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
 

Federal Discipline Overhaul: What You Must Know

By

For decades, federal employees relied on progressive discipline as a safeguard. It required managers to start small—warnings, short suspensions—before escalating to removal. That s...

Read Resource
 

Why Federal Employees Should Care About the Chemical Safety Board

By

Most federal employees can name the big agencies—EPA, OSHA, VA, DoD. But very few know the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). This independent agency has on...

Read Resource
 

Department of War Rebrand: Legal Reality Check

By

Federal employees have watched the dramatic announcement: the Department of Defense has been rebranded as the Department of War. The estimated cost? Roughly a billion dollars. That...

Read Resource
 

RIF Litigation Update: Three Cases Every Federal Employee Must Watch

By

Federal employees across agencies are facing reductions in force (RIFs) at an unprecedented pace. While some layoffs have already gone forward, the courts are still weighing critic...

Read Resource
 

OPM’s Plan to End Progressive Discipline: What Federal Employees Need to Know

By

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has signaled it may eliminate the requirement that agencies use progressive discipline. If that rule is repealed, federal managers could by...

Read Resource
 

Department of War Rebrand: What It Means for Federal Employees

By

The Department of Defense is no more—it’s now officially the Department of War. While the shift may sound dramatic, the reality for federal employees is far less exciting. No new f...

Read Resource
 

When Agencies Are Reassigned to ICE: What Federal Workers Must Know

By

Recent reports confirm that tens of thousands of federal employees—many with no connection to immigration enforcement—are being reassigned to ICE. Nearly 20,000 workers from agenci...

Read Resource
 

RFK Jr.’s Fiery HHS Testimony: What Federal Employees Should Note

By

When the Secretary of Health and Human Services testifies before Congress, federal employees expect a measured defense of science, policy, and public health. Instead, Robert F. Ken...

Read Resource
 

FEMA Workforce Cuts Raise Alarms Ahead of Disaster Season

By

When FEMA stumbles, the consequences ripple across the nation. A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report highlights a startling reality: FEMA entered the 2025 disaster se...

Read Resource
 

When Federal Grand Juries Say No: What It Means for Feds

By

Federal employees know better than most how rarely grand juries push back on the Department of Justice. Yet, last week in Washington, D.C., something extraordinary happened: four s...

Read Resource
 

VA Staffing Caps: What Federal Employees Need to Know

By

Starting October 1, the Department of Veterans Affairs will begin enforcing what it calls “baseline” staffing caps across all divisions—health, benefits, and cemeteries. According ...

Read Resource
 

CDC Shake-Up: Protecting Federal Employees Amid Political Turmoil

By

The removal of CDC Director Susan Monarez after just weeks on the job—and the immediate resignation of several senior leaders—has left the agency in turmoil. While headlines focus ...

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