For federal employees, HUD’s 2025 “wrapped” under Secretary Scott Turner is less a summary and more a warning. It shows how quickly an agency’s workforce, mission
...News, 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.
IRS Union Contract Termination: The Legal Fight
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...
RIFs May Restart After Feb. 13: What Feds Should Do Now
Federal employees received a temporary reprieve when Congress restricted agencies from using appropriated funds to initiate or carry out new reductions in force (RIFs). That restri...
OPM RIF Appeal Rule: MSPB Rights at Risk
Federal employees facing a Reduction-in-Force (RIF) already carry enough uncertainty. A new proposed rule from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) would fundamentally change h...
Congress Quietly Extended RIF Protections—Here’s What That Means
Federal employees are hearing a lot of noise about layoffs—and most of it misses a critical development. Even though the recent shutdown has ended, Congress quietly extended a key ...
Privacy Act Lawsuit Offers Hope After HHS RIF Errors
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....
HHS Rescinds NIOSH RIF Notices: What It Means for Feds
The Department of Health and Human Services has officially rescinded every Reduction in Force (RIF) notice issued to employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and...
Courts Force Disclosure of Federal RIF Plans
For many federal employees, last year’s wave of reductions in force (RIFs) and reorganizations felt abrupt and opaque. Decisions appeared to come from nowhere, with little explanat...
Shutdowns, RIFs, and Reclassification: A 2026 Reality Check for Federal Employees
Walking back into a federal building at the start of 2026, many employees feel a familiar tightness in the chest. That reaction is not overblown. It reflects an accurate reading of...
CFPB Mass Firings Blocked Again: What the New Court Ruling Means
Federal employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have endured a year of professional whiplash. One moment, mission-driven work continued as usual. The next, rumors of ...
Shutdown RIFs Frozen Until 2026: What the Injunction Means
For federal employees caught in the uncertainty of shutdown-related reductions in force (RIFs), a recent court order delivered rare clarity—and immediate relief. On December 18, Ju...
MSPB Certifies Rare Class Appeals for HUD and OPM Probationary Firings
For many federal employees, being labeled “probationary” has long felt like being disposable. February 2025 seemed to confirm that fear when HUD and OPM terminated hundreds of prob...
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.
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 podcastMindfulness
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.