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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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Shutdown Update: What’s Really Happening — and When It Could End
As October 2025 unfolds, the federal shutdown shows no signs of quick resolution. Beneath the headlines, this is less a funding glitch and more a contest of leverage. Congress has ...
Unions Challenge Shutdown RIFs: What Federal Employees Must Know
Federal unions have filed a lawsuit against the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), challenging recent guidance that encouraged agen...
RIFs Continue During Shutdown: What Federal Employees Must Know
When a government shutdown looms, many federal employees assume all personnel actions grind to a halt. But as of September 29, 2025, OPM has clarified: Reduction in Force (RIF) act...
Interior Department RIFs: What Federal Employees Need to Know
Employees at the Department of the Interior (DOI) are facing a serious development: agency leadership has begun finalizing reduction-in-force (RIF) lists, with potential impacts ac...
You Are More Than Your Federal Job
For many federal employees, service to the government isn’t just a career—it’s an identity. The badge, the clearance, the GS level—these markers can begin to feel like the full mea...
ICE Hiring Bonuses: A Tale of Two Federal Workforces
Recent DHS announcements confirm that the push to hire Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel is both real and aggressive—up to $50,000 in signing bonuses, student loa...
MSPB RIF Appeals: How the 30-Day MSPB Deadline Works
If you’ve been affected by a reduction-in-force (RIF), your right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) comes with a strict clock. Under federal rules, you have 30...
How to File a RIF Appeal with the MSPB: Your Fast-Track Guide
When a Reduction in Force (RIF) notice lands in your inbox, the panic can be paralyzing. Questions spiral: What’s my deadline? Do I have any rights? Should I hire a lawyer? And whi...
Judge Orders Full RIF Plans Released by July 23
A federal judge has ordered the release of agency-wide Reduction in Force (RIF) blueprints by July 23. If you’re a GS-9 or higher employee concerned about your job security, this r...
Why Some Agencies Are Pausing RIFs—and What It Means for You
Some agencies that once charged ahead with mass reductions in force (RIFs) are now quietly tapping the brakes. Officially, they’re citing early retirements and voluntary departures...
What Federal Employees Need to Know About the Latest HHS RIF
If you’re among the many federal employees stunned by a Reduction in Force (RIF) email, you’re not alone—and you’re not powerless. In the wake of HHS issuing revised RIF notices ti...
Agencies Reassess RIFs Amid Voluntary Exits and Legal Pressure
If you’re a federal employee watching the Reduction in Force (RIF) situation unfold, you’re likely feeling the emotional whiplash. Just this week, the White House admitted to track...
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