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.

 
Missed the MSPB Deadline? HHS RIF Employees May Have Until Aug. 21 federal employment hhs employees mindfulness at work mspb appeals rif deadlines Aug 14, 2025

If you were separated from HHS on July 14 as part of the recent RIF and thought you missed your Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) filing deadline, you may still have a window to act. The key is a ...

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Public “Watchlists” Target Federal Employees: Legal & Safety Risks federal employment harassment mindfulness at work mspb appeals workplace safety Aug 14, 2025

Imagine waking up to find your name, photograph, salary, and career history posted online—not by your agency, but by a private group branding you “subversive” for lawful work you performed. That’s the...

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BLS Shake-Up Raises Alarms Over Data Independence bls independence data integrity federal employment federal statistics mindfulness at work Aug 13, 2025

On August 1, 2025, President Biden removed Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer—just days after a weaker-than-expected July jobs report. Internal emails obtained by the Assoc...

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VA OIG Finds Sharp Rise in Severe Staffing Shortages federal employment federal workforce policy mindfulness at work va staffing veterans health administration Aug 13, 2025

A new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) confirms what many feared: severe staffing shortages in the Veterans Health Administration have surged 50% in the...

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Federal Court Orders OMB to Restore Spending Transparency Site federal employment impoundment control act mindfulness at work omb transparency Aug 12, 2025

On August 12, 2025, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the White House budget office to bring its spending-transparency website back online by Friday, August 15. The site—known as the Public Ap...

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Black Women and the Federal Workforce Decline black women in federal service federal employment mindfulness at work public sector downsizing workforce equity Aug 12, 2025

Between May and August, more than 300,000 Black women left—or were pushed out of—the U.S. workforce. The headlines barely noticed, but the impact is anything but small. For many, the loss wasn’t about...

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Religious Rights at Work: Where the Law Draws the Line eeo complaints federal employment first amendment rights mindfulness at work religious discrimination Aug 11, 2025

Recent headlines suggest a push to “empower federal employees to share their faith at work.” While that might sound like a new right, religious expression in federal workplaces has been protected for ...

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OPM Orders Removal of COVID-19 Vaccine Records from Federal Files federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals opm guidance personnel file expungement Aug 11, 2025

On August 8, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a government-wide directive requiring agencies to delete all records of federal employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status, any related n...

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MSPB RIF Appeal Deadlines: Why Filing Early Matters federal employment filing deadlines mindfulness at work mspb appeals reduction in force Aug 08, 2025

When a federal Reduction in Force (RIF) strikes, the clock starts ticking fast. Under Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) rules, you generally have 30 days from the later of (1) the RIF’s effective ...

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CBS Report Challenges Federal “Savings” Claims contract obligations federal employment mindfulness at work mspb deadlines rif appeals Aug 08, 2025

CBS News recently analyzed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) records and found a major gap between headline claims and actual numbers. On three high-profile HHS contracts—COVID-19 testing and...

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MSPB RIF Appeals: How the 30-Day MSPB Deadline Works federal employee rights federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals rif Aug 08, 2025

If you’ve been affected by a reduction-in-force (RIF), your right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) comes with a strict clock. Under federal rules, you have 30 days from whichever...

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VA Union Purge: What the Directive Means for You federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals unfair labor practice va union rights Aug 07, 2025

On August 6, 2025, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a sweeping order that voided every collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) covering its workforce—except for roughly 4,000 police, firef...

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