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 podcastNews, 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.
DOGE Is Dead. The Damage to the Federal Workforce Isn't.
DOGE β the Department of Government Efficiency β officially shut down on July 4, but the damage to the federal workforce it leaves behind is only now coming into focus. When Congre...
OPM's Proposed Rule: A 30-Day PIP Cap and Removal by Default
A newly proposed rule from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) could reshape how federal performance cases work β capping performance improvement periods at 30 days and making...
Federal Court Blocks FLRA From Stripping Career Staff of Union Election Authority
For once, the news out of the Federal Labor Relations Authority is good for federal employees and their unions.
Background: More Than 40 Years of Career Oversight
Since 1983, car...
NTEU Sues Treasury and HHS Over Thousands of Stalled Accommodation Requests
Federal employees waiting on disability accommodation requests at the IRS, HHS, or CDC just got some backing. On Monday, the National Treasury Employees Union sued the Treasury Dep...
OPM's Forced Distribution Rule: What It Means for Your Federal Performance Rating
Federal performance ratings are about to look very different. This week, the Office of Personnel Management finalized the biggest overhaul of federal employee performance ratings i...
Bureau of Prisons Closures and RIF Notices: What Affected Employees Need to Know
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) announced this week that it is closing six federal correctional facilities across five states. The agency says many affected employees can transfer to a...
Federal Employees: Communicate Before Crisis
For federal employees, communication is no longer a soft skill. It can be the difference between preserving your record and creating an avoidable problem. A rushed email to a super...
OPM Finalizes Rule Letting Agencies Fire Current Employees as 'Unsuitable'
OPM has finalized a new suitability rule that lets agencies remove current federal employees for serious misconduct that happens after they're hired β closing a gap that, until now...
Supreme Court Ends Independent Agency Protection, Spares the Fed by One Vote
The Supreme Court has effectively ended ninety years of independent agency protection for federal officials. In a pair of decisions issued the same day, June 29, 2026, the Court ru...
Can the MSPB Stay Independent? A Private White House Meeting and a Broken Precedent Raise the Question
The Merit Systems Protection Board β the independent body federal employees count on when they're fired β may have made its most consequential ruling in decades after a private mee...
What Trump v. Slaughter Means for Federal Employees: The Supreme Court Expands Presidential Removal Power
If it feels like the ground keeps shifting under your feet as a federal employee, the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Slaughter is one more reason why. This case involved the ...
Who Controls Federal Grant Money? A New OMB Rule Would Give Political Appointees the Final Say
A proposed federal rule would shift control over nearly every federal grant away from subject-matter experts and into the hands of senior political appointees β and the public comm...
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.
Mindfulness
Work Peacefully
Use practical mindfulness tools to create space between workplace pressure and the decision you make next.
Explore mindfulness resourcesAbout 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 & LydiaThe 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.