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.

OPM's New Suitability Rule, and Why One Outlet Called It "Nixonian" chapter 75 civil service protections federal employee removal mspb appeals opm suitability rule Jul 17, 2026

OPM's new suitability rule lets the agency order the removal of a sitting federal employee for conduct that happened after they were hired — and Government Executive's headline for it used one word: "...

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Douglas Factors Proposal and Federal Discipline douglas factors federal discipline federal employment mspb appeals performance improvement plans Jul 08, 2026

For more than forty years, federal employees have had a structured way to challenge discipline that feels excessive, inconsistent, or unsupported. That structure comes from the Douglas factors, the tw...

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OPM's New Suitability Rule Lets Agencies Bar Federal Employees for Up to Three Years federal employment law mspb appeals opm suitability and fitness rule whistleblower retaliation Jul 07, 2026

Starting July 30, 2026, federal agencies will have a new way to remove employees already on the job — one built for screening applicants, not managing an existing workforce. The Office of Personnel Ma...

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Can the Executive Branch Dismantle a Department Congress Created? civil service protections department of education federal employment federal reorganization mspb appeals Jun 22, 2026

Federal employees know the difference between a policy shift and an institutional dismantling. The reported transfer of two core Education Department functions—the Office for Civil Rights to the Depar...

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Jackler v. DOJ and MSPB Appeal Rights adverse actions civil service protections due process federal employment mspb appeals Jun 22, 2026

Federal employees should be watching Jackler v. Department of Justice closely. The case involves two career immigration judges, Megan Jackler and Brandon Jaroch, who were removed from federal service ...

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Political Favoritism and Federal Employee Rights federal employment mspb appeals office of special counsel political discrimination prohibited personnel practices Jun 22, 2026

Federal employees are trained to serve the public without regard to party, ideology, or political preference. That is why reports of disaster funding disparities between Democratic-led and Republican-...

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Public Doubts Federal Cuts Improved Efficiency federal employee rights federal employment government efficiency mspb appeals rifs Jun 17, 2026

Federal employees have spent the past year absorbing reductions, reorganizations, removals, and shifting workplace expectations—all often justified in the name of making government leaner. But a new P...

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Probationary Firings and Federal Appeal Rights eeo complaints federal employment mspb appeals probationary employees whistleblower protection Jun 16, 2026

For probationary federal employees, the past year has carried an unmistakable message: early-career service can feel precarious even when the government says it wants to recruit new talent. According ...

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Strong Federal Employee Defense Is Built Before the Hearing douglas factors federal employee discipline federal employment mspb appeals proposed removal Jun 15, 2026

When a federal employee receives a proposed removal, the case can feel deeply personal and immediately overwhelming. The agency file may include a proposed removal, decision letter, Douglas factors an...

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RIF Efficiency Evidence and Federal Employee Rights civil service protections federal employee rights federal employment federal rif mspb appeals Jun 11, 2026

A reduction in force is supposed to serve the efficiency of the service. That phrase matters. It is not just a bureaucratic label or a line in an agency announcement. When an agency eliminates federal...

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Probationary Firings and Mental Health Fallout federal employee mental health federal employment mspb appeals probationary employees wrongful termination Jun 10, 2026

The numbers are stark: in a recent survey discussed by The Guardian, 95% of fired probationary federal employees reported ongoing mental-health effects months after losing their jobs. Nearly half desc...

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IRS Details, Failed Training, and Discipline Risks federal employment federal reassignments irs employees mspb appeals performance discipline Jun 10, 2026

The recent NOTUS reporting about the IRS raises a hard question for federal employees: what happens when workforce cuts create operational gaps, and the people left behind are blamed for not instantly...

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