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.

 
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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Federal Employee Guide to the 2025 Government Shutdown excepted employees federal employment federal shutdown furlough rights legal guidance Oct 01, 2025

The government officially shut down last night. Roughly 23% of the federal workforce—about 547,000 employees—are furloughed under the Trump administration’s plan. That leaves approximately 1.57 millio...

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OMB Memo Links Shutdowns to RIF Threats federal employment federal shutdown furlough rights mspb appeals rif notices Sep 25, 2025

Shutdowns are never easy for federal employees. Normally, the drill is painful but familiar: furloughs stop your paycheck, then Congress eventually funds the government, and you receive full back pay ...

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Federal Employee Shutdown Survival Guide federal employment federal shutdown mindfulness at work pay and benefits tsp Sep 24, 2025

If funding lapses after September 30, both furloughed and excepted employees stop receiving pay. The 2019 Government Employee Fair Treatment Act guarantees back pay—including overtime—once Congress re...

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Federal Employee Rights in a Government Shutdown excepted employees federal employment federal shutdown furlough rights mindfulness at work Sep 23, 2025

With just over a week until the September 30 funding deadline, federal employees are left in limbo. Unlike prior years, when the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published every agency’s continge...

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Federal Shutdown Looms: What Federal Employees Need to Know federal employment federal shutdown government funding mindfulness at work pay and benefits Sep 12, 2025

As September 30 approaches, the possibility of a government shutdown is once again hanging over the federal workforce. Congress is locked in a standoff: Republican leaders are pushing a stopgap bill t...

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Federal Employees: Preparing for a Possible Government Shutdown continuing resolution federal employment federal shutdown furlough rights mspb appeals Sep 10, 2025

Congress has until October 1 to pass a short-term funding bill—known as a continuing resolution (CR)—to keep the government running. If passed, a CR typically extends funding into January. While your ...

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How Federal Employees Can Prepare for a Government Shutdown federal employee rights federal shutdown furlough guidance mindfulness at work pay and benefits Sep 02, 2025

Step One: Know Your Status

The single most important action to take today is clarifying whether you are exempt, excepted, or furloughed. Exempt positions remain funded, excepted employees must work w...

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