receives approval from the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress at least 30 days in advance." USDA's brief says it has always given notice but "has never refrained from acting in order to obtain or await Congressional appropriations committee approval," reads the approval requirement as an unconstitutional legislative veto under INS v. Chadha, and says it has not used, and does not plan to use through the stopgap that begins October 1, the funding authorities the provision covers. The unions count only three large-scale USDA reorganizations since 2014 and say Congress pushed back each time, including refusing to fund the 2019 move of two research agencies to Kansas City after USDA's Inspector General found it violated the provision.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you hold a directed-reassignment letter in one of the eight covered components, no reporting, accept-or-decline, or relocation deadline can be enforced against you through October 2, and you cannot be fired, disciplined, or marked AWOL for declining or not answering. Keep every notice and watch for a ruling or a stay extension.
• If the injunction is denied and the stay lapses, the deadlines come back. Before the stay, roughly 400 employees with October 5 report dates were due to give USDA a final answer by the close of business on October 2, according to the plaintiffs' filings, so a loss could leave some employees days, not weeks, to decide.
• Declining a directed reassignment outside your commuting area is not a resignation. The agency must propose a removal with written notice, a chance to reply, and a right of appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, which sustains such a removal only if the agency shows the reassignment was ordered for legitimate management reasons. OPM's September 15 correction also restored CTAP priority-placement eligibility for employees facing a proposed removal for declining a directed relocation outside the commuting area.

Legal Insight

Pub. L. No. 119-37, div. B, § 716(a) makes the funds unavailable for a reorganization or relocation carried out through a reprogramming or transfer unless the Secretary "notifies in writing and receives approval" from both Appropriations Committees, and today's fight is over whether the approval half of that sentence is an unconstitutional legislative veto that can be severed, as USDA argues with a 2023 GAO opinion in hand, or a funding condition that stands or falls as a whole, as the unions argue. Civil-service law does not change with the ruling: a removal for failing to accept a directed reassignment is an adverse action under 5 U.S.C. §§ 7512 and 7513, with notice, reply, and MSPB appeal rights, and a discontinued-service annuity is available under 5 U.S.C. § 8414(b)(1)(A) and 5 C.F.R. § 842.206 to an eligible employee who is not offered a reasonable position in the commuting area. If you received a reassignment letter, consult your union representative or a federal employment attorney before October 2 so you know your plan under either outcome.

2. Rating Cycle Closes Tomorrow Under OPM's 40 Percent Cap — Agencies Can Award Up to $25,000 on Their Own, Ratings Can No Longer Be Grieved, and Comments on OPM's PIP-and-Removal Rule Close Tonight

Source: Government Executive, September 28, 2026

TL;DR: Government Executive reported Monday on the second half of OPM's September 21 performance package: a delegation letting agency heads approve individual cash and performance awards between $10,000 and $25,000 without OPM review, provided the head certifies the effort is "highly exceptional and unusually outstanding." The same day, OPM capped the top two rating levels at 40 percent of an agency's career GS, SES, and Senior Professional employees for the fiscal 2026 cycle that ends tomorrow, September 30, and told agencies a Level 5 rating should carry an award of at least 7 percent of basic pay, a Level 4 at least 4 percent, and a Level 3 no more than 3 percent. Separately, the reopened comment period on OPM's proposed rule rewriting performance improvement plans and removal procedures closes today.

For federal employees, this means:

• Tomorrow is the last day of the appraisal period for most GS employees. Get your accomplishments and self-assessment to your supervisor now: a rating of record must be "based only on the evaluation of actual job performance for the designated appraisal period," and the cap limits how many top ratings an agency may issue, not what your standards are.
• Know the calendar after the rating lands. A rating of record is final when issued with the required signatures, and you have 60 days to make an informal request for a change under agency procedures. Since OPM's July rule, a rating of record may not be grieved under the negotiated grievance procedure, so that 60-day window, the agency administrative grievance process, and the EEO process (for a discriminatory or retaliatory rating) are what remain.
• If you or your union planned to comment on the PIP-and-removal rule, today is the day: Docket ID 2025-OPM-0012 on regulations.gov; OPM has said late-filed comments will not be considered.

Legal Insight

The awards delegation rests on 5 U.S.C. § 4502(b), which allows an award over $10,000 and up to $25,000 with OPM approval; awards above $25,000 still need Presidential approval under 5 C.F.R. § 451.107(b). The rating cap rests on 5 C.F.R. § 430.208(c), which lets OPM "establish, and refine as needed, a standardized distribution of some or all rating levels which agencies must apply," while § 430.208(a)(1) still requires each rating to reflect actual performance, § 430.208(i)(1) preserves the 60-day informal request, and § 430.208(k) provides that a rating of record "may not be challenged through the negotiated grievance procedures." If you believe a lowered rating was discriminatory or retaliatory, the 45-day EEO counselor clock in 29 C.F.R. § 1614.105(a)(1) starts when the rating is issued, so talk to your union representative or a federal employment attorney promptly.

3. A Pentagon Personnel Database Was Open to Intruders for Nine Months — Nearly 3 Million People's Social Security Numbers Exposed, and the Privacy Act Sets What DoD Owes Its Workforce

Source: Federal News Network, September 28, 2026

TL;DR: A Pentagon official told Federal News Network on Monday that a breach of a Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) system exposed the personal information of more than 3 million people with ties to the U.S. military. A "small number of unauthorized users" had access from October 2025 to July 2026 through a file-sharing vulnerability discovered July 16 and patched. The unencrypted records included names, contact information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and military jobs for nearly 2.8 million living people and 294,000 who are deceased. The official said there is no indication the information has been misused, that IDX will provide 12 months of credit monitoring, and declined to say who accessed the data or whether those affected belong to any particular group. DMDC maintains records on troops, veterans, current and former civilian employees, contractors, and family members; ABC News reported that the files included details about jobs performed by military and civilian personnel, and notices reviewed by Military Times are dated September 18, according to Military.com.

For federal employees, this means:

• If you are a current or former DoD civilian, watch the mail for a DMDC notice. It says which of your data elements were exposed and how to enroll in the 12 months of IDX monitoring; enroll before the letter's deadline, and keep the letter.
• Whether or not a notice arrives, place a free credit freeze with all three credit bureaus, consider a fraud alert, and treat unexpected calls or emails referencing your job, clearance, or benefits with suspicion; a name, contact details, and a job title are enough to build a convincing phishing message.
• Keep records of any suspicious activity and any out-of-pocket cost of resolving fraud; a Privacy Act claim requires proof of actual, pecuniary damages.

Legal Insight

The Privacy Act requires every agency to "establish appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to insure the security and confidentiality of records," 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(10), and § 552a(g)(1)(D) gives an individual a civil action for a failure that has an adverse effect. For a violation that is "intentional or willful," the United States is liable for actual damages with a $1,000 floor, § 552a(g)(4)(A), and the Supreme Court held in FAA v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 284 (2012), that "actual damages" means proven pecuniary loss, not emotional distress alone. Breach notification and remedies such as credit monitoring are governed by OMB Memorandum M-17-12; if you are unsure whether you are covered, DMDC and your component privacy office are the places to ask.

Mindful Moment of the Day

Before You Write Your Self-Assessment

The rating period closes tomorrow for many of you, and you may be looking at a blank self-assessment, wondering how a whole year of work fits into a few boxes, and whether a cap set somewhere else has already decided the answer. Notice what that thought does in your body: a tight jaw, shallow breath, shoulders creeping up. Before you type anything, put both feet flat on the floor and take three slow breaths, letting each exhale run longer than the inhale. Then say silently, "My job right now is to describe what I actually did." Write down three concrete accomplishments, with dates or numbers where you have them, and send them to your supervisor today. Mindfulness here does not mean pretending the cap does not matter; it means putting your attention on the part that is yours to do.  

In Case You Missed It

A few quick hits from our recent posts:

OPM Capped Top Performance Ratings at 40%. Here's Why It Now Matters in a RIF.

OPM's Replacement for the Loyalty Question, Word for Word: What Federal Job Applicants Should Know

Shutdown Layoffs Off the Table: What the Union Settlement Requires Agencies to Do

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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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