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

Congress Quietly Extended RIF Protections—Here’s What That Means

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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 ...

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DHS Funding Deadline: ICE/CBP Guardrails Protect Everyone

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As Congress approaches another Department of Homeland Security funding deadline, the conversation often turns abstract—numbers, headlines, and partisan talking points. Recent testi...

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OPM Back Pay Guidance Changes and a New Bill That Could Fix It

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Federal employees may feel relief that the recent shutdown ended, but a quiet change by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) deserves attention. OPM recently removed language f...

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Black History Month: Practicing Racial Justice at Work

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Black History Month is often framed as a time for reflection, celebration, and learning. For federal employees, it can also be a moment to think more deeply about how racial justic...

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During a Shutdown, Get Your Work Status in Writing

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When a shutdown or funding lapse looms, many federal employees report the same unsettling pattern: offices acting as if it’s “business as usual,” while managers avoid putting anyth...

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Shutdown Update: DHS is the Pressure Point

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Many federal employees woke up this morning hoping for closure. The partial shutdown is only a few days old, and there is a real chance it ends later today. If that happens, some f...

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Black Federal Employees: Progress, Power, and What Endures

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Black History Month has reached its 100-year mark. Black federal employment stretches back nearly 160 years. Those timelines invite a hard but necessary question for today’s workfo...

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GAO Telework Report: What SSA Employees Need to Know

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A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on federal telework is already circulating inside the Social Security Administration (SSA), and it deserves close attention from...

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VA Reorganization Plans: What Staffing Caps Really Mean

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VA employees—especially those working in clinics, hospitals, and regional offices—are hearing a familiar phrase again: reorganization. This time, VA leadership has told Congress it...

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Black History Month and the Legacy of Black Federal Workers

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Black History Month turns 100 this year. It began in 1926 as Negro History Week, created by Dr. Carter G. Woodson to correct a national record that erased Black contributions from ...

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Partial Shutdown Update: DHS Is the Real Pressure Point

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For many federal employees, the word “reopening” sounds like relief. But this week’s partial government shutdown illustrates an uncomfortable truth: reopening parts of the governme...

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Shutdown Update: Senate Deal Framework Explained

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Federal employees received an unexpected update late Thursday afternoon: according to the New York Times, Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, and the White House have reached a f...

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Shaun Southworth & Lydia Taylor

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