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Shaun Southworth leading a federal employment training session with members of the Southworth PC team
 

Forced Rating Caps and Federal Employee Reviews

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For federal employees, a performance review is not just paperwork. It can affect promotions, assignments, awards, retention, and, in some systems, whether your career continues at ...

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DOJ Bar Lawsuit and Federal Lawyer Ethics

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The Department of Justice’s new lawsuit challenging D.C. Bar disciplinary proceedings is not just a dispute between lawyers. For federal employees—especially agency counsel, invest...

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Political Vetting in Federal Employment

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Federal employees are often told to stay neutral, keep records, and follow the chain of command. But neutrality must run both ways. According to the transcript, a federal lawsuit f...

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When Religious Messaging Comes From the Top

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A new lawsuit filed by the National Federation of Federal Employees and seven USDA employees challenges religious messages allegedly sent by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins th...

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Political Pressure on Federal Case Settlements

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Federal employees depend on legal systems that are supposed to be neutral: the Merit Systems Protection Board, the EEO process, whistleblower protections, and related settlement me...

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Return-to-Office Is Not Just a Commute Issue

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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...

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Federal Pay Raise vs. Inflation in 2026

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For many federal employees, the pressure is no longer theoretical. The 2026 federal pay adjustment authorized a 1.0% across-the-board increase, with locality percentages remaining ...

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Federal Tax Debt and Your Federal Job

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A new Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report has understandably raised anxiety among federal employees. According to the report, the federal-workforce tax-delinqu...

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Federal EEO and MSPB Settlements Under Scrutiny

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House Oversight Chairman James Comer has opened an inquiry into why the federal government pays to resolve so many federal employee grievances, pointing to federal-sector EEO and M...

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FMLA for Federal Employee Burnout

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A federal employee recently asked the question many workers quietly carry: “If I take FMLA for burnout, will it end my career?” The honest legal answer is no—not by itself. Needing...

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USDA Relocations and Federal Employee Rights

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When a federal agency pushes out a researcher with 37 years of institutional knowledge, the loss is not abstract. It shows up in weakened programs, broken mentoring pipelines, dela...

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Voluntary OPM Skills Survey: Know Your Rights

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OPM’s Federal Workforce Competency Initiative survey has understandably unsettled many federal employees. According to the transcript, the survey was sent to roughly 550,000 employ...

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More ways to learn

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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.

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Mindfulness

Work Peacefully

Use practical mindfulness tools to create space between workplace pressure and the decision you make next.

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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

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