The Solidarity Docket
Week of January 8, 2026
Happy New Year! As we head into 2026, this week’s Solidarity Docket pulls together the most important developments affecting the federal workforce. This week’s updates span rulemaking, litigation, and agency actions that would materially change how federal employees experience job security, due process, and collective bargaining… and they set the stage for what is likely to be another consequential year.
OPM Proposal Would Narrow Appeal Rights for Probationary Employees
OPM has issued a proposed rule that would significantly change, and narrow, the rights of probationary and trial-period federal employees to challenge terminations and demotions.
If finalized, the rule would:
Eliminate MSPB review of probationary and trial-period terminations and reassignments
Transfer all such appeals to OPM itself, consolidating both rulemaking and adjudication authority within the agency
Sharply limit the grounds for appeal, allowing challenges only for:
Discrimination based on partisan political reasons or marital status, or
An agency’s failure to follow required procedures when a termination is based on pre-appointment conduct
Remove the ability to bring “mixed cases”, forcing employees to pursue statutory discrimination claims (race, sex, disability, age, retaliation, etc.) separately through the EEO/EEOC process
Eliminate guaranteed hearings and discovery, with most cases decided solely on a written record
Make the OPM process the exclusive path for challenging probationary or trial-period terminations, with very limited further review
The proposal also applies to supervisors and managers who fail a supervisory or managerial probationary period and are reassigned to non-supervisory positions.
Together, these changes would further reduce procedural protections for probationary employees and substantially alter how early-career federal workers can contest adverse actions.
Comments on the proposed rule are due January 29, 2026.
Federal employees, unions, advocates, and members of the public may submit comments directly to OPM via Regulations.gov, search for Docket ID: OPM-2025-0013. Comments submitted after January 29, 2026 will not be considered.
FMCS Mediators Restored, With Caveats
In an important win for collective bargaining, a federal district court granted summary judgment to the American Federation of Teachers and other unions challenging the Trump Administration’s severe curtailment of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS).
The court held that FMCS’s implementation of the Executive Order restricting mediation services violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Specifically, the agency’s policy limiting mediator assignments based on bargaining unit size was found to be arbitrary and capricious and not in accordance with law. The court ordered FMCS to vacate its policy refusing to assign mediators to health care bargaining units with fewer than 250 employees and to non-health-care units with fewer than 1,000 employees.
The decision restores access to FMCS mediation for many bargaining units that had been shut out under the prior policy and reinforces that FMCS may not abandon its statutory mission through unsupported policy choices.
There is, however, an unresolved wrinkle. During the litigation, FMCS adopted a revised policy under which it now claims it will provide mediation services to all health care bargaining units, but will limit mediation for non-health-care units to those with more than 250 employees. The court did not rule on the legality of this revised policy, but explicitly cautioned that any such approach must also comply with the APA’s requirement that agency action not be arbitrary. The court noted that the new policy could be challenged in a subsequent case.
AFT is continuing to press for the full restoration of FMCS mediation services and the unions are evaluating next steps in light of the decision.
PAWA Moves Forward
In March 2025, the Trump Administration signed an executive order eliminating collective bargaining rights for approximately 85% of the unionized federal workforce, more than one million federal workers. It was the single largest rollback of union rights in U.S. history, and federal workers’ rights remain impacted by it. The Protect America’s Workforce Act (PAWA) would reverse that damage by:
Voiding the anti-union executive order
Restoring collective bargaining rights
Requiring the Administration to honor existing collective bargaining agreements
PAWA passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote on December 11, an important signal that momentum exists across party lines. The focus now turns to the Senate, where passage is possible, but far from guaranteed. To help push PAWA across the finish line, a coalition of national unions and worker organizations are organizing a rally in support of the bill.
Rally for America’s Workforce, “PAWA to the People”
Details and RSVP.
CFPB RIF Litigation - En Banc Review Reinforces Workers’ Protections
In National Treasury Employees Union v. Vought, a case challenging planned reductions in force at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted the union’s petition for rehearing en banc. The court vacated its prior three-judge panel decision, eliminating that ruling’s legal effect. The case will now be decided by the full court.
The August panel decision had held that the district court lacked jurisdiction to review claims about job loss and allowed the Bureau to pursue massive layoffs.
That panel ruling is now reversed, meaning its reasoning cannot be used to undercut worker protections or block judicial review of agency conduct.
The full court’s rehearing en banc resets the dispute, creating a clean slate for reviewing whether the Trump Administration’s actions at CFPB violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Constitution.
As part of the en banc action, the district court’s preliminary injunction remains in force, preserving CFPB’s core workforce, contracts, and operations. Further, the injunction prevents many layoffs until the full court issues its decision.
In its December 30th ruling, the district court clarified that the government cannot avoid its obligations under that injunction simply by refusing to request funding for the agency from the Federal Reserve. In doing so, the court made clear that:
The injunction is meant to keep the Bureau functioning, not just prevent specific layoffs.
Funding is essential to that mandate, and the government cannot engineer a “de facto shutdown” by declining to seek money that the law authorizes.
This clarification closes a loophole the government appeared to be exploiting. The en banc oral argument is scheduled for February 24, 2026.
Shutdown RIF Case: Government Appeal Dismissed
In the Northern District of California litigation challenging RIFs during a government shutdown, the Ninth Circuit dismissed the government’s appeal on January 2. The district court has scheduled a January 9 status conference to address compliance with the injunctions protecting bargaining unit employees at multiple agencies, including the departments of State and Education. We will report back as the court addresses enforcement.
FEMA Cuts Raise Alarm as Disaster Demands Grow
Democratic lawmakers are warning that the Administration may move to further slash the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s workforce. FEMA staffing levels directly affect response time, recovery assistance, and on-the-ground capacity during emergencies. Workforce reductions now could have immediate and life-altering consequences for communities nationwide.
According to leaked planning documents, FEMA could eliminate more than 40% of its Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery (CORE) workforce - the employees who make up the backbone of FEMA’s disaster response operations and are often the first deployed when emergencies strike. CORE staff are typically hired on two-to-four-year terms that can be renewed based on need and funding, and already experienced terminations late last year.
The concerns extend beyond raw headcount. FEMA:
Entered the 2025 hurricane season with only 12% of its incident management workforce available, a five-year low
Has operated under three acting administrators since the President took office
Has seen roughly half of its Senior Executive Service positions remain vacant
Former FEMA officials have warned that cuts, particularly among experienced leadership and long-tenured responders, would result in permanent loss of institutional knowledge and reduced capacity to manage multiple simultaneous disasters.
NOAA Reinstatements Highlight Whiplash Personnel Decisions
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has begun reinstating some probationary employees it previously terminated. In some cases, for the second time. The twice fired then rehired employees will reportedly receive 9 months of back pay for the time they were off-the-job, even if they do not accept re-employment at NOAA. Those who accepted job offers will return by January 12th.
In September 2025, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the Office of Personnel Management unlawfully “directed agencies to fire under false pretense,” and ordered agencies to update personnel records to specify that these employees were not fired for poor performance or misconduct.
IRS Staffing Shortages Threaten Filing Season
Meanwhile, at the IRS, Senators are warning that continued workforce cuts could significantly disrupt the upcoming tax filing season. As filing season approaches, the strain on remaining employees is expected to intensify. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) led 15 other senators in a letter raising concerns about the start of the IRS filing season.
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As we close out this update, we are also closely monitoring developments on Capitol Hill. Nine appropriations bills remain unfinished, and unless Congress passes those measures or adopts a continuing resolution, the federal government will again be facing a shutdown at the end of the month.
We will continue tracking workforce impacts, litigation, and agency compliance as the next funding deadline approaches.
In solidarity,
Suzanne Summerlin
General Counsel
Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network
