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

2027 Federal Pay Freeze: What It Means for You

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The 2027 budget proposal includes no pay raise for civilian federal employees. While not yet final, the omission is significant. In contrast, military compensation is proposed to i...

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IRS W-2 Errors Force Employees to Amend Tax Returns

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Few stories capture the strain on today’s federal workforce more clearly than this one: the IRS reportedly told employees that their W-2 forms were incorrect just weeks before Tax ...

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Federal Workforce Cuts vs Defense Spending

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When leaders promise “efficiency,” federal employees should always ask two questions: what is being cut, and what is being protected? The contrast in this transcript is stark. Hund...

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DOJ Leadership Changes and Federal Employee Risks

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Recent leadership changes at the Department of Justice highlight a deeper concern for federal employees: the potential erosion of institutional independence. While political turnov...

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Birthright Citizenship Case and Federal Rule of Law

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The Supreme Court’s recent oral arguments on birthright citizenship may seem far removed from federal employment. They are not. At its core, the case tests a foundational question:...

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HHS Layoffs and the Public Health Fallout

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One year after thousands of Department of Health and Human Services employees were terminated, the consequences are no longer abstract. They are visible inside agencies, in delayed...

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Forest Service Reorganization and Union Rights

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The Forest Service’s planned reorganization is not just another agency reshuffle. It is a live example of how much collective bargaining can matter when federal employees are told ...

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FBI Firings and Constitutional Due Process Rights

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Three former FBI agents—each with strong performance records and decades of combined service—have filed a lawsuit challenging their abrupt terminations. According to the complaint,...

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VA Union Contract Stay: What It Means Now

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When agencies and courts move quickly, uncertainty follows. Right now, VA employees are asking a simple but urgent question: does the union contract still apply while the case is o...

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DHS Shutdown Pay Gap: Who’s Still Unpaid

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A recent executive order redirected funds to pay Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, delivering two missed paychecks to many employees. While that relief matters...

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Federal Hiring Crisis: Recruitment vs. Retention Reality

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The federal government’s renewed push to attract early-career talent comes at a moment of deep internal contradiction. After significant losses across critical job series—HR, contr...

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Treasury OFR Workforce Cuts Raise Financial Oversight Concerns

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The Office of Financial Research was created after the 2008 financial crisis for a specific reason: to identify threats building inside the financial system before they become nati...

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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.

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