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

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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Federal Employees Are Carrying Too Much Right Now. Here Are Four Practices That Actually Help.

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If you’re a federal employee reading this, you’re probably not just “stressed.”

You’re dealing with a specific kind of pressure that hits harder than normal life stress: prolonged...

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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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January 30 Shutdown Deadline: What Federal Employees Should Know

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For many federal employees, the word “shutdown” triggers an immediate stress response. This is not abstract politics—it is rent, child care, medical appointments, and the basic abi...

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Can ICE Force Entry Without a Judge’s Warrant?

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For many federal employees—and for anyone who values constitutional limits on government power—the most important legal battles are not abstract. They happen at the front door. A r...

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What Trump v. Cook Signals for Federal Job Protections

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Federal employees have been asking a practical question after yesterday’s Supreme Court argument: does this case actually matter to everyday federal job protections? The short answ...

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The Government Admitted It Lost Track of Social Security Data

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Most Americans trust that their Social Security information is protected by some of the strictest safeguards in the federal government. Recent court filings, however, reveal a trou...

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HHS Telework Order Blocked by Arbitration Ruling

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Federal employees received a notable reality check this week: a presidential return-to-office memo does not automatically override negotiated union contracts. In a significant arbi...

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When a “Detail” Becomes a Legal Problem at Education

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When an agency tells employees to grab a PIV card and laptop and report to another department’s building, it is easy to dismiss it as an inconvenience. But what is unfolding at the...

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Social Security Data Misuse and Federal Accountability

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Recent court filings by the Department of Justice revealed a deeply unsettling concession: individuals associated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may ha...

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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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Mindfulness

Work Peacefully

Use practical mindfulness tools to create space between workplace pressure and the decision you make next.

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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.

Meet Shaun & Lydia

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