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.

 
Avoiding AWOL After a Shutdown Ends awol federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals shutdown guidance Nov 13, 2025

When a shutdown ends, most federal employees feel immediate relief—pay will resume, operations restart, and uncertainty loosens its grip. But there’s a lesser-known risk that surfaces the very first d...

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Shutdown Back Pay, RIF Rollbacks, and Your Next Steps federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals rif rollback shutdown back pay Nov 13, 2025

When a shutdown finally ends, relief often mixes with uncertainty. Many federal employees wake up wondering two things: When will the paycheck land? and Am I safe? This week’s reopening answers both q...

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Shutdown Deal 2025: What the Senate Plan Means for Federal Employees back pay federal employment mspb appeals rif freeze shutdown 2025 Nov 12, 2025

Federal employees have lived through 41 days of uncertainty—missed paychecks, frozen operations, and a flood of RIF notices that never should have been issued. With the Senate’s passage of a bipartisa...

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The #1 Legal Mistake Federal Employees Make in Discipline Cases discipline defense due process federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals Nov 07, 2025

After more than twenty thousand hours representing federal employees, one mistake stands out above all others: trying to face a disciplinary proposal alone. Agencies have trained attorneys, internal p...

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Federal Whistleblower Protections: Speaking Up Without Losing Your Career federal employment law integrity in government mspb appeals retaliation defense whistleblower protection Nov 04, 2025

Few things unsettle career federal employees more than seeing someone punished for doing the right thing. The recent case involving an FBI official who questioned a senior leader’s use of a taxpayer-f...

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Understanding Chapter 43 vs. Chapter 75: What Federal Employees Must Know chapter 43 chapter 75 dod employees federal discipline federal employment mspb appeals Oct 30, 2025

A growing number of agencies, especially the Department of Defense, are fast-tracking removals by handling “performance” issues under Chapter 75 instead of Chapter 43. Both chapters have always existe...

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DoD Fast-Track Removals: What the “Department of War” Memo Means for You chapter 75 civil service protections dod removals federal employment mspb appeals Oct 29, 2025

A newly leaked “Department of War” memo is changing how the Department of Defense handles removals for “unacceptable performance.” It directs supervisors and HR to act with “speed and conviction,” cut...

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Federal Judge Halts Shutdown RIFs Nationwide administrative law federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals shutdown rifs Oct 29, 2025

Good news for federal employees: a federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction halting all shutdown-related Reduction in Force (RIF) actions. This means agencies cannot issue or finalize RIFs th...

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CDC Workforce Purge: Reform or Retaliation? cdc reorganization federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals whistleblower protections Oct 28, 2025

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lost roughly a third of its workforce in just eight months. According to recent reporting, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) dismisse...

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Leaked Memo Reveals Push to Use Shutdown for Federal Layoffs civil service protections federal employment merit system integrity mspb appeals shutdown rif Oct 28, 2025

A newly leaked document confirms what many suspected: some in Washington saw the recent shutdown not just as a funding lapse, but as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce. According to Polit...

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Shutdown RIFs and the Human Cost of Uncertainty employee rights federal employment mindfulness at work mspb appeals shutdown rif Oct 27, 2025

The latest shutdown-related Reduction in Force (RIF) filings put names, faces, and fears on record—reminders that behind every “cost-saving measure” are human beings who have served their country for ...

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Court Filings Seek Full Injunction to Halt Shutdown RIFs administrative procedure act federal employment mspb appeals preliminary injunction shutdown rifs Oct 23, 2025

Federal employees, the plaintiffs in the shutdown-RIF lawsuit are now asking the court to extend its temporary restraining order (TRO) into a Preliminary Injunction—a longer-term safeguard that would ...

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THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEE BRIEFING

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Stay informed, stay protected. The Federal Employee Briefing delivers expert insights on workforce policies, legal battles, RTO mandates, and union updates—so you’re never caught off guard. With job security, telework, and agency shifts constantly evolving, we provide clear, concise analysis on what’s happening, why it matters, and what you can do next.

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