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Our online community now tops 150,000 federal workers and supporters across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Each briefing distills the day’s most consequential developments, adds clear-eyed legal analysis, and pairs it with mindfulness tools that keep you steady no matter how turbulent the news cycle becomes. If this newsletter helps you stay informed, please pass it on: https://fedlegalhelp.com/newsletter. Your advocacy broadens the protective circle for every federal employee.

Top Three News Stories:

1. Appeals Court Clears Trump’s Anti-Union Executive Order

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit stayed a lower-court injunction and allowed President Trump’s order barring collective-bargaining rights at most civilian agencies to take effect. The panel said national-security justifications outweighed unions’ retaliation claims, echoing a May decision from the D.C. Circuit. AFGE and NTEU vowed to seek en banc review and warned that two-thirds of the federal workforce could lose negotiated grievance procedures within weeks. Agencies covered by the order must file implementation plans with OPM by August 18. AP News

Legal Insight: 

The order suspends recognition of affected unions but does not cancel existing Merit Systems Protection Board, EEO or whistle-blower protections—employees retain individual appeal rights.  Agency management should generally still honor active collective-bargaining agreements until the Federal Labor Relations Authority issues a de-certification notice.  Dues withholding stops once recognition ends generally.

2. Competing Head-Count Reports Sow Confusion Over Scope of Downsizing

OPM told reporters that 154,000 employees have exited through the Deferred Resignation Program this year, while a Senate Homeland Security investigation pegs the figure at about 200,000.  Hours later, the Partnership for Public Service issued its own tally—148,000—based on agency press releases and court filings.  OPM Director Scott Kupor said on Fox Business he expects departures to “more than double” by year’s end as hiring remains frozen.  Analysts fault the administration for shifting FedScope data categories, making apples-to-apples comparisons harder. Federal News Network

Legal Insight:  

DRP participants stay on the rolls—and accrue service credit—until their effective resignation date (most are Sept. 30 or Dec. 31).  If a participant  is recalled before that date, agencies must recalculate lump-sum leave and VSIP eligibility under 5 U.S.C. § 5595.   Components that lost 20 % of staff can apply to OPM for direct-hire authority to backfill “mission-critical” gaps despite the freeze.  Congress is already seeking IG audits of DRP costs; remind clients to keep documentation of any overtime or contract costs incurred to cover vacancies.

3. DoD’s Technical-Information Center will RIF 80% of its Civilian Staff.

The Pentagon announced that the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) will retain only 40 of its 193 civilian employees, issuing RIF notices to the remainder by August 25.  Officials said the cut—part of a broader efficiency drive—will save $25 million and “refocus DTIC on its core statutory mission.”  The move follows similar downsizing at the Operational Test & Evaluation office earlier this year.  Unions warned that losing subject-matter experts could hinder the military’s ability to share research data across services. Defense One

Legal Insight:

RIF separations must follow 5 C.F.R. Part 351: 60-day written notice, veterans’ preference, and “bump-and-retreat” rights within DTIC’s competitive area.  Employees receiving notices should request their retention-register ranking in writing to verify accuracy of service computation dates and performance scores.  Career staff may be eligible for DoD Priority Placement or Interagency Career Transition assistance; applications must be filed before the effective RIF date.  VSIP recipients who later accept another federal job within five years must repay the incentive, so weigh all offers carefully.

Mindful Moment of the Day: 

Mindful Noise Management in Open Offices  

When the bullpen erupts—phones ringing, printers churning, a colleague recounting last night’s game—treat the clamor as a mindfulness bell, not an aggression trigger. Pause typing, feel the vibration of each sound on your eardrums, and silently label it “hearing … hearing.” This deliberate shift from aversion to observation recruits the insula, the brain’s sensory hub, and dampens the amygdala’s fight-or-flight surge within 90 seconds. You’ll return to the FOIA spreadsheet with pulse steadied and cognition intact, while coworkers wonder how you kept composure without noise-canceling headphones.