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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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VA OIG Finds Sharp Rise in Severe Staffing Shortages
A new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (OIG) confirms what many feared: severe staffing shortages in the Veterans Health Administration ha...
Why Forced Bell Curves Fail Federal Performance Management
Federal performance isn’t a classroom test or a corporate sales contest—it’s complex, interdependent work that often requires everyone performing well at once. Forced distribution,...
Federal Court Orders OMB to Restore Spending Transparency Site
On August 12, 2025, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the White House budget office to bring its spending-transparency website back online by Friday, August 15. The site—kn...
Black Women and the Federal Workforce Decline
Between May and August, more than 300,000 Black women left—or were pushed out of—the U.S. workforce. The headlines barely noticed, but the impact is anything but small. For many, t...
Understanding Presidential Authority Over D.C. Police and Guard
Today’s headlines about federal control of law enforcement in Washington, D.C., can feel alarming—but the legal framework is more limited than some coverage suggests. The President...
OPM’s New Awards Guidance: What Federal Employees Need to Know
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued new, government-wide guidance aimed at “targeting the highest-performing” federal employees for the largest awards and bonuses. ...
EPA Ends Union Recognition Under Executive Order 14251
On August 8, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will no longer recognize its unions, terminating all collective bargaining agreements effective immediatel...
Religious Rights at Work: Where the Law Draws the Line
Recent headlines suggest a push to “empower federal employees to share their faith at work.” While that might sound like a new right, religious expression in federal workplaces has...
OPM Orders Removal of COVID-19 Vaccine Records from Federal Files
On August 8, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a government-wide directive requiring agencies to delete all records of federal employees’ COVID-19 vaccination s...
MSPB RIF Appeal Deadlines: Why Filing Early Matters
When a federal Reduction in Force (RIF) strikes, the clock starts ticking fast. Under Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) rules, you generally have 30 days from the later of (1) ...
CBS Report Challenges Federal “Savings” Claims
CBS News recently analyzed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) records and found a major gap between headline claims and actual numbers. On three high-profile HHS contracts—...
MSPB RIF Appeals: How the 30-Day MSPB Deadline Works
If you’ve been affected by a reduction-in-force (RIF), your right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) comes with a strict clock. Under federal rules, you have 30...
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