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.

 
Avoiding AWOL After a Shutdown Ends awol federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals shutdown guidance Nov 13, 2025

When a shutdown ends, most federal employees feel immediate relief—pay will resume, operations restart, and uncertainty loosens its grip. But there’s a lesser-known risk that surfaces the very first d...

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Shutdown Back Pay, RIF Rollbacks, and Your Next Steps federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals rif rollback shutdown back pay Nov 13, 2025

When a shutdown finally ends, relief often mixes with uncertainty. Many federal employees wake up wondering two things: When will the paycheck land? and Am I safe? This week’s reopening answers both q...

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Your Workplace, Your Data: Why This Survey Matters federal employment fevs mindfulness at work rto challenges workplace surveys Nov 12, 2025

Federal employees have been through a year of exhaustion, sudden policy shifts, and record uncertainty. When many were asked recently what hit the hardest, the surprise wasn’t legal complexity or shut...

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Shutdown Over: When Federal Employees Get Paid back pay federal employees federal employment law government shutdown mindfulness at work Nov 12, 2025

When a shutdown finally ends, the first question most federal employees ask is simple: When will the money actually hit my account? The uncertainty is exhausting, especially after weeks of juggling bi...

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Shutdown Deal 2025: What the Senate Plan Means for Federal Employees back pay federal employment mspb appeals rif freeze shutdown 2025 Nov 12, 2025

Federal employees have lived through 41 days of uncertainty—missed paychecks, frozen operations, and a flood of RIF notices that never should have been issued. With the Senate’s passage of a bipartisa...

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Federal Employee Open Season 2026: What to Do During the Shutdown federal benefits fedvip fehb open season fsafeds government shutdown Nov 10, 2025

Federal employees, here’s the bottom line: Open Season runs November 10 through December 8, and it continues regardless of the shutdown. Your coverage, elections, and deadlines all remain active. If y...

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First Circuit Upholds Full November SNAP Payments court orders federal employment mindfulness at work snap benefits usda Nov 10, 2025

This week brought long-awaited clarity for millions of families—and for federal employees trying to interpret the latest court moves. Despite reports suggesting a “Supreme Court ruling” on SNAP, the h...

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Senate Shutdown Deal: What It Means for Federal Employees back pay federal employment government shutdown mindfulness at work rif Nov 10, 2025

After forty grueling days of uncertainty, the Senate has advanced a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government. The measure would fully fund VA, USDA, and the legislative branch for the rest of the...

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Federal Unions Challenge OPM’s “Loyalty Question” in Hiring civil service reform federal employment merit system opm lawsuit political neutrality Nov 07, 2025

Three of the largest federal-employee unions—AFGE, AFSCME, and NAGE—just filed a 54-page lawsuit that could reshape the foundation of federal hiring. Their target: a new “loyalty question” embedded in...

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The #1 Legal Mistake Federal Employees Make in Discipline Cases discipline defense due process federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals Nov 07, 2025

After more than twenty thousand hours representing federal employees, one mistake stands out above all others: trying to face a disciplinary proposal alone. Agencies have trained attorneys, internal p...

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Federal Employee Morale and the Year of Disruption employee engagement federal employment government workforce mindfulness at work rif uncertainty Nov 07, 2025

According to new reporting from Federal News Network, nearly one in three federal employees say their workplace was disrupted “to a very large extent” this year—almost three times the national average...

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Shutdown RIFs: What the Court’s Order Means for Federal Employees federal employment government shutdown mindfulness at work mspb rights rif appeals Nov 06, 2025

Roughly 4,000 layoff notices went out earlier in the government shutdown, but a recent federal court order has frozen most of them. The injunction—issued by a judge in San Francisco—temporarily halted...

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Stay informed, stay protected. The Federal Employee Briefing delivers expert insights on workforce policies, legal battles, RTO mandates, and union updates—so you’re never caught off guard. With job security, telework, and agency shifts constantly evolving, we provide clear, concise analysis on what’s happening, why it matters, and what you can do next.

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