Skip to content

News, rights, tools & learning

Federal Employee Resource Center

Search timely updates, plain-English explainers, practical guides, podcasts, and mindful-action resources. Start with the question you are trying to answer.

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

How to Add Your Voice to the Schedule Policy/Career Debate

By

We created this page because thousands of federal employees have asked the same question: “I’m worried—how do I actually tell OPM what this rule will do to my career?”  The process...

Read Resource
 

OPM Cancels Workday Deal: What It Means for Federal Employees

By

In a move that caught many off guard, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) abruptly canceled its sole-source contract with Workday—a key piece of its HR overhaul. This wasn’t j...

Read Resource
 

Could a Foreign-Funded Air Force One Violate the Constitution?

By

When the gifts are this grand, the legal scrutiny should be, too. A recent scenario raises serious constitutional and ethical questions: what if a foreign government gifted former ...

Read Resource
 

How RIF Plans and Hidden ARPs Could Shape Your Federal Career

By

A recent legal standoff over Agency Reduction in Force (RIF) and  Reorganization Plans—called ARRPs—offers a powerful glimpse into the legal chessboard shaping federal careers. Jud...

Read Resource
 

Proposed Pension Cuts Would Slash Federal Pay and Delay Public Services

By

Federal employees, especially those at the GS-9 level and above, are staring down a troubling new proposal from House leadership: cuts to retirement benefits masked as budget disci...

Read Resource
 

Federal Judge Halts HHS Layoffs Amid Constitutional Concerns

By

On Friday, May 9, a senior U.S. District Judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) that blocked sweeping layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the...

Read Resource
 

Federal RIF Pause: What the TRO Means for You

By

On Sunday night, a federal judge issued an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO) halting the Biden administration’s controversial reduction-in-force (RIF) plans that threaten...

Read Resource
 

Federal Judge Signals Possible Block on Trump-Era RIF Orders

By

Federal employees facing a potential layoff under a controversial executive order may have just gained a powerful ally: the U.S. Constitution. On May 9, a federal judge in San Fran...

Read Resource
 

Fired for Telling the Truth: The Fallout from FEMA’s Leadership Purge

By

The sudden dismissal of Cameron Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL and acting head of FEMA, has shaken Washington—and for good reason. Fired just one day after testifying before Congress...

Read Resource
 

What to Do If You Receive a RIF Notice at Interior

By

Thousands of federal employees at the Department of the Interior—including the National Park Service, USGS, and BLM—are facing sudden uncertainty as the agency prepares to issue Re...

Read Resource
 

What Federal Benefit Cuts Could Mean for Your Pension and Job Rights

By

Congress is weighing proposals that could significantly impact federal retirement and job security. While none of the changes are law yet, they’ve sparked real anxiety—especially f...

Read Resource
 

OPM’s Workday Contract and What It Means for Your Federal HR Rights

By

In a surprising admission of internal breakdown, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently handed Workday a sole-source contract to overhaul federal HR systems. No com...

Read Resource

More ways to learn

Choose the format that helps you understand what is happening.

The Mindful Federal Employee is part of a broader public-education ecosystem from Shaun Southworth, Lydia Taylor, and Southworth PC. Use the resource that fits the question and the moment.

Podcast

Civil Rights for Civil Servants

Hear Shaun Southworth and Lydia Taylor explain federal employee rights, public service, workplace systems, and the people navigating them.

Listen to the podcast

Mindfulness

Work Peacefully

Use practical mindfulness tools to create space between workplace pressure and the decision you make next.

Explore mindfulness resources

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.

Meet Shaun & Lydia

The Federal Employee Briefing

The important developments, without the all-day scroll.

Join 3,900+ federal employees getting sourced workforce news and practical next steps on weekdays. It is a free public-service resource from Southworth PC.

Get the Free Briefing