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Civil Rights for Civil Servants
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Shutdown Roundup: Pay, RIFs, and What Feds Must Do
Federal employees, here’s your no-spin roundup from Friday through Monday—and the steps to protect your pay, benefits, and rights amid this shutdown.
What Changed Friday–Monday
F...
Federal Shutdown Back Pay: What the Law Really Says
This week has been a rollercoaster for federal employees. On Wednesday, the IRS assured furloughed staff they were guaranteed back pay once the shutdown ends. By Thursday, that mes...
Senate Floated Piecemeal Reopening: Here's What It Means
Senate leaders are floating a plan to pass full-year funding one agency at a time, with Defense likely first. In plain terms: some components could return to work and receive back ...
Are Furloughed Federal Employees Guaranteed Back Pay?
For many federal employees, this shutdown feels different. Early this week, the administration floated a new legal argument claiming that furloughed workers might not be automatica...
Shutdown RIF Threats Ease—for Now
Federal employees, take a breath. As of today, the White House appears to be stepping back from immediate plans for large-scale Reductions in Force (RIFs). That’s not a promise the...
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 ...
Government Shutdown Nears an End: What Federal Employees Should Watch
After weeks of uncertainty, there’s a cautious sense of hope. The latest political signals suggest that the government shutdown—now one of the most disruptive in recent memory—coul...
Partisan Auto-Replies and the Hatch Act
On day one of the recent government shutdown, employees at the Department of Education set standard out-of-office replies: neutral messages explaining that, due to a funding lapse,...
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...
Gratitude as a Legal Anchor in Uncertain Federal Times
If you are a federal employee right now, you don’t need a reminder that the landscape feels unstable. Shutdown deadlines, RIF whispers, and questions about pending cases can make e...
How to Prepare for a Possible Government Shutdown
As of now, Congress has failed to pass 10 of the 12 required spending bills, with current funding set to expire at midnight on September 30. For federal employees, that means it’s ...
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