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

Supreme Court RIF Ruling Threatens Department of Education’s Future

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In an extraordinary and troubling move, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has allowed the Department of Education to sideline 1,378 employees—more than half its workforce—w...

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Federal Layoffs, FEMA Failures, and What Federal Workers Must Do Now

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While floodwaters rose in Texas and 120 Americans waited helplessly on rooftops, FEMA’s call centers were overwhelmed with more than 16,000 cries for help. Yet 84% of those calls w...

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Supreme Court Ruling Protects Federal Task Forces

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Last week, while many federal employees waited anxiously for the Supreme Court’s decision on the nationwide RIF freeze, the Court quietly handed down a ruling with enormous implica...

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Will the Supreme Court End Nationwide Injunctions?

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For federal employees anxiously watching legal developments around the nationwide RIF injunctions, today—Thursday, June 26, 2025—could be pivotal. Not necessarily because of a dire...

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Congress May Grant Sweeping Powers to Restructure Federal Agencies

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Buried in the latest Senate reconciliation bill is a proposal that could profoundly alter the federal civil service. The Reorganizing Government Act of 2025 would revive executive ...

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SCOTUS RIF Ruling Could Trigger Massive Federal Layoffs

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Federal employees across agencies—from the IRS to HHS—are awaiting a pivotal Supreme Court decision that could either trigger or prevent the largest wave of federal layoffs in mode...

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96% Pushbacks from District Courts: What It Means for Your Job

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May brought a wave of legal defeats for the administration—26 out of 27 challenged actions were struck down in federal district courts. If you're a federal employee worried about y...

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How This Week’s RIF Ruling Could Impact Your Federal Career

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Federal employees on Reduction-in-Force (RIF) notices are standing on edge this week. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals may rule as early as May 29 on whether to lift a nationwide...

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How to Appeal a Federal RIF to the MSPB

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If you’ve received a Reduction in Force (RIF) notice, you’re likely navigating shock, anxiety, and an avalanche of questions. As a federal employee, the stakes are high—your pensio...

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Trump Admin's Stay Request Could Trigger Immediate Federal RIFs

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On Friday, May 16, 2025, the administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a federal district court’s order that has temporarily blocked the largest Reduction in Force (RIF) ...

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19 States Sue Over HHS Layoffs: What Federal Employees Need to Know

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When 10,000 public-health professionals received pink slips this spring and entire research teams were told to pack up by June, the shock waves ripped far beyond the Department of ...

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Surviving Federal RIFs, Telework Cuts, and Schedule F Risks

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The ground beneath federal employees is shifting fast. In just three months we’ve seen an OPM initiative that could convert 50,000 positions—including 10,000 at SSA—into “at-will” ...

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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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