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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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Is One Business Day a “Reasonable Time to Answer”? Inside the Proposed OPM–MSPB Rule
A proposed federal rule could give you as little as one business day to answer a proposed suspension—and if you are a federal employee, that is worth understanding now, while it is...
Can the MSPB Stay Independent? A Private White House Meeting and a Broken Precedent Raise the Question
The Merit Systems Protection Board — the independent body federal employees count on when they're fired — may have made its most consequential ruling in decades after a private mee...
Jackler v. DOJ and MSPB Appeal Rights
Federal employees should be watching Jackler v. Department of Justice closely. The case involves two career immigration judges, Megan Jackler and Brandon Jaroch, who were removed f...
DOJ Leadership Changes and Federal Employee Risks
Recent leadership changes at the Department of Justice highlight a deeper concern for federal employees: the potential erosion of institutional independence. While political turnov...
Birthright Citizenship Case and Federal Rule of Law
The Supreme Court’s recent oral arguments on birthright citizenship may seem far removed from federal employment. They are not. At its core, the case tests a foundational question:...
FBI Firings and Constitutional Due Process Rights
Three former FBI agents—each with strong performance records and decades of combined service—have filed a lawsuit challenging their abrupt terminations. According to the complaint,...
MSPB Ruling on Immigration Judges Explained
A recent MSPB decision—Jackler and Jaroch v. Department of Justice, 2026 MSPB 3—raises a fundamental question for federal employees: when does the Constitution override traditional...
TSA Back Pay and Federal Workers’ Rights
For five weeks, roughly 50,000 TSA employees reportedly worked without pay while airports slowed, lines stretched for hours, and the public was told there was no immediate solution...
VOA Reinstatement Signals Limits on Agency Shutdowns
A federal judge’s decision to reinstate more than 1,000 Voice of America employees is more than a headline. It is a sharp reminder that federal agencies cannot dismantle core opera...
Musk’s Deposition Order Explained
Federal employees have been watching headlines about a federal judge ordering Elon Musk to sit for a deposition under oath regarding DOGE and actions surrounding the USAID shutdown...
OPM RIF Appeal Rule: MSPB Rights at Risk
Federal employees facing a Reduction-in-Force (RIF) already carry enough uncertainty. A new proposed rule from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) would fundamentally change h...
2,300 Unlawful ICE Detentions Since July 2025
Federal employees are trained to think in systems, not slogans. That is why a striking number deserves careful attention: since July, federal judges have ruled at least 2,300 times...
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