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

VA Union Rights Restored: What It Means for Feds

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A March 13, 2026 court order has immediate, practical consequences for more than 300,000 Department of Veterans Affairs employees. A federal judge required the VA to fully restore ...

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DOE and NASA Move to End Federal Union Bargaining

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Federal employees at the Department of Energy (DOE) and NASA just witnessed one of the most consequential labor developments in decades. DOE issued notices terminating collective b...

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Schedule Policy/Career Lawsuits: What Federal Employees Should Know

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Many federal employees are asking the same question: Is anyone actually fighting Schedule Policy/Career in court? The answer is yes. But the procedural posture of those cases is mo...

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Federal Union Loss and Changing Appeal Rights

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Federal employees often think of unions primarily in terms of workplace culture, negotiations, or disputes with management. But in the federal sector, union representation does som...

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IRS Ends NTEU Agreement: What Federal Employees Should Know

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On February 27, 2026, the Internal Revenue Service announced it was terminating its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). The age...

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OPM Performance Appraisal Rule: Key Risks for Feds

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On February 24, 2026, OPM published a proposed rule that could significantly reshape how federal employees are rated, rewarded, and disciplined. Comments are due by March 26, 2026....

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AFGE Wins HUD Telework Arbitration Case

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Federal employees received significant news this week: AFGE Council 222 secured a class-wide arbitration win requiring HUD to restore routine telework agreements that were rolled b...

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FLRA General Counsel and Federal Union Rights

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If you are a federal employee in a bargaining unit, the nomination of a new General Counsel for the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is not abstract politics. It goes direc...

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OPM Union Contract Terminations: What Feds Must Know

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If you are a bargaining unit employee who relies on your union for discipline defense or grievance protection, recent guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) deserve...

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HHS Telework Order Blocked by Arbitration Ruling

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Federal employees received a notable reality check this week: a presidential return-to-office memo does not automatically override negotiated union contracts. In a significant arbi...

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TSA Blocked from Ending Union Rights by Federal Judge

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For Transportation Security Officers and other TSA bargaining-unit employees, a recent federal court order delivered a rare moment of clarity—and accountability. A judge found that...

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Can Executive Orders Erase Federal Union Rights?

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Federal employees are once again caught in the middle of a high-stakes legal fight over collective bargaining—and this one reaches far beyond any single agency or union. This week,...

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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.

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Hear Shaun Southworth and Lydia Taylor explain federal employee rights, public service, workplace systems, and the people navigating them.

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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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