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.

 
Federal Discipline Overhaul: What You Must Know discipline changes federal employment mindfulness at work opm guidance pips Sep 09, 2025

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 system is now gone. A...

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Why Federal Employees Should Care About the Chemical Safety Board agency oversight chemical safety board federal employment mindfulness at work workplace safety Sep 09, 2025

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 one mission: investiga...

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Department of War Rebrand: Legal Reality Check department of defense federal employment government rebrand mindfulness at work procurement law Sep 09, 2025

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 figure isn’t inflat...

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RIF Litigation Update: Three Cases Every Federal Employee Must Watch federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals opm authority rif litigation Sep 09, 2025

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 critical legal questions. ...

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OPM’s Plan to End Progressive Discipline: What Federal Employees Need to Know federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals opm rule changes progressive discipline Sep 08, 2025

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 bypass warnings, suspe...

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The Risk of Ending Progressive Discipline in Federal Employment federal employment mspb appeals opm rules progressive discipline workplace fairness Sep 08, 2025

For decades, the federal workplace has recognized that mistakes happen and that growth is part of the process. Progressive discipline reflects this truth: employees receive coaching, warnings, or susp...

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Department of War Rebrand: What It Means for Federal Employees department of defense federal employment federal workforce rights mindfulness at work mspb appeals Sep 08, 2025

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 funding, no staff inc...

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When Agencies Are Reassigned to ICE: What Federal Workers Must Know agency rights federal employment ice reassignments mindfulness at work mspb appeals Sep 05, 2025

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 agencies like IRS, FBI, DE...

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Trump’s Proposed OPM Rules Could Gut Federal Job Protections federal employment federal job protections opm regulations progressive discipline rif appeals Sep 05, 2025

Federal employees, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) just previewed regulations that would mark one of the most sweeping rollbacks of civil service protections in decades. These proposals, fram...

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RFK Jr.’s Fiery HHS Testimony: What Federal Employees Should Note cdc federal employment hhs testimony mindfulness at work professionalism Sep 05, 2025

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. Kennedy Jr. turned his ...

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FEMA Workforce Cuts Raise Alarms Ahead of Disaster Season disaster preparedness federal employment fema workforce gao report mindfulness at work Sep 04, 2025

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 season with only 12% o...

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When Federal Grand Juries Say No: What It Means for Feds doj credibility federal employment grand jury legal accountability mindfulness at work Sep 04, 2025

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 separate federal gran...

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