October 14, 2026
A federal court has halted USDA’s office closures and relocations while the litigation proceeds. The Bureau of Prisons issued a new termination of its AFGE contract a week after a court ordered the agreement restored, and a magistrate judge adjudged a former FEMA official’s name cleared. Here is what federal workers and their advocates need to know:
Court Stays USDA Office Closures and Relocations While Litigation Proceeds
On October 13, the court in AFGE v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, No. 3:26-cv-09976 (N.D. Cal.), stayed USDA’s office closures and employee relocations under 5 U.S.C. § 705 while the litigation proceeds. The plaintiffs include AFGE, AFSCME, NFFE, and NTEU.
The court found that USDA is almost certainly reprogramming appropriated funds for reorganization, which the appropriations acts restrict. Both sides agree the committee-approval language in those acts is unconstitutional. The court concluded that Congress would have wanted the default prohibition to remain once that language is severed. It rejected USDA’s argument that relief must be limited to the union plaintiffs.
The stay bars USDA from closing Agricultural Research Service laboratories, including Beltsville, and Forest Service offices. It also bars relocating or reassigning employees outside the local commuting area, including through management directed reassignment letters and their deadlines, at those components and seven others. Moves within the National Capital Region are not covered, and employees who relocated before September 14 need not return. USDA must notify employees and unions within two business days and file a compliance declaration within seven. The court noted the relief may be brief, because the appropriations statutes expire in less than two months.
Bureau of Prisons Re-Terminates AFGE Contract a Week After Court Ordered It Restored
The Bureau of Prisons has re-terminated its agreement with AFGE, days after a federal court ordered the agreement restored. The court had set an in-person hearing for October 13 on the unions’ contempt motion in National Council of Prison Locals v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, No. 3:25-cv-01907 (D. Conn.).
BOP says the court’s injunction does not bar a fresh termination. The unions say the re-termination violates the injunction, which binds BOP unless the court dissolves or modifies it, and BOP has not asked the court to do either. No report of the outcome has been published as of press time, we will update you on the outcome in next week’s Solidarity Docket.
Magistrate Judge Clears Former FEMA CFO’s Name, Finding Officials Knew Public Statements Were False
On October 13, the magistrate judge in Comans v. Executive Office of the President, No. 1:25-cv-01237 (E.D. Va.), issued an order adjudging the name of former FEMA Chief Financial Officer Mary Comans cleared as to her conduct in that role. The order is a partial remedy for the liberty-interest violation the district court found on July 21, when it held that the government deprived her of her good name without due process when she was fired on February 11, 2025.
The court finds that statements by DHS and other officials on February 11, 2025, including a press release, comments to news outlets, and social media posts, accused Comans of misspending funds, that the statements were false, and that officials knew they were false when they made them.
The order does not address reinstatement or back pay. A hearing on Comans’s motion for an order remedying the deprivation of her property interest is set for November 6. The government’s appeal of the July 21 ruling is pending in the Fourth Circuit, with its opening brief due November 2 and Comans’s response December 1.
Social Security Ends Flexible Work Schedules November 16; AFGE Files National Grievance
The Social Security Administration told employees on October 5 that it will end alternative work schedules on November 16. SSA’s Chief Human Capital Officer said all employees will move to a standard five-day workweek because alternative schedules reduce staffing on some days.
AFGE’s SSA General Committee filed a national grievance arguing that the unilateral change repudiates the parties’ collective bargaining agreement. SSA was not covered by the 2025 executive orders that ended bargaining at more than 20 agencies, and it continues to recognize AFGE. The contract runs through October 25, 2029. AFGE states that the agreement conditions eligibility on minimum staffing levels and caps absences among public-facing employees, and that most SSA employees already work a five-day week.
The grievance is pending. The change follows SSA’s July announcement, joined by the IRS, that it would stop granting advanced annual and sick leave.
FLRA Approves Voluntary FMCS Mediation Program for Negotiability Disputes
On October 13, the Federal Labor Relations Authority published a notice approving a voluntary mediation program for negotiability disputes under 5 U.S.C. § 7117(c), to be administered by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (91 Fed. Reg. 64930).
After a union files a negotiability petition, the parties may jointly request mediation, or the Authority may refer the case to FMCS. Either party may decline or withdraw at any time. A referred case is held in abeyance. If the parties settle the entire dispute, they notify the Authority, which dismisses the case. If they do not, FMCS notifies the Authority and processing resumes.
Historically, such mediations were handled by the FLRA’s Collaboration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Office (CADRO). The Authority eliminated CADRO by final rule effective August 29, 2025, and it appears is now routing at least some of that work to the FMCS.
Also This Week:
The Merit Systems Protection Board’s final rule on penalty review took effect October 5. The Board no longer treats the twelve Douglas factors as a mandatory checklist and instead asks whether a penalty falls within the “tolerable limits of reasonableness”. The rule applies to appeals filed on or after October 5, and pending appeals remain under the prior framework. The agency’s burden of proof, employees’ appeal rights, and judicial review do not change.
In Oyer v. Blanche, No. 1:26-cv-03092 (D.D.C.), the court denied Elizabeth Oyer’s October 1 motion for partial summary judgment the same day, without prejudice, as premature. The government’s response to the complaint is due November 3.
Settlement talks continue in the government reorganization/RIFs case AFGE v. Trump, No. 3:25-cv-03698 (N.D. Cal.), after conferences with the magistrate judge on September 15, September 29, and October 6 did not resolve the case. The joint statement on relief, the fee application on the spoliation ruling, and the case management statement are now due October 23, and the case management conference is October 30.
In AFGE v. Trump, No. 3:25-cv-03070 (N.D. Cal.), the challenge to Executive Order 14251, the court set briefing on October 7 on the unions’ discovery dispute with the government. The government has refused to search for or produce documents, arguing that discovery is irrelevant and violates the separation of powers. The unions’ opening brief is due October 23, the government’s response November 12, and a status conference is set for November 19. The Ninth Circuit previously vacated the preliminary injunction, so the order applies to the plaintiff unions’ bargaining units while the case proceeds.
The government moved to dismiss on October 7 in NTEU v. Trump, No. 1:25-cv-00170 (D.D.C.), the challenge to Schedule Policy/Career, for lack of jurisdiction. It moved to dismiss the same day in NTEU v. IRS, No. 1:26-cv-02299 (D.D.C.), over the agencies’ handling of telework requests as reasonable accommodations. Both motions are pending, and no relief has issued in either case.
In the Voice of America cases, Widakuswara v. Lake, No. 1:25-cv-01015, and Abramowitz v. Lake, No. 1:25-cv-00887 (D.D.C.), the government filed its mootness memorandum on October 13. It argues that the claims to vacate the Statutory Minimum Memorandum and the cessation of broadcasting are moot because the agency replaced them, and that the personnel claim is moot because new leadership is recalling some employees placed on leave in March 2025. The government reported on October 8 that no employees have returned to active work in the past two weeks. The plaintiffs’ response is due November 2, and any reply is due November 9. The vacatur remains in effect.
In State of New York v. Kennedy, No. 1:25-cv-00196 (D.R.I.), the government opposed the states’ September 11 discovery motion on October 9. It argues that the administrative record is complete and that the states have not shown the bad faith needed for extra-record discovery. The preliminary injunction remains in effect, and the government’s appeal is pending in the First Circuit.
We are tracking all of these cases, and more, about 75 total, in our Litigation Tracker. It’s updated weekly but you can click through the links provided to check on the particular status of any case you’re interested in.
In Solidarity,
Suzanne Summerlin
General Counsel
Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network
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P.S.
Looking to better understand the environment and policies impacting federal workers? Join me at the Federal Worker Town Hall Webinar to learn about the current state of play, including the status of Schedule P/C, collective bargaining rights, remote and telework, reasonable accommodations and other emerging regulations impacting this community. A panel of experts will discuss the status of current litigation challenges and offer resources to support the federal community.
This session is in collaboration with FedSupport, Partnership for Public Service, Civil Service Strong, and AFGE.
Additional Information and Registration Here
Speakers:
Jenny Mattingley, vice president of public policy & stakeholder engagement, Partnership for Public Service
Laura Padin, executive director, Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network
Rob Shriver, managing director of the Civil Service Strong and Good Government Initiatives, Democracy Forward
Rushab Sanghvi, general counsel, AFGE
Suzanne Summerlin, general counsel, Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network
