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

Did Federal Layoffs Really Lead to Higher Pay in 2025?

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In 2025, hundreds of thousands of federal employees were pushed out of government service. At a one-year press briefing, the President celebrated those cuts and claimed that displa...

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Can a President Cancel the Midterms? Legal Reality for Feds

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Federal employees are asking a question that feels alarming but understandable in the current climate: Can a president cancel the midterm elections? Often bundled with that fear is...

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January 30 Shutdown Deadline: What Federal Employees Should Do Now

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As the January 30 funding deadline approaches, many federal employees are feeling a familiar mix of tension and uncertainty. That reaction is not overblown. This is the narrow wind...

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Federal Workforce Cuts and Political Pressure in 2026

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Federal employees are hearing the phrase “good government” a lot lately—but a new report suggests the reality inside agencies looks far less reassuring. The Partnership for Public ...

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When Enforcement Turns Deadly: Legal Guardrails and Moral Limits

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Federal employees are trained to understand authority, hierarchy, and risk. They also understand that government power—especially armed power—must be exercised within strict legal ...

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When Government Messaging Crosses a Constitutional Line

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Federal employees expect policy disagreements. They do not expect official government channels to echo language historically associated with extremist ideologies. Yet recent agency...

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TSA Blocked from Ending Union Rights by Federal Judge

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For Transportation Security Officers and other TSA bargaining-unit employees, a recent federal court order delivered a rare moment of clarity—and accountability. A judge found that...

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Why Federal Employment Law Requires Specialized Attorneys

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Federal employees often hear a familiar refrain: “An employment lawyer is an employment lawyer.” That assumption can be costly. Federal employment law is not a niche add-on to priv...

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Reporter Search Warrants and Federal Employee Risk

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When federal agents execute a search warrant at a reporter’s home, it is not just a media ethics issue. For federal employees, it is a risk signal. A recent search of Washington Po...

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HHS Rescinds NIOSH RIF Notices: What It Means for Feds

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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...

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Can Executive Orders Erase Federal Union Rights?

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Federal employees are once again caught in the middle of a high-stakes legal fight over collective bargaining—and this one reaches far beyond any single agency or union. This week,...

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When Federal Employee Data Becomes a Weapon

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Federal employees often accept public scrutiny as part of public service. What most do not accept—and should not have to—is becoming personally exposed in moments of political outr...

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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.

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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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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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