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

DHS Leadership Controversies and Accountability

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Federal employees are often reminded that public service comes with heightened scrutiny and strict legal standards. Those expectations apply not only to rank-and-file employees but...

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DOJ Rule Proposal on State Bar Oversight

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Federal employees often assume attorney ethics rules operate the same inside government as they do outside it. A newly proposed Department of Justice regulation challenges that ass...

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Resilience for Federal Employees Beyond the Badge

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Federal employees are facing an unusual level of uncertainty. Policy changes, proposed rules, workplace restructuring, and shifting expectations can leave even seasoned GS-level pr...

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Proposed OPM Rule Could Replace Seniority in RIFs

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Federal employees have long understood one principle about reductions in force (RIFs): years of service matter. Seniority has historically been a key factor protecting experienced ...

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Political Loyalty and Federal Hiring Law

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Recent reporting has raised an uncomfortable question about how some federal hiring decisions may be framed. According to a summary circulated by a law school career services offic...

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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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Forced Performance Ratings and RIF Risk

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Many federal employees assume performance ratings only matter if they fall to the very bottom of the scale. In reality, the bigger risk in a forced distribution system often happen...

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IRS Union Contract Termination: The Legal Fight

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Federal employees at the IRS and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service recently received alarming news: Treasury announced that the agencies’ collective bargaining agreement with the Na...

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MSPB Will Not Hear Schedule Policy/Career Appeals

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Federal employees watching the rollout of Schedule Policy/Career should understand a critical procedural change: the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) has announced it will not...

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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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Schedule Policy/Career: A Major Change to Federal Job Protections

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Some federal employees may soon be presented with paperwork acknowledging a change in their employment status to something called Schedule Policy/Career. If that happens, it is imp...

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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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More ways to learn

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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.

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.

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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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