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

Return-to-Office Orders Are (Mostly) Legal — But Disability Accommodations Are a Different Story

By

A recent Federal News Network survey found that most federal employees say returning to the office has made them less productive — but for most workers, a return-to-office (RTO) or...

Read Resource

Judge Orders DOJ to Restore Telework for Two Disabled EOIR Attorneys

By

A federal judge has ordered the Department of Justice to restore full-time telework accommodations for two attorney-advisors in DOJ's Executive Office for Immigration Review, findi...

Read Resource

NTEU Sues Treasury and HHS Over Thousands of Stalled Accommodation Requests

By

Federal employees waiting on disability accommodation requests at the IRS, HHS, or CDC just got some backing. On Monday, the National Treasury Employees Union sued the Treasury Dep...

Read Resource
 

Federal RTO Monitoring and Employee Rights

By

Federal employees should pay close attention when an agency describes a monitoring tool as an office-space solution while the contract language points to “continuous compliance mon...

Read Resource
 

Federal EEO Case Data: What Really Matters

By

Federal employees often want a clear answer before contacting an attorney: “How do cases like mine usually turn out?” It is an understandable question. When your career, reputation...

Read Resource
 

NSF Accommodation Revocation Risks for Federal Employees

By

Federal employees with disabilities should not be forced to lose an accommodation before an agency decides whether it is still needed. Recent reporting from AFGE Local 3403, the un...

Read Resource
 

Return-to-Office Is Not Just a Commute Issue

By

For many federal employees, return-to-office has not felt like a neutral management preference. It has felt like a disruption to work, family obligations, health routines, and mora...

Read Resource
 

CDC Telework Accommodations and Disability Rights

By

For many federal employees with disabilities, telework is not a preference. It is the difference between being able to perform the essential functions of a job and being pushed out...

Read Resource
 

Reasonable Accommodation Delays as Legal Denials

By

Federal employees are often told to “be patient” after submitting a reasonable accommodation request. But the law does not grant agencies unlimited time. Under the Rehabilitation A...

Read Resource
 

MSPB Back Pay Tax Relief for Federal Employees

By

One of the most frustrating realities in federal employment law is that even a successful case can carry hidden costs. A recent Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) decision offer...

Read Resource
 

Telework Accommodation and Disability-Based Commute Barriers

By

When a supervisor says, “Commuting isn’t our problem,” it can feel like the door just slammed shut. But in federal disability law, the real question is more nuanced. A long or unpl...

Read Resource
 

Parking Lot Protocol Before a Telework Meeting

By

Many federal employees recognize the pattern: telework is suddenly “under review,” a vague “quick sync” appears on the calendar, and before the meeting even starts, the body reacts...

Read Resource
1 2 3

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