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.

 
Partisan Auto-Replies and the Hatch Act federal employment government shutdown hatch act political activity workplace ethics Oct 03, 2025

On day one of the recent government shutdown, employees at the Department of Education set standard out-of-office replies: neutral messages explaining that, due to a funding lapse, they’d respond once...

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Unions Challenge Shutdown RIFs: What Federal Employees Must Know federal employment government shutdown mspb appeals opm guidance rif Oct 02, 2025

Federal unions have filed a lawsuit against the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), challenging recent guidance that encouraged agencies to use the gove...

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Judge Blocks Trump Order Stripping Federal Union Rights collective bargaining federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals union rights Oct 01, 2025

On September 30, 2025, federal employees won an important reprieve. Judge Paul Friedman of the U.S. District Court for D.C. issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s effort t...

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Federal Employee Guide to the 2025 Government Shutdown excepted employees federal employment federal shutdown furlough rights legal guidance Oct 01, 2025

The government officially shut down last night. Roughly 23% of the federal workforce—about 547,000 employees—are furloughed under the Trump administration’s plan. That leaves approximately 1.57 millio...

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Partisan Pop-Up on HUD.gov Raises Legal Red Flags appropriations law federal employment hatch act hud public service integrity Sep 30, 2025

Recently, visitors to HUD.gov—the official website of the Department of Housing and Urban Development—were met with a startling pop-up: “The Radical Left are going to shut down the government… The Tru...

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RIFs Continue During Shutdown: What Federal Employees Must Know federal employment government shutdown mspb appeals opm guidance rif Sep 30, 2025

When a government shutdown looms, many federal employees assume all personnel actions grind to a halt. But as of September 29, 2025, OPM has clarified: Reduction in Force (RIF) activity is now conside...

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Senate Report Flags DOGE Data Security Risks data security doge federal employment ssa whistleblower protection Sep 26, 2025

A new Senate investigation alleges that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been operating outside federal law, exposing sensitive federal data to heightened risk. Whistleblowers from t...

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When DOGE Policies Hit Home: Federal Workers Speak Out doge policy employee rights federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals Sep 26, 2025

When sweeping policies land in Washington, headlines often focus on politics, numbers, and high-level strategy. What’s harder to capture is what those shifts feel like in the cubicles, field offices, ...

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Pentagon’s Rare Generals’ Summit: What It Means for DoD Civilians dod civilians federal employment federal workforce mindfulness at work pentagon directive Sep 26, 2025

Next week, hundreds of generals, admirals, and senior enlisted advisors have been ordered to gather at Quantico for an unusual in-person session with the Secretary of Defense. While details remain sca...

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Gratitude as a Legal Anchor in Uncertain Federal Times eeo complaints federal employment government shutdown mindfulness at work mspb appeals Sep 26, 2025

If you are a federal employee right now, you don’t need a reminder that the landscape feels unstable. Shutdown deadlines, RIF whispers, and questions about pending cases can make even seasoned profess...

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Interior Department RIFs: What Federal Employees Need to Know doi employees federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals rif Sep 25, 2025

Employees at the Department of the Interior (DOI) are facing a serious development: agency leadership has begun finalizing reduction-in-force (RIF) lists, with potential impacts across multiple bureau...

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Court Rules Trump’s IG Firings Were Unlawful due process federal employment inspectors general mindfulness at work mspb appeals Sep 25, 2025

A federal judge recently found that former President Trump unlawfully removed 17 Inspectors General (IGs). By law, the President must give Congress 30 days’ notice and provide a specific reason before...

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