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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. OPM Proposes Five-Day “Suitability” Removals that Bypass Normal Title 5 Discipline

Recently OPM has issued a proposed rule that would let agencies discharge current employees within five workdays if they are found to violate the same “suitability and fitness” standards used to screen new hires. Offenses range from late tax filings to misuse of government equipment; appeals would go to the Merit Systems Protection Board under a far narrower standard than Chapter 75 cases. Acting Director Chuck Ezell framed the plan as closing a loophole that lets “insiders” keep jobs an applicant could never get. Critics call it an attempt to short-circuit due-process rights and chill whistleblowing. Federal News Network

Legal Insight:

Because the rule is already in the Federal Register, agencies may start flagging cases while the 30-day comment window runs. Employees who receive a “suitability referral” should respond in writing and immediately consult counsel—MSPB review would focus on whether the referral meets OPM’s criteria, not on broader fairness issues. Probationary employees would lose virtually all appeal avenues; tenured staff would keep limited MSPB review but no interim pay. Unions can demand bargaining over procedures and appropriate arrangements under 5 U.S.C. § 7106(b)(2)-(3). Submitting concise, evidence-backed comments before the deadline can still shape the final rule. Federal employees should be especially cautious about issues like late tax filings, misuse of government equipment or cards, falsifying documents, or undisclosed debts or arrests—any of which could now trigger a five-day “suitability” removal under OPM’s proposed rule.

2. Audit of DOGE Code at Social Security

Democratic Senators Whitehouse, Warren, and Wyden have moved to force an independent, line-by-line review of every software module DOGE implanted in SSA’s networks through the Protecting Seniors Data Act of 2025. The bill gives the agency twelve months to seal any backdoors and certify that no citizen or employee data were exposed. Hill staff warn that, if serious flaws surface, next year’s appropriations could be conditioned on rapid fixes and tighter cyber-hygiene metrics. Who knows if it will pass, but it is a step in the right direction. FedScoop

Legal Insight:

SSA employees should keep contemporaneous notes if you are asked to waive a control or rush a certification—whistleblower shields in 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8) protect you when you report a potential violation. If breach notices go out, workers whose own PII is involved may file a Privacy Act damages claim just like the public, so watch for those letters and preserve evidence of any resulting costs.

3. IRS Budget Seeks 11,000 New Phone Agents While Eliminating 20% of Workforce

IRS told Congress it needs an $852 million infusion to hire 11,000 customer-service representatives so that phone-answer rates do not collapse during the 2026 filing season. The same plan aims to cut the IRS from nearly 97,000 employees to about 78,000 employees — a staffing cut of about 20%. Former commissioners testified that gutting in-house tech talent while rewriting large sections of the tax code risks system failures and compliance shortfalls. Lawmakers in both parties have voiced skepticism but have not ruled out the request. Federal News Network

Legal Insight:

A Reduction-in-Force becomes all but inevitable if these cuts are enacted, so IT and support staff should verify that their Official Personnel Folders list correct veterans’ preference, performance ratings and service-computation dates—the data that drive retention standing. Employees spared a RIF but given markedly different duties can request a desk audit; if downgraded they may be entitled to two-year grade retention under 5 U.S.C. § 5362. 

Mindful Moment of the Day: 

Breath-Count Resilience Before RIF Announcements  

When an all-hands email flags “organizational update,” your limbic system can spike before the message even loads. Pause; breathe in through the nose for a four-count, hold one beat, breathe out gently for five—repeat six times. The extended exhale activates the vagal brake, tamping down adrenaline and widening cognitive bandwidth so you can parse the actual memo instead of catastrophizing. Data from NIH workplace-stress studies show this 55-second pattern cuts heart-rate variability peaks by nearly 20 percent, translating to clearer judgment about whether you need to call HR, your union rep, or simply file the note and move on with your day.