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Top Three News Stories:

1. OPM Fast-Tracks Removals Under a New Suitability Rule

On June 3 the Office of Personnel Management published a draft regulation that would let agencies ask OPM to designate an employee “unsuitable” and then compel the agency to fire that worker within five workdays. The proposal broadens the types of misconduct that can trigger a referral—adding tax delinquency, mishandling classified information, and certain off-duty conduct—and authorizes OPM to impose a government-wide hiring ban on the affected individual. Unions immediately blasted the plan as a politicized shortcut that shifts firing power from career officials to political appointees; comments are due by July 3, 2025. Reuters

Legal Insight:

Anyone who receives a suitability notice should first contact an experienced federal-employment attorney, because a five-day window leaves virtually no room to fix mistakes later. Although OPM is trying to accelerate removals, federal law still guarantees notice, access to the evidence, and a meaningful opportunity to reply, and early litigation is expected to argue that the draft rule conflicts with those statutory rights and the Fifth Amendment’s due-process clause. The 30-day Merit Systems Protection Board appeal period begins on the effective date of the removal, so agencies could set that date almost immediately once the rule is final; gathering personnel records, performance appraisals, and the complete investigative file before the clock starts will be essential for a viable appeal. 

2. OPM’s Merit Hiring Plan Adds an Optional “Favorite Trump Policy” Essay Question

A June 3 Government Executive report revealed that OPM’s new Merit Hiring Plan—as part of a broader shift toward skills-based assessments—invites many applicants to submit an essay describing the Trump-era policy they most admire. The plan also instructs agencies to hit an 80-day time-to-hire target and limits the demographic data that can be shared with diversity offices. Employee-rights advocates and several House Democrats condemned the essay as a political litmus test that threatens the civil service’s non-partisan foundation, while OPM insists the question is voluntary and merely gauges “civic alignment.” Agencies must file implementation road maps by June 30. Government Executive

Legal Insight:

Federal hiring decisions may not be based on partisan considerations under the Civil Service Reform Act or the Hatch Act, so applicants who feel pressured to answer the essay should preserve the vacancy announcement, interview notes, and rating sheets and consult counsel before filing an Office of Special Counsel complaint or MSPB appeal. Forced viewpoint statements can also implicate the First Amendment; a rejection that turns on political loyalty could support a mixed-motive discrimination claim or a prohibited-personnel-practice charge. Agencies that use the essay should segregate it from scoring and document that it had no bearing on rankings to reduce litigation exposure. 

3. The Supreme Court Considers an Emergency Request to Unfreeze Government-Wide RIFs

Late on June 3 the administration asked Justice Kagan to stay a Ninth-Circuit injunction that is blocking agencies from carrying out reductions-in-force ordered by the latest workforce-reduction executive order. The government argues that the freeze costs millions of dollars a day and intrudes on the President’s authority to manage the civil service; unions counter that the order violates statutory merit-system safeguards. A response brief is due on June 9, after which the Court could rule at any time, meaning agencies cannot set new RIF effective dates until the justices act. AP News

Legal Insight:

Employees who have received tentative RIF notices—or who are in units flagged for downsizing—should speak with a federal-employment attorney now, because a sudden stay could allow agencies to make the RIF effective within days. Under 5 C.F.R. Part 351, tenure group, veterans’ preference, and recent performance ratings determine retention order, so workers should gather SF-50s and appraisal records before the suspense period tightens. The MSPB filing deadline remains 30 days from the RIF’s effective date, but a rapid rollout could leave little time to build a record; early legal guidance can help identify “bump-and-retreat” slots and potential injunction arguments if agencies cut corners to meet budget targets.

Mindful Moment of the Day: 

Meeting-Room Presence 

The next time a status meeting tilts toward conflict—budget cuts, performance ratings, RIF rumors—test this stealth anchor: lightly press index finger to thumb, feeling the pulse at that contact point for three full breaths. Interoceptive focus like this shifts activity from the amygdala to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the brain region that weighs words before they fly. You’ll notice the room’s tension without absorbing it, letting you ask clarifying questions instead of launching a defensive monologue that lands in the minutes. Colleagues register your calm as authority, and the discussion steers back to facts faster—an edge that matters whether you’re a GS-9 analyst or SES briefing the Hill.