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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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NIH News: Lab Leaks, Layoffs, and Budget Cuts
The new NIH director's first town hall was anything but routine. In a candid moment, he acknowledged that NIH-funded research may have leaked from a lab, and openly called the rece...
Federal Retirement Cuts: What Congress Dropped—and What It Didn’t
Congress quietly removed a proposed 4.4% salary contribution hike from its budget package—potentially saving federal employees billions over the next decade. But before you breathe...
Was Your RIF Illegal? Red Flags Federal Employees Should Look Out For
In recent months, we've seen a troubling pattern: federal agencies issuing Reduction in Force (RIF) notices that raise serious legal questions. According to some legal scholars and...
The RIF Freeze May End—What That Means for You
Federal employees are in a moment of deep uncertainty. A federal judge recently paused sweeping Reduction in Force (RIF) actions across 21 agencies, citing likely violations of civ...
Agencies May Sideline Unions After Court Revives Executive Orders
A recent federal appeals court decision has shaken the foundation of collective bargaining rights for millions of federal employees. On Friday, a split panel of the D.C. Circuit li...
Trump Admin's Stay Request Could Trigger Immediate Federal RIFs
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) ...
Presidential Impoundment Power Could Upend Federal Agency Budgets
Federal employees may be facing a new wave of budget instability—and this time, it's not coming from Congress. The White House is reportedly considering a legal end-run around the ...
GAO Data Confirms What Federal Workers Already Know
A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report has thrown hard evidence behind what many federal employees have been saying for years: telework isn’t just convenient—it’s a...
How a Supreme Court Shift Could Undermine Your Rights Across State Lines
A pending Supreme Court decision could unravel how federal workplace rights are protected—and federal employees need to brace for the potential fallout. At the center of the case i...
When a Recall Isn’t a Reprieve: CDC’s One-for-One Staff Swap Explained
This week, the CDC made headlines by recalling approximately 300 occupational health specialists—many of whom were previously swept up in reductions-in-force (RIFs). But what first...
A Return to “Schedule F”? What Every Policy-Facing Fed Needs to Know
If your federal job involves influencing policy—through writing, advising, or analyzing—you could be on the verge of losing your civil service protections. A newly proposed rule by...
OSC Flip-Flops on Probationary Firing Rules
In a startling reversal, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) now argues that federal agencies can terminate probationary employees with few limits. For probationers—especially thos...
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