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 podcastNews, 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.
Douglas Factors Proposal and Federal Discipline
For more than forty years, federal employees have had a structured way to challenge discipline that feels excessive, inconsistent, or unsupported. That structure comes from the Dou...
Federal RTO Monitoring and Employee Rights
Federal employees should pay close attention when an agency describes a monitoring tool as an office-space solution while the contract language points to “continuous compliance mon...
Schedule Policy/Career: Before You Sign the Form
Federal employees have not yet seen formal Schedule Policy/Career conversions implemented—but the paperwork is already in place. The Office of Personnel Management has prepared an ...
Are EEOC and MSPB Still Fair for Feds?
Lately, many federal employees have been asking the same question: Is the system already decided? With nonstop headlines about politics and the courts, it can feel like filing an E...
OPM Union Contract Terminations: What Feds Must Know
If you are a bargaining unit employee who relies on your union for discipline defense or grievance protection, recent guidance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) deserve...
Kristi Noem’s DHS and What 2025 Meant for Federal Employees
For federal employees, leadership at the top of an agency is not an abstract concern. It determines how power is exercised, how mistakes are corrected, and whether career staff are...
Understanding Chapter 43 vs. Chapter 75: What Federal Employees Must Know
A growing number of agencies, especially the Department of Defense, are fast-tracking removals by handling “performance” issues under Chapter 75 instead of Chapter 43. Both chapter...
AI Surveillance in Government: What Feds Must Know
A growing storm is brewing around Grok being tested inside the Department of Government Efficiency. It’s causing deep concern on Capitol Hill, especially among 49 House Democrats w...
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.
Mindfulness
Work Peacefully
Use practical mindfulness tools to create space between workplace pressure and the decision you make next.
Explore mindfulness resourcesAbout 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 & LydiaThe 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.