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.

 
Federal Unions Challenge OPM’s “Loyalty Question” in Hiring civil service reform federal employment merit system opm lawsuit political neutrality Nov 07, 2025

Three of the largest federal-employee unions—AFGE, AFSCME, and NAGE—just filed a 54-page lawsuit that could reshape the foundation of federal hiring. Their target: a new “loyalty question” embedded in...

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Inspector General Removals and Why Federal Employees Should Care federal employment inspectors general merit system mindfulness at work whistleblower protection Oct 22, 2025

On October 15, the White House removed Parisa Salehi, the Senate-confirmed Inspector General (IG) at the Export-Import Bank—without giving Congress the 30-day notice and written rationale required by ...

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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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Why Forced Bell Curves Fail Federal Performance Management federal employment merit system mspb appeals performance management workplace culture Aug 12, 2025

Federal performance isn’t a classroom test or a corporate sales contest—it’s complex, interdependent work that often requires everyone performing well at once. Forced distribution, sometimes called th...

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Legal Risks of OPM’s May 29 Hiring Memo dei ban federal employment first amendment rights merit system opm hiring memo Jun 04, 2025

Federal hiring may be undergoing a radical shift. The May 29, 2025, Merit Hiring Plan memo imposes new requirements that deviate sharply from the principles of neutral, skills-based selection. If you'...

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