My RA request was quiet for a year then suddenly I had to resubmit new paperwork. My request to telework has not been “denied “ instead they have offered me an alternative to use 240 hours of TW a year and take leave. Can I appeal the decision?

Per Executive Order 14434, federal agencies are now using "Super Intelligence" (SI) in place of "Artificial Intelligence" (AI).

You may see both terms across NIH content during this transition.

https://www.nih.gov/web-modernization

By: FEDweek Staff

Published: October 22, 2026

https://www.fedweek.com/federal-managers-daily-report/flra-sides-with-union-in-key-telework-case-says-sloppy-legal-work-by-hhs-smells-of-ai/

In a key decision in one of the many disputes over the widespread cancellation of telework, the FLRA has found that HHS violated a contract with the NTEU union, meanwhile criticizing the department for presenting “fictitious, erroneous, or irrelevant” legal arguments that seemed to be AI-generated.

The case is one of several in which arbitrators have ruled that the administration’s return-to-office policy, set by an early 2025 presidential memo, does not override telework-related provisions in negotiated contracts, which for example set standards for when it may be canceled.

The memo directed that the policy be “implemented consistent with applicable law,” which includes federal labor-management law stating that an agency may not “enforce any rule or regulation . . . which is in conflict with any applicable collective[-]bargaining agreement if the agreement was in effect before the rule or regulation was prescribed,” the decision said.

The FLRA rejected the department’s argument that it complied with the contract by notifying the union and employees of the impending telework changes and that the union had failed to request bargaining.

It found that that HHS failed to support its arguments with facts, and that 10 of the legal citations in the agency’s legal filings were “fictitious,” 14 “did not support the propositions for which they are cited” and 10 are partially incorrect and also do not support the department’s arguments.

“Overall, twenty-two of the exceptions brief’s twenty-nine footnotes – and thirty-five of the forty-two legal or record citations – are fictitious, erroneous, or irrelevant. Based on the nature and scope of these errors, it appears that the Agency may have used a generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tool in drafting its brief,” the FLRA wrote.

“While nothing prohibits parties from using AI tools when preparing filings for submission to the Authority, we caution those who do so to be aware that AI continues to present significant risks of error. Therefore, parties should take steps to verify the accuracy of any AI-generated material and ensure that their filings satisfy all regulatory requirements,” it added.

The arbitrators’ orders in this case and others—requiring agencies to reinstate prior offsite work practices and follow the contract provisions in effect at the time—have been stayed as agencies have been appealing them to the FLRA.

The NTEU called the decision a “big win for telework rights” but added that “HHS employees are, unfortunately, unlikely to see immediate changes to their telework arrangements because HHS has until December 21 to appeal the FLRA’s decision to a federal appellate court.”

Meanwhile, legislation introduced into the House (HR-10,713) would restore some policies in effect before the second Trump administration—including during Trump’s first term—while addressing some issues that have arisen recently regarding use of telework as an accommodation for medical or disabling conditions. The primary impact of the bill would be to override the a memo that largely ended offsite work arrangements, while leaving room for exceptions such as for accommodations.

Any rumors or predictions?

I’ve heard that we will be hearing something new today about Telework.

Let’s hope that we will be allowed routine or semi-routine Telework going forward.

Has anyone recently gotten a telework RA approved? Also, has anyone gone through the interim RA process recently/how long did it take?

Im now at the point where I’m ready to resign.

There was new training for supervisors regarding PMAPs today. I heard a rumor that supervisors are being told to rank their employees TWICE.

First rating is the 3 and 5 BS that we have all heard of.

Second - supposedly supervisors are to rank their employees in a different way. If a supervisor has 6 employees, pushing all employees together regardless of position/grade/title, rate the employees 1-6. WTF? So bosses could be ranking lower level GS employees with physicians, senior scientists, etc. Sounds like just another metric to justify RIFs. Lower level GSs will get completely screwed by this.

Has anyone else heard this? I’m sure it’s hush hush, with an election coming up, they wouldn’t want a bunch of irate federal workers.

Also, this secrecy where only supervisors get this information is complete garbage. WHERE IS THE TRANSPARENCY?

For context, I work for another organization as a contractor supporting CMS. A few hours after my interview, they asked whether I could provide the names of a couple of CMS directors I work with. Could doing that hurt my standing with my current employer, or is this a normal part of the hiring process?

Wouldn't it be fun if everyone got a 3?! It seems like it is the good trouble we all need.

There are several vaccines. Which flu vaccine will you get this year? Which is more effective? cell-based or recombinant?

My skip is doing the ratings & rankings across our entire group (six divisions) with each first line manager providing input for their respective staff. Are other teams handling ratings and rankings this way? My skip doesn’t know the work of each individual contributor..

Across our office we are trying to upload the new narratives that are due tomorrow and struggling to get the site to load. Are others having this issue? Is it a volume issue. Getting errors like timed out and others saying its not available. Some ppl were able to get on during off hours.

I’m not afraid of Ebola as much as I am really fearful of the way that this administration will handle it if and when it makes it to the US. I really am not trying to fear monger, but more so trying to be prepared for any scenario, based on what I have seen this administration do already. Here are a few of my predictions:

-They will shut down elections and say that it’s for “national security reasons and the Ebola Outbreak” and exaggerate incidence numbers greatly
-They will try to downplay it like they did COVID and tell everyone it’s a hoax and under-report numbers widely.
-Claim that people they don’t like or immigrants are being “quarantined for suspected Ebola” with little to no evidence or details of what is actually happening to these people, or if they actually ever had exposure
- Will tout that it is another virus made up in a lab by Fauci and the Democrats and mobs will then proceed to converge on CDC and try to kill/harm employees there (again) and/ or politicians/scientists/healthcare workers
- They will attempt to convince people that it can be cured by ivermectin, causing people to refuse to go to the hospital and infecting family members and ER staff once they are finally dying, then blame it on the CDC.

What else have I missed?

Anyone else excited to see FDA’s discovery responses today? Any bets on whether they admit any wrongdoing? Any journalists going to report on it?

NIH staff have been gathering in their personal capacity outside the agency at 10am, every Saturday since May 2025.

But this weekend, October 17th we will have a special event. At Medical Center Metro we will rally for health research and democracy. Listen to speeches by Jenna Norton , sociologist Natalie Aviles , Anna Culbertson and more, all in their personal capacities.

Music by Northstar Union (🎸👨🏼‍🎤🥁), merch available, families welcome. Info on parking and bathroom in comments.

We will finish the event by walking downtown to Bethesda and taking the metro to DC, dropping off our early voting ballots en masse.🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏻‍♂️🚶🏽🚶🏼‍♂️🚶🏻🚶🏿‍♀️🚶🏼‍♀️🤝.

Share widely and RSVP here: https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/1030942/

Does anyone have a copy of the archived text of HHS Instruction 990-1 (Workplace Flexibilities Policy), effective April 22, 2024? I have requested it from HHS, FOIA, and NTEU without any luck. Thanks.

I love the agency and the mission and was determined to stick it out. But after almost two years of being understaffed and hemorrhaging more staff every single day, missing goal dates, being rushed through reviews… I think I’m done. This performance review thing might just be my last straw. I feel awful because the more of us leave, the more burden on those who stay. Then they will get burnt out and leave too. Then who will man the agency? Who will protect the public? I know I sound dramatic but I really feel an existential dread. But idk I’m so tired.