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Civil Rights for Civil Servants
Hear Shaun Southworth and Lydia Taylor explain federal employee rights, public service, workplace systems, and the people navigating them.
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Inside the Unions' Lawsuit Against OPM: Can One Agency Fire You and Hear Your Appeal?
The unions’ lawsuit against OPM over the new suitability and performance rules is being covered as a fight about making it easier to fire federal employees. After reading the entir...
Could Jackler v. DOJ Weaken Civil Service Rights?
An agricultural commodity grader and a federal immigration judge may seem to have little in common. Yet a new congressional brief in Jackler v. Department of Justice argues that th...
OPM's New Suitability Rule, and Why One Outlet Called It "Nixonian"
OPM's new suitability rule lets the agency order the removal of a sitting federal employee for conduct that happened after they were hired — and Government Executive's headline for...
OPM and MSPB Propose Retiring the Douglas Factors — What Federal Employees Stand to Lose
For 45 years, before a federal agency could fire, suspend, or demote an employee, it had to work through twelve factors set out in Douglas v. Veterans Administration, 5 M.S.P.R. 28...
The Federal Oath Is Not a Loyalty Pledge
Federal employees swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution. That distinction matters. The civil service is designed to serve the public through lawful, competent, nonpa...
Can the Executive Branch Dismantle a Department Congress Created?
Federal employees know the difference between a policy shift and an institutional dismantling. The reported transfer of two core Education Department functions—the Office for Civil...
Jackler v. DOJ and MSPB Appeal Rights
Federal employees should be watching Jackler v. Department of Justice closely. The case involves two career immigration judges, Megan Jackler and Brandon Jaroch, who were removed f...
RIF Efficiency Evidence and Federal Employee Rights
A reduction in force is supposed to serve the efficiency of the service. That phrase matters. It is not just a bureaucratic label or a line in an agency announcement. When an agenc...
Federal Employee Podcast Launch on Juneteenth
Federal employees are navigating a workplace moment that cannot always be explained in three minutes. Discipline, probationary removals, shifting civil service protections, agency ...
Black Federal Workers and the Fight for Access
Federal employment is often described as one of the most reliable pathways into the middle class. For many Black families, that became true over time. But it is important not to mi...
Schedule Policy/Career and Civil Service Protections
President Trump’s June 3, 2026 executive order moving roughly 8,000 federal positions into Schedule Policy/Career has understandably drawn intense attention across the federal work...
Schedule Policy/Career Is No Longer Theoretical
For months, federal employees have been watching the return of Schedule F under a new name: Schedule Policy/Career. On June 3, 2026, the President signed an executive order impleme...
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