Attorneys for Federal Employees — Nationwide
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Today at a Glance
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OPM’s FOIA Backlog: A ProPublica investigation found OPM’s public-records office has been gutted by staffing cuts, leaving simple records requests waiting an average of 84 days — twice as long as a year ago.
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Paid Family Leave: Senate Democrats introduced a companion bill offering federal employees 12 weeks of paid family leave each year, but it drops a House provision covering domestic-violence and stalking survivors.
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Overseas Housing Standards: A GAO report found the State Department hasn’t updated the space standards for employee housing abroad since 1991, potentially overpaying for larger residences than needed.
Top Stories:
1. OPM’s Public Records Office Collapsed — and Federal Employees’ Own FOIA Requests Are Stuck in the Wreckage
Source: Government Executive (ProPublica), August 18, 2026
TL;DR: The Office of Personnel Management’s Freedom of Information Act office has been hollowed out by two years of staffing cuts, and the agency’s own data shows the damage. According to OPM’s workforce figures, more than 600 government information specialists — the employees across the federal government who administer FOIA and Privacy Act requests — have resigned or been fired since the start of the administration. At OPM itself, 12 information specialists left, seven of them laid off, with only one new hire to replace them. The backlog has grown accordingly: OPM ended fiscal year 2025 with more than 1,600 pending FOIA requests, seven times the backlog at the end of fiscal year 2024, and the average processing time for a routine request stretched past 84 days. A ProPublica investigation published through Government Executive on August 18 documented one frequent requester’s monthslong ordeal — dead email inboxes, a malfunctioning contractor-run web portal, and no response from OPM itself to a request for comment. The requester, who has used FOIA routinely for years to track federal appointees, said the process that once involved a simple email now resembles a “shell game.”
For federal employees, this means:
- If you file a FOIA request with OPM for your own personnel file, background investigation record, or other agency-held documents, expect delays well beyond the statutory response window.
- A missed deadline does not mean you have to keep waiting — federal law lets you treat it as a constructive denial and move forward.
- Keep dated records of every request, portal error, and unanswered email; that documentation matters if you later need to show the agency missed its legal deadline.
Legal Insight
FOIA requires an agency to determine whether it will comply with a request within 20 working days of receipt and to notify the requester of that determination, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i). When an agency fails to meet that deadline, the requester is deemed to have constructively exhausted administrative remedies and may go directly to federal district court to compel disclosure, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(C)(i), § 552(a)(4)(B). With OPM’s reported average now more than four times the statutory window, most current requesters likely already qualify for that remedy. If you need OPM records to support an EEO complaint, an MSPB appeal, or another proceeding and the agency has gone silent, talk to a federal employment attorney about compelling production rather than waiting out the backlog.
2. Senate Democrats’ Paid Family Leave Bill Drops the Domestic Violence Provision the House Bill Has
Source: Government Executive, August 17, 2026
TL;DR: Legislation to give federal employees paid family leave took another step forward last week, but the Senate’s version is narrower than the House’s. In June, a bipartisan group of House members introduced the Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act, H.R. 9261, which would provide federal workers up to 12 weeks of paid family leave each year to address a serious health condition, care for a family member with one, attend to a family member’s active-duty military deployment, or help a family member who is a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Last month, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, and seven other Senate Democrats introduced the Senate companion, S. 5168, which mirrors the health-condition and military-deployment provisions but removes the domestic-violence, sexual-assault, and stalking language entirely. Schatz said current law forces federal workers “to make the impossible choice between caring for their families and keeping their jobs.” Despite the narrower scope, AFGE National President Everett Kelley and NTEU National President Doreen Greenwald both endorsed the Senate bill, citing benefits for recruitment and retention. Neither bill has been scheduled for a floor vote, and similar past efforts to add paid family leave for federal employees — including during 2019 negotiations over the National Defense Authorization Act — have stalled when the two chambers’ versions diverged.
For federal employees, this means:
- Today’s federal FMLA entitlement remains 12 workweeks of unpaid leave for a serious health condition or to care for a family member’s — that does not change unless and until one of these bills becomes law.
- If a bill does pass, whether leave for domestic-violence, sexual-assault, or stalking situations is covered will depend entirely on which chamber’s language survives negotiation.
- Track the bill numbers directly (H.R. 9261 in the House, S. 5168 in the Senate) for status updates rather than relying on general news coverage, since the details differ meaningfully between the two versions.
Legal Insight
Federal employees’ current leave entitlement for a serious health condition or to care for a family member’s comes from the federal-sector Family and Medical Leave provisions, 5 U.S.C. §§ 6381-6387, which guarantee unpaid leave, not paid leave. Neither H.R. 9261 nor S. 5168 has been enacted, so no additional paid-leave entitlement exists under either bill today, and none will unless Congress reconciles the differences between the chambers and the President signs a final version.
3. GAO Says State Is Still Sizing Overseas Employee Housing to a 1991 Washington Market
Source: Government Executive, August 13, 2026
TL;DR: A Government Accountability Office report found the State Department has not revised the space standards it uses to size government-provided housing for the more than 9,000 Foreign Service and other personnel stationed abroad since 1991 — even though median housing square footage in the Washington, D.C. area, which State uses as its benchmark, has since shrunk while housing costs have outpaced Foreign Service salary growth. State spent nearly $500 million on residential leases abroad in 2025, with 64 percent of overseas housing leased and 36 percent government-owned as of March 2026. GAO also found that State’s method for measuring a unit’s square footage excludes hallways, laundry rooms, and closets — areas most domestic appraisers count — which investigators said could let overseas posts justify larger, costlier housing than employees actually need. Investigators additionally flagged that posts must enter the same housing data into at least three separate, non-integrated systems, causing processing mistakes and delays in lease approvals and waiver requests. GAO recommended State update both its space standards and its measurement method; State agreed to implement both recommendations, and officials told GAO they intend to consolidate the three housing IT systems by the end of the calendar year.
For federal employees, this means:
- If you are a Foreign Service employee or applicant weighing an overseas assignment, your government-provided housing size is based on rank, family size, and your post’s hardship rating — standards GAO says are now overdue for revision.
- The overlapping, non-integrated housing databases have caused real delays in lease approvals and waiver processing; document your own housing correspondence in case you need to dispute a delay or an allowance calculation.
- State’s agreement to implement GAO’s recommendations comes with no deadline in the report, so any change to the standards is likely to be gradual rather than immediate.
Legal Insight
The Secretary of State’s authority to furnish Foreign Service employees with government-owned or leased living quarters abroad derives from 22 U.S.C. § 291, with the specific space-size and cost standards set administratively in the Department of State Standardized Regulations rather than fixed by statute. Employees who instead receive a cash living-quarters allowance in lieu of government housing draw on the separate allowance authority at 5 U.S.C. § 5923.
Legal Tip of the Day
Before You Sign a Last-Chance Agreement
A last-chance agreement can feel like a way to save your job, but it may require giving up important rights. These agreements often include strict conditions, admissions, appeal waivers, resignation terms, or provisions that allow removal after a future alleged violation. Read every clause carefully and ask for time to review the agreement before signing. Pay close attention to deadlines, performance expectations, attendance requirements, confidentiality language, and what happens if the agency claims you breached the agreement. Do not rely on verbal promises that are not written into the document.
In Case You Missed It
A few quick hits from our recent posts:
DoD’s New EEO Pilots: What Defense Employees Should Know Before They File
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Needed, But Not Named: When a Federal Detail Ends After Your Identity Goes Public
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Three Doors: The Only Ways Your Rating of Record Can Change After It Is Issued
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Thinking About Federal Disability Retirement?
If your medical conditions make it hard to safely or consistently perform your federal job—even with accommodations—it may be time to explore OPM/FERS disability retirement.
We help federal employees:
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Decide whether disability retirement is the right path compared to accommodation or reassignment
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Gather and frame medical evidence so it speaks the language OPM expects
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Prepare and submit disability retirement applications and related documentation
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Coordinate strategy when disability retirement interacts with pending discipline, EEO complaints, or MSPB appeals
For most disability retirement matters, we offer full‑service application assistance for a flat fee of $5,000, plus any required costs. In a free consultation, we’ll talk through your health limitations, job duties, and timelines so you understand your options before you commit.
👉 Schedule Your Free Consultation Today
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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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