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.
When a shutdown finally ends, the first question most federal employees ask is simple: When will the money actually hit my account? The uncertainty is exhausting, especially after weeks of juggling bi...
Federal employees, here’s the bottom line: Open Season runs November 10 through December 8, and it continues regardless of the shutdown. Your coverage, elections, and deadlines all remain active. If y...
After forty grueling days of uncertainty, the Senate has advanced a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government. The measure would fully fund VA, USDA, and the legislative branch for the rest of the...
Roughly 4,000 layoff notices went out earlier in the government shutdown, but a recent federal court order has frozen most of them. The injunction—issued by a judge in San Francisco—temporarily halted...
A new internal HHS alert titled “Severance Payment Suspension During Appropriations Lapse” confirms that the agency has suspended all severance payments to former employees while the government remain...
Federal employees are asking the right question: “Are we really getting back pay this time?” The short answer is yes. Under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (GEFTA), both furloughed ...
Democrats’ sweep in several governor’s and legislative races this week did more than shift state maps—it changed the math in Washington. President Trump himself summed up the new reality in a post on ...
Some federal employees are being told to keep working during the shutdown but record those hours as leave without pay (LWOP). That directive is not lawful. If you’re required to work, you are “excepte...
At Southworth PC, our mission is clear: protect the rights and careers of federal employees. As the government funding lapse continues—affecting paychecks, benefits, mission-critical work and workplac...
In a sweeping move late Thursday, Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) stopping the administration from carrying out or issuing new red...
Federal employees, here’s your no-spin roundup from Friday through Monday—and the steps to protect your pay, benefits, and rights amid this shutdown.
What Changed Friday–Monday
Friday: Agencies conf...
This week has been a rollercoaster for federal employees. On Wednesday, the IRS assured furloughed staff they were guaranteed back pay once the shutdown ends. By Thursday, that message vanished—litera...
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