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.

 
OPM’s New Performance and RIF Rules: Why Feds Should Pay Attention civil service protections federal employment federal workforce policy performance ratings reduction in force Mar 11, 2026

Federal employees often experience policy changes one rule at a time. But sometimes the legal significance becomes clear only when multiple proposals are viewed together. Three recent rulemaking propo...

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The Schedule Policy/Career Rule Just Cleared the Runway civil service protections federal employment federal workforce policy mspb appeals schedule policy career Mar 10, 2026

As of March 9, the 30-day waiting period following the Office of Personnel Management’s final rule creating Schedule Policy/Career has expired. That technical milestone carries significant implication...

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MSPB Will Not Hear Schedule Policy/Career Appeals civil service protections federal employment federal workforce rights mspb appeals schedule policy career Mar 05, 2026

Federal employees watching the rollout of Schedule Policy/Career should understand a critical procedural change: the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) has announced it will not hear appeals challe...

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Schedule Policy/Career: A Major Change to Federal Job Protections civil service protections federal employee rights federal employment mspb appeals schedule policy career Mar 04, 2026

Some federal employees may soon be presented with paperwork acknowledging a change in their employment status to something called Schedule Policy/Career. If that happens, it is important to understand...

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DOE Personal Email Use and Federal Records Law civil service protections federal employment federal records act foia government accountability Feb 12, 2026

NOTUS recently reported that political appointees at the Department of Energy used personal email accounts to discuss official government business while DOE was involved in a controversial climate-cha...

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FAIR Act 2027: 4.1% Federal Pay Raise Explained civil service protections fair act federal pay raise federal salary gap federal workforce Feb 12, 2026

Democrats have introduced the FAIR Act proposing a 4.1% federal pay raise for 2027—3.1% across-the-board plus an average 1% locality adjustment. Whether it ultimately passes remains uncertain. What is...

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Musk’s Deposition Order Explained civil service protections deposition process due process federal employment workplace accountability Feb 11, 2026

Federal employees have been watching headlines about a federal judge ordering Elon Musk to sit for a deposition under oath regarding DOGE and actions surrounding the USAID shutdown. The phrase “under ...

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Can the Department of Education Be Dismantled? agency reorganization civil service protections department of education federal employment federal workforce Feb 11, 2026

If you work in the federal government right now, the headlines can feel destabilizing. One day your agency is supposedly being “dismantled.” The next, your job is “moving.” And no one can clearly expl...

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Black Postal Workers and Federal Legacy black federal employees civil service protections federal employment rights u.s. postal service workplace discrimination Feb 11, 2026

There are moments when public rhetoric attempts to reduce Black federal employees to stereotypes—minimizing generations of service with a single headline or comment. For Black GS employees navigating ...

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RIFs May Restart After Feb. 13: What Feds Should Do Now civil service protections federal employment mspb appeals opm rulemaking reduction in force Feb 11, 2026

Federal employees received a temporary reprieve when Congress restricted agencies from using appropriated funds to initiate or carry out new reductions in force (RIFs). That restriction is tied to the...

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Schedule Policy/Career: Loss of Loan Repayment & Incentives civil service protections federal employment retention incentives schedule policy/career student loan repayment Feb 11, 2026

Federal employees facing possible reclassification into Schedule Policy/Career now have a new and very practical concern: compensation.

Recent supplemental guidance from OPM confirms that, in most ca...

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Shutdown Timecard Risks for Federal Employees anti-deficiency act civil service protections federal employment government shutdown time and attendance Feb 10, 2026

Every federal employee knows the tension of a shutdown week: unclear guidance, shifting emails, and pressure to “keep things running.” But when that confusion spills into time-and-attendance reporting...

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