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Competitive Service vs. Excepted Service: Understanding Your Rights As a Federal Employee or Job Applicant

Most federal employees fall into one of two categories—they work in either: (i) competitive service, or (ii) excepted service. This distinction has important implications for federal employees’ and job applicants’ legal rights; and, as a result, it is important to know into which category your job (or your desired job) falls. Competitive Service Positions in the Federal Government Competitive service positions are those for which applicants must go through a competitive application process.

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President Trump’s Proposed Overhaul of FEMA: What Federal Employees Need to Know

President Trump has vowed to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) during his second term. His pick for Homeland Security Secretary, former South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, has also stated that she intends to “get rid of FEMA the way it exists today.” Already, more than 200 FEMA employees have been fired, and, based on what we know currently, it appears that this could be just the beginning of the administration’s efforts to dismantle the agency. What do you need to know if you work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency—or if you have recently been terminated from your employment with FEMA?

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Can President Trump Reassign IRS Agents to the Border?

On January 25, 2025, President Trump told a crowd of supporters that he was considering firing roughly 88,000 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees. Alternatively, he proposed sending these employees to the border. As reported by Newsweek, Trump told the crowd: “On Day 1, I immediately halted the hiring of any new IRS agents.

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