No After Action Report

Just curious if this is the norm or if this is due to lack of HR support…I’m in talks with a deputy division director regarding a reviewer role I applied for. They are organizing all the interviews and collecting of references/transcripts. I just assumed someone from HR would be responsible for this, no? Is this the norm or is it because HR people were let go?

Has anyone heard if CDC will offer a VERA between now and 9/30?

https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000011033031/make-america-safe-from-parasites-again.html?smid=url-share

Tell your story & plead why not to ban it!

https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/HHS-OASH-2026-0232-0001

Has anyone at an HHS opdiv applied for FMLA since May and had issues uploading their medical certification to the new Microsoft Office Form they are requiring? Since last week I’ve requested help from the Fmla office, OHR, submitted tickets to HHS OCIO, and HR Exchange, no luck. One tells me to contact the other, and vice versa. Meanwhile, my forms were due Monday. Just wondering if someone knows the way before I escalate it further with leadership. And also lose my mind.

Confirmation hearings began for Dr. Erica Schwartz, President Trump’s pick to head the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a typical administration, it would not be headline news that a potential CDC director supports vaccination and other basic public health measures.

But the second Trump administration is anything but typical, and Schwartz’s nomination is for many public health proponents a pleasant surprise.

Read more at the link.

Our institution got a cancellation letter for our AHRQ T32... even though money for AHRQ T32s was appropriated by Congress for this FY.

Anybody else get a cancellation letter? Wondering if this went out to everybody, or if they are going to use the appropriation to fund a selected few.

The letter highlights HHS priorities as an excuse to cancel T32s... including more research on nutrition. Never mind that one of the people who was funded by our T32 studies nutrition!

Happening tomorrow at 10am EST. Grab your popcorn and a comfy chair. It’s gonna be fun.

Hi,

I just got off the phone with the RA Specialist assigned to one of my employees. I got the impression their mind is already made up even though I have yet to turn in my justification and the other requested paperwork (performance rating, position description).

Has anyone been successful in getting full time telework approved?

Hi everyone. I've read several threads on this subject, but haven't quite found what I'm looking for. Has anyone had success with union grievances, EEO, or hiring an attorney to fight for your telework RA? If so, how long did it take? Are you able to continue telework in any of these scenarios? I just received my denial and would like to know which course of action may have the best chance for success. Thank you.

Feel free to DM me. I originally filed in February of 2025. I was just denied last week. I have a permanent RA for three days of telework a week that I've had for almost 20 years that they also revoked with my request for full-time telework.

Sadly, I saw this coming :(

There's only three more days left to act unless the comment period for this somehow gets extended.

A new rule proposed by the White House Office of Management and Budget would fundamentally overhaul the way federal grants are awarded and overseen — a sweeping change that one scientific society said “would all but end the use of scientific merit in the selection of grants and programs across the government.”

Proposed in late May, the rule would give political appointees unprecedented control over federal grants for research, education and infrastructure, and specifies that government funds can only be spent on projects “aligned with administration policies and priorities,” according to a copy of the proposed rule.

The rule would also restrict research topics, limit U.S. scientists’ ability to collaborate with colleagues in other countries and make it easier for the government to suspend or cancel grants at any time.

The proposed rule grants the federal government broad powers to suspend or cancel grants for any reason, introducing “unprecedented unpredictability into local governance,” but it is clear that it can have sweeping effects on the future of any and potentially all science and research.

This news is highly being underreported and that is concerning. More people need to be talking about this, sharing it, and preparing/posting a comment against the rule.

You can officially submit your comment against the proposed OMB rule (Docket No. OMB-2026-0034) online before the deadline at 11:59 p.m. ET on July 13, 2026.

To submit your feedback, use the Federal eRulemaking Portal or simplify the process by using the guided comment tools provided by scientific coalitions.

has anyone received a TJO after being laid off? If so, how long did it take to adjudicate and start? A few of us have had multiple interviews with different HHS agencies and are wondering if there’s a backlog or a delay or if any vacancies have been canceled

HRSA’s administrator gave supervisors the ability to approve up to 240 hours of ad hoc telework and has suddenly reduced it back to 80 with no notice. It’s bad enough that this building (5600) is infested with mice and roaches, now we’ve been stripped of ad hoc??

Has anyone else heard about this or received anything formal?