For federal employees, HUD’s 2025 “wrapped” under Secretary Scott Turner is less a summary and more a warning. It shows how quickly an agency’s workforce, mission, and culture can be
...The Federal Employee Survival Blog
Cut through the jargon and get the clarity you need to stay a step ahead of agency politics. Each article unpacks new policy shifts, court rulings, and workplace trends, then turns them into actionable tactics—so you can head off discipline, invoke EEO or whistleblower protections with confidence, and keep your documentation airtight. We also archive our most popular social-media explainer threads here, giving you the same insights followed by more than 150,000 people online even if you never scroll on those sites. Read, prepare, and keep your federal career firmly in your control.
OPM’s Proposed Rule Could Strip Probationary Employees of MSPB Rights
Jan 05, 2026
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Federal employees often hear that probation is “temporary vulnerability.” What is now on the table would turn that vulnerability into something far more permanent—and far more dangerous for the integr...
Shutdowns, RIFs, and Reclassification: A 2026 Reality Check for Federal Employees
Jan 02, 2026
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Walking back into a federal building at the start of 2026, many employees feel a familiar tightness in the chest. That reaction is not overblown. It reflects an accurate reading of the landscape—espec...
Kristi Noem’s DHS and What 2025 Meant for Federal Employees
Dec 31, 2025
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For federal employees, leadership at the top of an agency is not an abstract concern. It determines how power is exercised, how mistakes are corrected, and whether career staff are protected or expose...
A Year-End and Year Ahead Report for Federal Employees
Dec 31, 2025
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As the year closes, many federal employees are not feeling celebratory. Investigations linger, disciplinary proposals land without warning, and workplace rules continue to shift. A year-end check-in i...
Pam Bondi’s DOJ: A Troubling 2025 Year in Review
Dec 19, 2025
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For many federal employees, 2025 has felt destabilizing—especially for those who built careers around the assumption that the rule of law, not political loyalty, anchors public service. At the Departm...
What NCAR’s Targeting Signals for Federal Scientists
Dec 18, 2025
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Federal employees are used to policy shifts. What is unfolding around the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is something different—and more personal for anyone working in science, resear...
Why Merit Systems—and Giving Back—Still Matter
Dec 18, 2025
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For many federal employees, the idea of a “merit system” can feel abstract—something discussed in regulations or performance plans. But for those who grew up without safety nets, merit is not a theory...
Are Forced Performance Rating Quotas Legal for Federal Employees?
Dec 17, 2025
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Federal employees across agencies are hearing a troubling message at the end of the appraisal year: even strong performance won’t matter because only a small percentage of people can receive top ratin...
Federal Overtime After Lesko: Why Written Approval Matters
Dec 16, 2025
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Federal employees are often told, “Just stay late—we’ll sort out the overtime later.” For years, many assumed that if management knew about the work and benefited from it, pay would follow. A recent e...
When Agencies Cap “5s”: The Hidden Risks of Forced Performance Ratings
Dec 16, 2025
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For many federal employees, a performance year ends with a quiet shock: strong feedback all year, solid results, and then a rating capped at a “3” because the office “can’t give too many 5s.” That fee...
Feed the DMV: Let's Show Up for Our Community
Dec 15, 2025
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Federal employees are no strangers to uncertainty. Shutdown threats, benefit cuts, inflation, and recent federal job losses have pushed many households across the DMV to the edge. Against that backdro...
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