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 podcastNews, 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.
Can Congress Restore Federal Union Rights in 2025?
Federal employees across several agencies felt the shift almost immediately this year: bargaining tables went quiet, contracts suddenly felt fragile, and management decisions began...
DOJ Memo Tells Auditors to Ignore PREA Protections
A leaked Department of Justice memo has left many federal employees, especially those in corrections, law enforcement, and oversight roles, asking the same anxious question: What h...
IRS Ends Hardship Telework — What That Means for Your Accommodation Rights
IRS employees are waking up to a harsh reality: the agency has closed out pending hardship telework requests without individualized review, citing a top-down return-to-office manda...
How OPM’s Push for Forced Distribution Could Impact Your Federal Career
OPM’s recent announcement that it wants to “normalize” agency performance ratings should get every GS-9 and above employee’s attention. Behind the technical language is a major shi...
How the 2026 NDAA Draft Could Reshape DoD Civilian Careers
For GS-9 and above employees navigating an already shifting federal landscape, the draft 2026 National Defense Authorization Act carries quiet but significant implications. While t...
Federal Workers and the New Management Agenda: What It Really Signals
Every federal employee eventually asks the same quiet question: Is this it, or is more change coming? The newly released President’s Management Agenda — a brief two-page document —...
Supreme Court Signals Shift on Independent Agencies
When the Supreme Court devotes nearly two hours to questioning whether the President can fire leaders of “independent” agencies at will, federal employees should take notice. The a...
Presidential Removal Power and What It Means for MSPB Independence
A divided D.C. Circuit decision on Friday did something federal employees can’t afford to overlook: it upheld the president’s ability to fire members of the Merit Systems Protectio...
Presidential Removal Power: What Today’s Supreme Court Case Means for Feds
or many federal employees, the fear sits quietly beneath the usual stressors: Could a president fire people simply for not falling in line? Today’s Supreme Court arguments bring th...
VA’s Non-Citizen Workforce Sweep: Legal and Workplace Risks
A leaked VA memo has triggered understandable alarm: by December 30, every VA facility must submit a list of all non-U.S. citizens “employed by or affiliated with” the department. ...
Judge Halts State Department RIFs: What Federal Employees Need to Know
Hundreds of State Department employees woke up on December 5 believing it was their final day in federal service. Overnight, that story changed. A federal judge issued an emergency...
FEMA Whistleblowers and the Red Flags of Retaliation
When fourteen FEMA whistleblowers were reinstated in the morning and removed again by the afternoon—right after national reporting embarrassed DHS—many federal employees saw someth...
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.
Mindfulness
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.