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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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Is One Business Day a “Reasonable Time to Answer”? Inside the Proposed OPM–MSPB Rule
A proposed federal rule could give you as little as one business day to answer a proposed suspension—and if you are a federal employee, that is worth understanding now, while it is...
What Is a "Mixed Case"? The Federal Employment Term That Controls Your Deadline
If you're a federal employee facing a removal, demotion, or long suspension, and you believe discrimination played a role, the label "mixed case" isn't just legal jargon — it deter...
The MSPB Deleted "Independent" From Its Website. Here's What Actually Changed for Your Case.
This week, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) quietly deleted the word "independent" from its website, its LinkedIn page, and even a job posting — and the change is raising ...
OPM Cut a Third of Its Own Workforce — Here's What That Means for Your Benefits
The agency that runs your retirement, your health insurance, and your federal HR records has cut its own staff by roughly a third since the end of 2024 — and a new government watch...
What Federal Employees Still Legally Keep: Chapter 75, Whistleblower, and EEO Rights
After a year of reclassifications, proposed rule changes, and reduction-in-force notices, it can feel like federal employees have lost every protection Congress ever gave them. Tha...
Government Shutdown Looming October 1: Three Moves for Federal Employees to Make Now
A government shutdown could begin as soon as October 1, 2026, and federal employees who wait until the fiscal year ends to prepare may find themselves scrambling. Congress has pass...
State Department Is Hiring for Jobs It Just Cut — Know Your RIF Rights
A year after the State Department separated roughly 1,350 employees in a reduction in force (RIF), the department is recruiting again for many of the same roles — and laid-off empl...
The Federal Circuit Will Decide How Far “Article II Firings” Can Go
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has agreed to hear, en banc, a case that could decide how far federal agencies can go in removing career employees without the pro...
Federal Discipline Without the Douglas Factors: What a New OPM-MSPB Rule Would Change
A new joint proposal from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) would retire the Douglas factors, the 45-year-old framework that ha...
OPM's Proposed Rule: A 30-Day PIP Cap and Removal by Default
A newly proposed rule from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) could reshape how federal performance cases work — capping performance improvement periods at 30 days and making...
Bureau of Prisons Closures and RIF Notices: What Affected Employees Need to Know
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced this week that it is closing six federal correctional facilities across five states. The agency says many affected employees can transfer to a...
DoD Canceled Your Union Contract — Your EEO and MSPB Rights Didn't Go With It
Across the Defense Department, some civilian employees are reportedly being told by managers that their union no longer exists. That claim is false — and it matters, because employ...
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