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Shaun Southworth leading a federal employment training session with members of the Southworth PC team
 

Reservist Differential Pay: Three Papers to Pull if You Were Activated Since 2009

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Reservist differential pay is one of the quietest entitlements in federal employment, and if you are a federal employee who has been activated since 2009, there may be back pay sit...

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The IRS Restored Union Email for Managers and Left It Blocked for Bargaining Unit Employees

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Your right to a union representative in a federal adverse action case is only as good as your ability to reach that representative — and at the IRS, Government Executive reports, t...

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September 2: OPM Starts Deciding Appeals About Its Own Rules

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On September 2, 2026, three categories of federal employee appeals — reduction in force, probationary and trial period actions, and suitability actions — move out of the Merit Syst...

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Are FBI Agents At-Will Employees? What Garman v. Patel Means for Your Due Process Rights

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Are FBI agents at-will employees? The Justice Department says yes, and it has said so in writing to a federal judge. The FBI Agents Association has now filed 31 pages arguing the o...

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Forced Agency Relocations: What the Law Requires When You Cannot Move

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Forced agency relocations are reaching federal employees at six or more agencies this summer, and NPR’s review of public records and internal communications this week describes a r...

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Is One Business Day a “Reasonable Time to Answer”? Inside the Proposed OPM–MSPB Rule

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A proposed federal rule could give you as little as one business day to answer a proposed suspension—and if you are a federal employee, that is worth understanding now, while it is...

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What Is a "Mixed Case"? The Federal Employment Term That Controls Your Deadline

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If you're a federal employee facing a removal, demotion, or long suspension, and you believe discrimination played a role, the label "mixed case" isn't just legal jargon — it deter...

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The MSPB Deleted "Independent" From Its Website. Here's What Actually Changed for Your Case.

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This week, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) quietly deleted the word "independent" from its website, its LinkedIn page, and even a job posting — and the change is raising ...

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OPM Cut a Third of Its Own Workforce — Here's What That Means for Your Benefits

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The agency that runs your retirement, your health insurance, and your federal HR records has cut its own staff by roughly a third since the end of 2024 — and a new government watch...

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What Federal Employees Still Legally Keep: Chapter 75, Whistleblower, and EEO Rights

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After a year of reclassifications, proposed rule changes, and reduction-in-force notices, it can feel like federal employees have lost every protection Congress ever gave them. Tha...

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Government Shutdown Looming October 1: Three Moves for Federal Employees to Make Now

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A government shutdown could begin as soon as October 1, 2026, and federal employees who wait until the fiscal year ends to prepare may find themselves scrambling. Congress has pass...

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State Department Is Hiring for Jobs It Just Cut — Know Your RIF Rights

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A year after the State Department separated roughly 1,350 employees in a reduction in force (RIF), the department is recruiting again for many of the same roles — and laid-off empl...

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