The Federal Employee Survival Blog

Cut through the jargon and get the clarity you need to stay a step ahead of agency politics. Each article unpacks new policy shifts, court rulings, and workplace trends, then turns them into actionable tactics—so you can head off discipline, invoke EEO or whistleblower protections with confidence, and keep your documentation airtight. We also archive our most popular social-media explainer threads here, giving you the same insights followed by more than 150,000 people online even if you never scroll on those sites. Read, prepare, and keep your federal career firmly in your control.

 
Shutdown Negotiations Resume: What Federal Workers Need to Know back pay rights federal employment law federal shutdown mindfulness at work rif litigation Oct 24, 2025

There’s finally a hint of movement in Washington. As of Friday, October 24, 2025, two competing Senate bills—one from Senator Ron Johnson to pay “excepted” employees and the military, and another from...

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EEOC Lawsuit Tests Limits of Executive Power on Discrimination Cases civil rights act disparate impact eeoc lawsuit executive authority federal employment law Oct 24, 2025

Federal employees, here’s why you should care about a new lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In September, the EEOC quietly instructed its offices to halt all disparat...

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New Federal Hiring Order: What It Means for Career Employees federal employment law federal hiring freeze merit system osc investigations prohibited personnel practices Oct 20, 2025

Last week’s presidential hiring order doesn’t end the freeze—it reshapes it. Under the directive, every agency must create an Annual Staffing Plan reviewed by OPM and OMB. But before any vacancy can b...

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Is the Pentagon’s $8B Shutdown Pay Fix Legal? antideficiency act dod funding federal employment law federal shutdown military pay Oct 16, 2025

The Defense Department says it will tap about $8 billion in leftover research-and-development funds to pay service members during the shutdown. The President directed the Pentagon to “use all availabl...

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Federal Shutdown Day 13: Back Pay Restored, Paycheck Risks Ahead back pay federal employees federal employment law federal shutdown government pay Oct 10, 2025

The federal shutdown entered its 13th day with no end in sight. The Senate again failed to advance either party’s funding proposal and adjourned until Tuesday, leaving agencies frozen and federal empl...

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Federal Shutdown: Furloughs Set to Expand as Carryover Funds Run Out federal employment law federal shutdown furlough rights mindfulness at work mspb appeals Oct 07, 2025

If you haven’t gotten a furlough notice yet, you might soon. Agencies that relied on leftover funding are exhausting it, and new rounds of furloughs are unfolding daily. More than 620,000 federal empl...

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Hatch Act Complaints Surge After Shutdown: Why Reporting Still Matters federal employment law federal shutdown mindfulness at work Oct 07, 2025

Within three days of the shutdown, nine separate Hatch Act complaints landed at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC). The allegations are stunning: agency websites and official messages carrying p...

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What the Supreme Court’s Trump v. AFGE Order Means for Federal Employees federal employment law federal rif mindfulness at work supreme court trump v. afge Jul 09, 2025

Federal employees woke up yesterday to urgent news: the Supreme Court lifted the injunction blocking agency Reduction in Force (RIF) plans. Here’s what you need to know to protect your job, your peace...

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Federal Hiring Freeze Extended: What Feds Need to Know federal employment law federal hiring freeze merit hiring plan mindfulness at work opm waivers Jul 08, 2025

On July 7th, President Trump issued a memorandum extending the federal civilian hiring freeze until October 15, 2025. For GS-9 and above employees navigating an already shifting workplace, here’s what...

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Why Blue Collar Federal Workers Face a Hidden 2025 Pay Freeze blue collar federal workers dod pay freeze federal employment law federal wage system mindfulness at work Jul 04, 2025

As federal employees head into the holiday weekend, a quiet crisis is unfolding for over 60,000 blue collar colleagues. Shipyard welders, VA HVAC techs, and park patrol trailblazers—those keeping subm...

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Federal Probationary Employees: OPM Walks Back Directive—What Now? federal employee rights federal employment law mspb appeal opm policy probationary termination Mar 04, 2025

If you're a probationary federal employee—or know someone who is—pay close attention. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has just issued a new memo clarifying that agencies, not OPM, have discre...

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Protecting Your Federal Career: Telework & Reasonable Accommodations federal employee rights federal employment law reasonable accommodations telework policies workplace protections Mar 03, 2025

As agencies push aggressive return-to-office policies, federal employees requesting telework as a reasonable accommodation are facing an uphill battle. Many agencies are making critical mistakes—mista...

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