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Top Three News Stories:

1. Inspector General Report Finds Widespread Telework-Compliance Failures

An Office of Personnel Management inspector-general evaluation released on Friday documents “rampant abuse” of remote-work rules during the Biden administration. Although we have not reviewed the methodology, the report does not appear to address the actual impact on work or results. Acting OPM Director Chuck Ezell said new internal controls and full-time return-to-office mandates ordered by President Trump in January are already in place to correct the lapses. The IG urged tighter HR oversight and periodic audits to stop potential fraud and time-and-attendance violations. OPM

Legal Insight:

Telework remains governed by the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, which requires written agreements and agency-level monitoring. Bargaining-unit employees may have a statutory right to negotiate implementation and impact, so labor-relations staff should be prepared for demand-to-bargain requests but can still impose changes needed for “necessary functioning” of the agency. Misuse findings can support discipline for lack of candor or other liability.

2. D.C. Circuit Allows Executive Order Curbing Foreign-Service Union Rights to Proceed

On Sunday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stayed a district-court injunction that had blocked President Trump’s executive order limiting collective-bargaining rights at the State Department and USAID. The court held that national-security deference under the Foreign Service Act makes the administration likely to prevail on the merits, permitting the order to take effect while the appeal continues. The decision is a setback for the American Foreign Service Association, whose challenge to the order is still pending on full review. The panel emphasized that foreign-policy staffing touches core Article II powers, warranting “exceedingly deferential” judicial review. FedSmith

Legal Insight:

Federal unions should expect agencies to rely on this ruling when invoking the 5 U.S.C. § 7112(B) “national-security” exemption to exclude positions from bargaining-unit coverage. Until the appeal is decided on the merits (or the Supreme Court intervenes), employees affected by the order may see limits on grievance procedures and official time; they should consult counsel promptly to preserve timelines at the FLRA or MSPB. Agencies must still satisfy statutory notice-and-consultation duties for any change in working conditions that is not covered by the executive order. Because the stay is interim, practitioners should watch for the court’s eventual opinion on justiciability and presidential discretion, which could redefine the interplay between labor statutes and national-security authority.

3. NIH Will Withdraw Funding and Stewardship of HIV Treatment Guidelines by June 2026

The National Institutes of Health’s Office of AIDS Research told outside panelists it will phase out NIH management and financial support for the U.S. HIV clinical-practice guidelines over the next year, citing budget pressures and “revised priorities.” Doctors and advocates interviewed Saturday warned that shifting oversight to another HHS component could weaken timely updates that shape insurance coverage and patient care for more than a million Americans living with HIV. The guidelines website now states that content is being revised “to comply with Executive Orders,” raising concern that sections covering transgender health and other sensitive topics may be altered. HHS officials have not clarified how the guidelines will be maintained post-transition. Washington Post

Legal Insight:

Federal employees involved in grants, clinical trials or benefits determinations should prepare for possible Freedom of Information Act and Federal Advisory Committee Act implications if the expert panels are re-chartered elsewhere in HHS. From a workforce standpoint, any content changes affecting protected classes may trigger Title VII litigation risks.

Mindful Moment of the Day: 

Values-Aligned Goal Setting    

On Monday mornings, list your three priority tasks—then beside each, write the underlying value it serves: transparency, fiscal stewardship, veterans’ care, public safety. Behavioral-economics data from a DHS pilot showed that employees who link duties to personal or agency values logged 37 % more focused work blocks and reported higher morale on FEVS surveys. The brain’s motivation circuitry fires longer when it can see the “why” behind the “what,” turning that half-finished CFR analysis from a checkbox into a mission-aligned act of service. Try it for a month; watch procrastination melt and purpose compound like TSP interest.