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

FEMA Cuts Lawsuit: Why DHS Staffing Orders Face Scrutiny

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Federal employees woke up this week to a legal filing that deserves close attention—especially anyone working at FEMA or within DHS. A newly filed Supplemental Complaint in federal...

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Shutdown Update: DHS Split Deal and What It Means

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Federal employees woke up this morning to something that has been missing for days: a credible offramp from a government shutdown. Not a promise, not a done deal—but a real procedu...

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January 2026 Shutdown: Which Agencies are at Risk

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As the January 30 funding deadline approaches, the question facing federal employees has shifted. The issue is no longer whether a shutdown will occur, but how wide it will be—and ...

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Privacy Act Lawsuit Offers Hope After HHS RIF Errors

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A federal judge has allowed a significant Privacy Act lawsuit to move forward, and for former HHS employees impacted by last year’s Reduction in Force (RIF), that decision matters....

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2,300 Unlawful ICE Detentions Since July 2025

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Federal employees are trained to think in systems, not slogans. That is why a striking number deserves careful attention: since July, federal judges have ruled at least 2,300 times...

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When ‘Good Enough’ Isn’t Safe: AI and Federal Rulemaking

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Federal employees are increasingly being asked to do more with less—fewer staff, tighter deadlines, and higher stakes. A recent report that the Department of Transportation plans t...

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FEMA Funding Bottleneck: What Federal Employees Need to Know

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Federal employees woke up this week to reporting that should command attention across government: roughly $17 billion in FEMA disaster aid is stalled, not because disasters were in...

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Why Federal Employees Feel on Edge—and How to Regain Clarity

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Federal employees are operating in an environment of sustained uncertainty. Shutdown risk, conflicting public narratives, and highly visible violence create a constant sense that c...

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When a Federal Employee Is Labeled Before the Facts

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The death of Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minneapolis this weekend has shaken many federal employees—not only because of the violence itself, but because of what followed. Mr. Pretti was...

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January 30 Shutdown Risk: What Federal Employees Should Know

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As the week of January 26 begins, the risk of a partial government shutdown has escalated sharply. What began as routine budget brinkmanship has turned into a high-stakes standoff ...

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Partial Shutdown Risk Rises Due to Escalating Dispute Over DHS

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As of the final week before the January 30, 2026 funding deadline, the risk of a partial government shutdown has materially increased. This shift is not driven by abstract budget m...

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General Strikes and Federal Employee Discipline Risks

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Minnesota is seeing something rare in modern American life: a general strike. Unlike a single-union walkout or a permitted march, a general strike asks ordinary people to pause dai...

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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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