US EditionTrump administration seeks to block independent review when federal workers are laid off
The proposal would shift appeals from an independent board to the Office of Personnel Management, affecting about 50,000 federal employees and building on 2025 mass layoffs.
- On Monday, the Office of Personnel Management proposed ending fired federal employees' right to appeal dismissals to the independent Merit Systems Protection Board, requiring appeals to OPM instead, whose director reports to U.S. President Donald Trump.
- Outlined in a more than 250‑page directive, the administration said Congress gave the Office of Personnel Management authority over reduction‑in‑force appeals, claiming it will speed reviews.
- The Merit Systems Protection Board saw its caseload surge between October 1, 2024 and September 30, 2025, while the administration forced out roughly 317,000 federal employees last year.
- The administration's legal fights have reached the courts, and officials say the change undermines dispute avenues following mass layoffs central to the Trump administration's second term.
- Observers caution that verification remains contested, noting the proposal could broadly affect roughly 50,000 high‑level career civil servants if reclassified as 'at will', as part of the administration's broader push to shrink government.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Donald Trump Moves to Strip Independent Review Power for Federal Layoffs
The oddly modern thing about a federal layoff in Trump's Washington is that it doesn't end when you're told to clear your desk. The fight starts afterwards: the appeal, the hearing, the slow grind of an independent board asking whether the government followed its own rules. It's not romantic, but it's the point. Without that friction, a 'restructure' can become something else entirely: a purge with paperwork.On Monday, the Trump administration m…
Trump seeks to limit legal options for fired federal workers
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is trying to make it harder for fired federal employees to contest their dismissal, according to a government plan released on Monday, by limiting their right to appeal their dismissal to an independent board.
Trump administration pushes legal option limiting fired employees to challenge their dismissal
The government's HR department, the Office of Personnel Management, has proposed ending the rights given to federal employees to challenge their dismissal in front of the independent Merit Systems Protection Board
Washington Times
The New York LedgerTrump administration to make it harder for federal workers to appeal firing
The Trump administration on Monday proposed a new rule that would make it harder for fired federal employees to get their jobs back by limiting their opportunities to appeal the termination before an independent review board.
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