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.

 
DEI and Merit Are Not Opposites—They’re Partners dei in government federal employment merit-based hiring public trust workplace diversity Aug 14, 2025

In 1960, about 96% of U.S. lawyers were white men. Women made up less than 5% of the profession, and Black lawyers numbered only in the low thousands nationwide. That wasn’t because talent was lacking...

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A New Executive Order Puts Federal Museum Staff in the Crosshairs federal employment historical accuracy museum staff rights political interference smithsonian review Aug 14, 2025

Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order titled Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. Now, the White House has launched a sweeping review of eight major Smithsonian museu...

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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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OFCCP Layoffs Canceled: What Federal Employees Need to Know agency reorganization federal employment ofccp rif avoidance workplace rights Aug 14, 2025

The Department of Labor has announced it will not proceed with planned reductions in force (RIFs) at the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). Instead, employees will be reassigned w...

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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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Federal Takeover of D.C. Police: Legal and Civil Rights Implications civil rights d.c. home rule act federal employment local democracy public safety emergency Aug 13, 2025

On August 11, 2025, the President invoked Section 740 of the D.C. Home Rule Act to declare a public safety emergency, place the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under federal control, and deploy 8...

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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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Why Forced Bell Curves Fail Federal Performance Management federal employment merit system mspb appeals performance management workplace culture Aug 12, 2025

Federal performance isn’t a classroom test or a corporate sales contest—it’s complex, interdependent work that often requires everyone performing well at once. Forced distribution, sometimes called th...

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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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Understanding Presidential Authority Over D.C. Police and Guard d.c. national guard federal employment federal workplace rights posse comitatus presidential authority Aug 12, 2025

Today’s headlines about federal control of law enforcement in Washington, D.C., can feel alarming—but the legal framework is more limited than some coverage suggests. The President has authority to di...

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