Skip to content

News, rights, tools & learning

Federal Employee Resource Center

Search timely updates, plain-English explainers, practical guides, podcasts, and mindful-action resources. Start with the question you are trying to answer.

Shaun Southworth leading a federal employment training session with members of the Southworth PC team
 

State Department RIF’d Nearly 1,350 Employees and Now Recruits Outsiders: What You Can Do After a RIF

By

The State Department laid off nearly 1,350 employees last year, and it is now recruiting mid-career outsiders into the Foreign Service, which raises a question many former employee...

Read Resource
 

IRS Told Managers to Ignore a Telework Arbitration Award: What NTEU’s New Lawsuit Says

By

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) has sued the IRS over a telework arbitration award, and the lawsuit alleges that when the agency lost, it told its managers to ignore t...

Read Resource
 

Musk’s Companies Won $10 Billion in Federal Contracts After DOGE: What the New Report Says About Federal Ethics Rules

By

A new report says Elon Musk’s companies have won at least $10 billion in federal contracts and grants since he left DOGE, and for federal employees, who operate under strict gift a...

Read Resource
 

OPM Ends the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey: What the Final Rule Changes

By

OPM has officially ended the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), the survey federal employees have filled out for more than twenty years. The final rule was published this we...

Read Resource
 

USDA Sends New Reassignment Letters Despite Court Order: What NRCS Employees Should Do

By

USDA reassignment letters are back in the news. A federal judge ordered USDA to stop sending relocation letters, and two weeks later the department sent more. If you work at USDA’s...

Read Resource
 

VA Ends Union Contract for 320,000 Employees: What the Court Fight Means for Federal Workers

By

The VA union contract termination affecting roughly 320,000 employees is still being fought in federal court, and the VA’s explanation for it deserves a close look. According to th...

Read Resource
 

Nearly 1 in 5 Federal Workers Is Gone: What “Voluntary” Departures Mean Legally

By

The Washington Post reported on October 29, 2026, that nearly one in five federal workers has left government since January 2025, and that Black federal employees took the biggest ...

Read Resource
 

OPM’s Hire-Palooza: Are “On-the-Spot” Job Offers Legal?

By

OPM’s “hire-palooza” hiring fair was scheduled for October 29, 2026, and the publicity raised a fair question: what does “job offers on the spot” mean, and is it legal? The short a...

Read Resource
 

DHS Employee Data Breach: What ICE, CBP, and USCIS Employees Should Do Now

By

A reported data breach at the Department of Homeland Security has put the names and assignments of more than 41,000 employees and contractors into a searchable database online. If ...

Read Resource
 

USAID Official Who Signed Mass Terminations Had No HR Record, Emails Show: Why Paperwork Matters

By

A new report from WIRED raises a pointed question about the USAID terminations: how did an official sign the letter ending the employment of thousands of career staff when, accordi...

Read Resource
 

OPM’s “Hire-Palooza” Recruiting Tour: What Federal Merit Principles Say About Hiring

By

OPM’s “hire-palooza” and the recruiting tour that preceded it have prompted a fair question about federal merit hiring: who is the government trying to reach, and does the outreach...

Read Resource
 

Shutdown Layoff Guidance Rescinded: What OMB Memo M-27-01 Means for Federal Employees

By

The shutdown layoff guidance that triggered thousands of federal layoff notices last fall has now been rescinded in writing. With federal funding set to run out on December 11, her...

Read Resource

More ways to learn

Choose the format that helps you understand what is happening.

The Mindful Federal Employee is part of a broader public-education ecosystem from Shaun Southworth, Lydia Taylor, and Southworth PC. Use the resource that fits the question and the moment.

Podcast

Civil Rights for Civil Servants

Hear Shaun Southworth and Lydia Taylor explain federal employee rights, public service, workplace systems, and the people navigating them.

Listen to the podcast

Mindfulness

Work Peacefully

Use practical mindfulness tools to create space between workplace pressure and the decision you make next.

Explore mindfulness resources

About the people behind the work

Shaun Southworth & Lydia Taylor

Meet the federal employment attorneys behind this public-education work and the podcast Civil Rights for Civil Servants.

Meet Shaun & Lydia

The Federal Employee Briefing

The important developments, without the all-day scroll.

Join 3,900+ federal employees getting sourced workforce news and practical next steps on weekdays. It is a free public-service resource from Southworth PC.

Get the Free Briefing