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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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HHS’s New Telework Limits vs. the Rehabilitation Act
CDC and HHS employees have been forwarding the new telework FAQ with a kind of stunned disbelief—and for good reason. The document attempts to cap all telework at 80 hours per year...
Southworth PC is Hiring for Associate Attorneys
For many federal employees, the last year has felt like one long emergency: shutdown-era RIFs, whistleblower retaliation, due-process fights, and careers jeopardized by clearance i...
Why State’s New “Fidelity” Standard Threatens Merit Protections
Federal employees have seen many political swings over the years, but the State Department’s reported decision to award retroactive promotions and back pay to nearly 300 employees ...
CDC Workforce Cuts and What Federal Employees Need to Know
Federal employees returning from the shutdown are walking into workplaces changed by months of uncertainty—but nowhere is the disruption more visible than at the Centers for Diseas...
OPM’s Draft Schedule F Rule and the Risk to Career Civil Service Rights
Federal employees have heard whispers for months, but the recently leaked draft regulations go further than expected: nearly 50,000 career employees could lose core civil service p...
Education Dismantling and What It Means for Federal Employees
Federal employees are watching a quiet but sweeping restructuring take place: core functions of the Department of Education are being carved out and reassigned to Interior, State, ...
DHS’s $220M Border Ads: What Federal Employees Need to Know
When a 43-day shutdown left federal employees scrambling to cover rent and groceries, another story unfolded almost unnoticed: DHS quietly pushed out a $220 million “emergency” med...
Federal Unions After the Discharge Petition: What This Means for You
For the first time in years, a bipartisan majority of the House has signed a discharge petition forcing a vote on the Protect America’s Workforce Act—legislation aimed at undoing t...
Avoid Costly FEHB Surprises: Open Season 2026 Changes You Must Check
Open Season brings predictable adjustments each year, but 2026 carries a less familiar risk: eight FEHB plan options are disappearing, including NALC High and NALC CDHP—two plans w...
Schedule F Returns: What the New FOIA Lawsuit Means
A new FOIA lawsuit seeks OPM’s secret Schedule Policy/Career lists. Here’s what federal policy employees need to know about potential at-will conversion.
Federal employees in poli...
RIF Notices This Fall: What the New OPM Rules Really Mean for You
If you received a RIF notice this fall—or even heard rumors of one—the new guidance tied to the Continuing Appropriations Act changes your legal footing in very real ways. Under th...
Shutdown Aftermath: What Federal Employees Need to Know Now
Five days after a 43-day shutdown, many federal employees describe the same emotional mix: relief that the lights are back on, anger at the instability, confusion about pay, and fe...
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