The Federal Employee Survival Blog
Cut through the jargon and get the clarity you need to stay a step ahead of agency politics. Each article unpacks new policy shifts, court rulings, and workplace trends, then turns them into actionable tactics—so you can head off discipline, invoke EEO or whistleblower protections with confidence, and keep your documentation airtight. We also archive our most popular social-media explainer threads here, giving you the same insights followed by more than 150,000 people online even if you never scroll on those sites. Read, prepare, and keep your federal career firmly in your control.
Some federal employees are being told to keep working during the shutdown but record those hours as leave without pay (LWOP). That directive is not lawful. If you’re required to work, you are “excepte...
When medical conditions make it impossible to meet the core duties of your federal job—even with reasonable accommodation—disability retirement may offer a stable path forward. This benefit provides a...
A growing number of agencies, especially the Department of Defense, are fast-tracking removals by handling “performance” issues under Chapter 75 instead of Chapter 43. Both chapters have always existe...
The federal shutdown continues into its fourth week, but this past week brought a mix of progress, pressure, and one major legal win for federal employees. Here’s what matters most as we head toward N...
A newly leaked “Department of War” memo is changing how the Department of Defense handles removals for “unacceptable performance.” It directs supervisors and HR to act with “speed and conviction,” cut...
Good news for federal employees: a federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction halting all shutdown-related Reduction in Force (RIF) actions. This means agencies cannot issue or finalize RIFs th...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lost roughly a third of its workforce in just eight months. According to recent reporting, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) dismisse...
If a VA hospital bans rainbow lanyards or warns employees they can be fired for wearing Pride colors, that’s not just poor optics—it’s likely unlawful. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which a...
A newly leaked document confirms what many suspected: some in Washington saw the recent shutdown not just as a funding lapse, but as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce. According to Polit...
Roughly 7,000 FDA employees recently saw their paychecks vanish or shrink after an internal timekeeping error coded them as furloughed—even though they’re exempt. In federal terms, “exempt” means your...
The latest shutdown-related Reduction in Force (RIF) filings put names, faces, and fears on record—reminders that behind every “cost-saving measure” are human beings who have served their country for ...
I know it’s been a tough stretch for a lot of folks across the federal community, but Lydia and I have been working on something we’re really excited to share.
We’ve been quietly building a brand-new...
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