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

VA Union Contract Reinstatement: Legal Fallout

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On March 13, 2026, a federal judge ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reinstate its Master Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with AFGE, restoring rights for mor...

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TSA Back Pay and Federal Workers’ Rights

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For five weeks, roughly 50,000 TSA employees reportedly worked without pay while airports slowed, lines stretched for hours, and the public was told there was no immediate solution...

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DEI Reassignments and Federal Employee Rights

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Recent developments at the Interior Department highlight a pattern federal employees should understand. Dozens of employees who spent more than a year on involuntary paid administr...

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Schedule Policy/Career: Before You Sign the Form

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Federal employees have not yet seen formal Schedule Policy/Career conversions implemented—but the paperwork is already in place. The Office of Personnel Management has prepared an ...

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When “DEI” Becomes a Legal Standard Without a Definition

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A recent federal court ruling allowed deposition videos of former DOGE staffers to remain public, emphasizing a core principle: transparency outweighs discomfort when government of...

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Southworth PC Expands Support for Federal Employees

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For federal employees facing discipline, probationary removal, EEO retaliation, or abrupt policy shifts, the quality of legal representation can change the course of a career. That...

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MSPB Ruling on Immigration Judges and Article II

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A recent Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) decision, Jackler and Jaroch v. Department of Justice, marks a significant shift in how certain federal employees may be classified—a...

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TSA Shutdown Pay and ICE Deployment Risks

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TSA officers have now spent weeks working without pay during the DHS shutdown—many for nearly half the fiscal year under some form of funding lapse. The law does guarantee back pay...

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DOGE Ruling: What It Means for Federal Employees

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A March 23 federal court ruling in New Mexico v. Musk signals a meaningful shift in how courts may evaluate actions taken under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). For ...

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Federal Workplace Stress: A Mindful Reset for Burnout

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A recent survey of more than 11,000 federal employees placed governmentwide engagement at just 32 out of 100. Even more concerning, only 22.5% of respondents reported feeling safe ...

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DHS Shutdown: What TSA Officers Should Document

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The latest DHS shutdown development is not really about airport optics. It is about what happens when the government keeps requiring frontline federal employees to work without pay...

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Unlawful DOJ Leadership and Federal Employee Risk

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A federal judge in New Jersey recently stopped a sentencing hearing, ordered a DOJ prosecutor removed from the courtroom after repeated interruptions, and demanded sworn testimony ...

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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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