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.
Merit vs. Politics in Federal Promotions
Recent reports involving senior military promotions raise a deeper concern that extends beyond any single agency: the erosion of merit-based decision-making. Allegations that promo...
Why Civil Service Protections Matter More Than Ever
Federal employees often feel the ground shifting under their feet, especially when political transitions accelerate. Beneath all the noise lies a simple truth: civil service protec...
Why State’s New “Fidelity” Standard Threatens Merit Protections
Federal employees have seen many political swings over the years, but the State Department’s reported decision to award retroactive promotions and back pay to nearly 300 employees ...
CDC Workforce Cuts and What Federal Employees Need to Know
Federal employees returning from the shutdown are walking into workplaces changed by months of uncertainty—but nowhere is the disruption more visible than at the Centers for Diseas...
Shutdown RIF Update: Interior’s Numbers, TRO Expansion, and What Comes Next
Federal employees, here’s where things stand in the AFGE/AFSCME case that’s temporarily blocking shutdown-related RIFs. As of this week, the Department of the Interior has disclose...
What the End of the Luévano Decree Means for Federal Hiring
On August 5, 2025, the Department of Justice quietly terminated the Luévano consent decree—a 44-year-old safeguard that scrapped the PACE exam, a civil-service test proven to disad...
Deferred Resignations and the Hidden Toll on Federal Workers
A staggering 154,000 federal employees—nearly 7% of the civilian workforce—are being paid not to work. Known as deferred resignations, these arrangements remove employees from acti...
Political Loyalty Tests: A Quiet but Major OPM Reversal
As Independence Day nears, federal employees have an unexpected reason to celebrate. Last month, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) quietly directed agencies to stop scoring ...
The Power of Pause: Why Rest Is a Federal Employee’s Best Asset
Federal employees carry a unique kind of weight. Many of you are navigating intense responsibility while simultaneously facing disciplinary threats, probation stress, or workplace ...
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.