Former Agency Insiders Explain How to Fight Back and Win

Federal employees are constantly told one lie:
“You’re a probationary employee so you have no rights.”

That lie destroys careers every single day.

At National Security Law Firm, our federal employment lawyers expose and challenge illegal probationary terminations nationwide. As former federal agency counsel (DHS, TSA, CBP, DOJ, Army JAG, DOE), we know exactly how agencies misuse the probationary period — and how to dismantle their actions.

To explore every federal employment topic, visit the Federal Employment Defense Hub.

What the Probationary Period Really Is

Probation is not a free pass for agencies to fire you at will.
It is a test period designed to evaluate:

  • Performance

  • Conduct

  • Suitability

  • Character and fitness

Most probationary employees complete this period with no problems. But when issues arise, agencies often respond quickly and carelessly — skipping critical procedures, hiding evidence, and ignoring their own regulations.

These shortcuts create powerful legal and strategic opportunities for your defense.

How Long the Probationary Period Lasts

The typical probationary period is:

  • One year for most competitive service positions

  • Two years for certain positions (law enforcement, specific agencies, etc.)

  • Longer periods for supervisors, senior positions, or medical/clinical roles

Agencies often miscalculate probation end dates — a mistake that can void the entire termination.

We audit all personnel records, SF-50s, and start dates to determine whether the agency got the timing wrong.
You’d be shocked how often they do.

The Myth: “Probationary Employees Have No Rights”

The Truth: You Have Far More Rights Than Agencies Admit

Probationary employees absolutely have rights — and agencies routinely violate them.

Here are the actual legal protections probationary employees have:

You Have Rights When the Reason for Termination Is Improper

You have full due process rights if the real reason for your removal is:

  • Marital status

  • Political affiliation

  • Whistleblower retaliation

  • Discrimination (race, sex, age, disability, pregnancy, national origin, religion)

  • Retaliation for EEO activity

  • Retaliation for reporting wrongdoing

  • Retaliation for protected disclosures

  • Prior protected activity at another agency

  • Medical conditions triggering the Rehabilitation Act

  • Misuse of suitability rules

Agencies love to hide unlawful motives behind “unsatisfactory performance.”
We expose those motives — and leverage them for case value.

You Have Rights When the Termination Is Based on Pre-Appointment Conditions

Probationary employees are protected when the agency fires them based on:

  • Prior employment issues

  • Background-check details

  • Resume disputes

  • Credit or financial information

  • Selective Service questions

  • Past misconduct already disclosed

When a termination is rooted in pre-employment issues, due process rights expand significantly.

The agency must provide:

  • Notice of the charges

  • The evidence behind them

  • A meaningful opportunity to respond

Agencies often skip these requirements — which is where we build high-value cases.

You Have Rights When the Agency Violates Its Own Procedures

Agencies frequently violate their own policies, including:

  • Internal probation evaluation checklists

  • Notice requirements

  • Mandatory performance reviews

  • Required mentor-supervisor meetings

  • HR procedural steps

  • Special program rules (law enforcement, intelligence, clinical roles)

Any internal procedural violation strengthens your case.

Our former agency counsel know exactly which procedures agencies ignore — and how to use that to your advantage.

You Have Rights When the Real Reason Is Political or Personal

Probationary terminations are often based on:

  • Personality conflicts

  • Office politics

  • Hostile supervisors

  • Discrimination disguised as “fit” issues

You cannot be terminated for any reason tied to:

  • Race

  • Sex

  • Disability

  • Age

  • Pregnancy

  • Religion

  • National origin

  • Prior EEO activity

And you cannot be terminated for:

  • Marital status

  • Political affiliation

Agencies hide these motives — we uncover them.

The Most Common Agency Mistakes During Probation (Your Leverage Points)

This is where NSLF wins cases.

Agencies frequently make:

  • Wrong probation end-date calculations

  • Failure to document performance deficiencies

  • No counseling or feedback

  • Biased supervisors driving the decision

  • Retaliatory motives

  • Lack of required procedural steps

  • Failure to provide evidence

  • Inaccurate SF-50 coding

  • “Backdoor removals” disguised as resignations

Every one of these errors can be converted into:

  • Settlement leverage

  • Reinstatement

  • Back pay

  • Cancellation of the termination

  • Clean record agreement

  • Transfer or reassignment

  • Damages in EEO cases

This is why probationary-employee cases often have unexpectedly high value when handled properly.

How NSLF Builds High-Value Probationary Employee Defenses

Our strategy comes from decades as insiders.

We use:

  • FOIA to obtain hidden evidence

  • Detailed timeline analysis

  • Pattern-of-conduct review

  • Policy and regulation audits

  • Disparate treatment comparisons

  • Decision-maker bias analysis

  • Prior protected activity tracking

  • Agency procedure violations

  • OPM regulatory weaknesses

  • MSPB precedent on pre-appointment due process

We treat every case like an investigation — because the agency already conducted one.

Now it’s our turn.

Can Probationary Employees File MSPB Appeals?

Yes — if the case falls into certain categories.

You can appeal to the MSPB if:

  • You were terminated because of marital status

  • You were terminated for political reasons

  • You were terminated for pre-appointment conditions

  • The agency failed to follow mandatory procedures

  • The termination violated a statutory right (e.g., whistleblower, discrimination)

In these cases, MSPB becomes a powerful leverage point because agencies hate litigating probationary errors.

Our filings force agencies to reveal their mistakes — and that often drives settlement.

Can Probationary Employees File EEO Complaints?

Yes, and many probationary cases are actually discrimination cases.

You can file an EEO complaint for:

  • Race

  • Sex

  • Disability

  • Age

  • National origin

  • Religion

  • Pregnancy

  • Retaliation for prior EEO activity

We build discrimination and retaliation cases even when agencies try to hide behind “performance” labels.

The “Constructive Performance File” Trick

Supervisors sometimes create a shadow file during probation — notes, complaints, or messages never shared with you.

This is illegal.

Through FOIA and internal records, we uncover these hidden materials and convert them into case-strengthening evidence.

This is one of the areas where NSLF’s Attorney Review Board has repeatedly caught agencies attempting to conceal bias and retaliation.

What If the Agency Asks You to Resign?

Do not resign without speaking to a lawyer.

A resignation:

  • Can be treated as voluntary

  • Can jeopardize back pay

  • Can eliminate appeal rights

  • Can prevent you from proving retaliation

  • Can damage future federal hiring opportunities

We evaluate:

  • Whether the resignation was coerced

  • Whether the agency misled you

  • Whether the agency withheld required due process

  • Whether the resignation can be voided

  • Whether reinstatement is possible

Agencies love to pressure probationary employees into resigning because it hides their misconduct.

We stop that.

Why Probationary Employees Choose NSLF

Because when your career is on the line, you want the people who used to run these systems — not outsiders guessing their way through federal employment law.

Federal employees choose NSLF because:

  • We are former agency insiders (DHS, TSA, CBP, DOJ, DoD, DOE)

  • We know the personalities, politics, and mistakes behind every removal

  • We maximize the total value of every case

  • We spot violations most lawyers miss

  • We have 4.9-star reviews from federal clients nationwide

  • We offer flat fees + Affirm financing

  • We use an elite Attorney Review Board for strategy

  • We treat your career like a mission

We are not civilians pretending to understand federal employment law.
We lived inside the system — and now we fight it.

Book a Free Case Plan

Do not let a probationary termination define your federal career.

Schedule your confidential consultation now:
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National Security Law Firm: It’s Our Turn to Fight for You.