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Top Three News Stories:

1. Agencies Pull Plug on Paid Leave for Voting

Agencies have begun telling employees they may no longer use administrative leave to vote or serve as election workers, reversing a 2021 OPM policy that granted up to four paid hours for those purposes. The notifications cite a March 2025 executive order directing departments to “cease” implementation of the Biden-era voting-leave guidance. Early messages surfaced at the Agriculture Department’s Forest Service, while Interior quietly removed its own online instructions. Employees can still request annual leave, but mission needs will govern approvals. Government Executive

Legal Insight:

Paid voting leave is not guaranteed by statute, so rescinding it is within the President’s management authority absent congressional action. However, disparate enforcement could spur complaints under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(2) if supervisors deny annual-leave requests on partisan grounds. Unions may seek mid-term bargaining because the change alters working conditions negotiated since 2021. Employees with inflexible schedules (e.g., shift workers or remote duty stations far from polls) should document any hardship and request alternative work-schedule accommodations—agencies still have a duty to reasonably adjust hours where feasible. 

2. House Spending Bill Trims—but Still Targets—Key Benefits

The House-passed “Big Beautiful Bill Act” drops two controversial provisions (switching pensions from High-3 to High-5 and raising FERS contributions) but retains four others: ending the FERS annuity supplement after Jan 1 2028 (with grandfathering and law-enforcement carve-outs), a one-time irrevocable “at-will” track for new hires, a $350 MSPB filing fee, and mandatory FEHB dependent-eligibility audits. The bill moves to the Senate in early June, where leadership foresees additional tweaks. Fed Smith 

Legal Insight:

Passage through reconciliation means only 51 Senate votes are needed, so the remaining cuts pose a genuine threat. Courts have historically upheld prospective benefit changes, making the supplement elimination likely to survive, but the at-will option may spark litigation under 5 U.S.C. § 7513 if the higher 9.4 % contribution for traditional protections is deemed coercive. Imposing an MSPB fee tests due-process limits, especially for lower-graded employees; expect quick constitutional challenges if enacted. Employees nearing retirement should reassess TSP allocations and consider submitting personal impact statements to senators while the amendment window is open. Agencies, for their part, should prepare for heavier counseling workloads as workers re-evaluate separation timing. 

3. DHS Probationary Employees Win Class Certification at MSPB  

Merit Systems Protection Board Chief Administrative Judge for the Western Regional Office Sara Snyder has certified a class action for the 369 probationary employees the Department of Homeland Security fired in February 2025. The original appellants came from FEMA and CISA, but Snyder ruled the class covers any DHS probationary worker swept up in the mass termination, freeing them from having to file individual appeals. The employees argue the firings were a “back-door RIF” carried out without the retention-standing calculations and placement rights required under reduction-in-force regulations. While the Board still lacks a quorum, regional judges can issue initial decisions; DHS now has until June 26 to answer additional evidence the class will file by June 12. If the class ultimately loses, counsel say they will take the case straight to the Federal Circuit. Federal News Network

Legal Insight:

Class certification is rare at MSPB, and this ruling—the first covering any of the February downsizing cases—means one judgment could restore pay and status for the entire group, greatly increasing DHS’s potential liability. Because probationers normally have only limited appeal rights, the judge’s finding that the mass firing looked and felt like a RIF signals that agencies cannot skirt due-process by labeling terminations “probationary” when the real motive is workforce reduction. With the Board still one member short of a quorum, an initial decision in favor of the class would become the final Board action unless the quorum is restored or DHS seeks review in the Federal Circuit, giving employees a procedural advantage. The ruling is also a roadmap for 19 similar appeals now pending from other agencies; if those judges apply the same reasoning, a wave of class certifications could follow, further constraining large-scale probationary purges across government. But outcomes might vary as other MSPB judges have issues order to show cause why the appeals are not moot given the restoration of some employees.

Mindful Moment of the Day: