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
 

DOJ Indictment of SPLC Raises Concerns

By

A recent Department of Justice indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has raised a deeper legal concern that federal employees should not ignore: what happens wh...

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
 

DHS Shutdown Pay Crisis: What Federal Employees Can Do

By

For DHS employees, a funding lapse is no longer a political story happening in Washington. It is a payroll crisis landing in kitchens, bank accounts, and family budgets. When the S...

Read Resource
 

HHS RIF Legality: Hiring After Layoffs

By

A reduction in force (RIF) under federal law is supposed to eliminate positions—not simply replace the people who held them. That distinction matters. When an agency conducts a RIF...

Read Resource
 

Labor Secretary Resignation and Federal Employees

By

The resignation of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is more than a headline about political scandal. For federal employees, it is a reminder of what leadership instability does ...

Read Resource
 

Federal Employee Morale Decline: What You Can Do

By

Recent data confirms what many federal employees have already been experiencing firsthand: a sharp decline in workplace well-being. Gallup reports that the percentage of federal em...

Read Resource
 

OPM Medical Data Proposal Updates

By

A growing number of lawmakers are urging the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to fully withdraw its proposal to collect detailed medical data from federal health plans. Sixteen...

Read Resource
 

FBI Hiring Changes and Federal Workforce Risks

By

Recent changes at the FBI and Department of Justice reflect more than routine hiring adjustments. Reports of waived assessments, shortened training, and reduced experience requirem...

Read Resource
 

Unlawful Removal and Quo Warranto in Federal Agencies

By

A recent case involving a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member highlights a core principle federal employees often rely on but rarely see tested so directly: statutor...

Read Resource
 

FLRA Rule Change: What It Means for Union Rights

By

A recent rule change by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) quietly alters a process that has remained stable for more than four decades. Historically, union representatio...

Read Resource

USAID Contractor Ruling: Why “Bad Faith” Matters

By

A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims should get the attention of every federal employee watching ongoing agency restructuring. In Dan Zieger v. United States (Ap...

Read Resource

HHS RIF Appeals: When Agency Statements Undermine Legality

By

Recent congressional testimony about the HHS workforce reductions raises a legally significant question: was this truly a reduction in force—or something else? Under 5 U.S.C. Chapt...

Read Resource

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