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.
Schedule Policy/Career: Before You Sign the Form
Federal employees have not yet seen formal Schedule Policy/Career conversions implemented—but the paperwork is already in place. The Office of Personnel Management has prepared an ...
Schedule Policy/Career Lawsuit: The Three Comments Problem
Federal employees following the controversy around Schedule Policy/Career already understand the stakes. The rule allows agencies to reclassify certain career positions into a new ...
Federal Workforce Cuts and Schedule Policy/Career
Federal employees often ask what the rest of 2026 may hold for the civil service. Recent comments from senior administration officials offer a clearer picture—and they carry signif...
OPM’s Schedule Policy/Career Explained
Yesterday, the Office of Personnel Management finalized a rule creating a new category called Schedule Policy/Career. While the name may sound technical—or even benign—the substanc...
Shutdown RIFs: What the Court’s Order Means for Federal Employees
Roughly 4,000 layoff notices went out earlier in the government shutdown, but a recent federal court order has frozen most of them. The injunction—issued by a judge in San Francisc...
Interior RIFs May Defy Court Order: What Federal Employees Should Do
Credible reports suggest that the Department of the Interior may begin mass layoffs as soon as Monday—even though a federal court order temporarily prohibits all shutdown-related R...
What to Do If You Receive a RIF Notice During the Shutdown
On October 10, 2025, the administration began issuing Reduction-in-Force (RIF) notices to roughly 4,200 federal employees—even as the government remained shut down. That move, unpr...
New OPM Regulations Could Threaten Your Appeal Rights
A critical update is unfolding that every federal employee should be aware of. Recently, The Federal News Network obtained drafts of the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) prop...
OSC Investigates Unlawful Firings of Probationary Federal Employees
If you’re a federal employee in your probationary period, you may have felt the looming uncertainty that comes with it. Recent developments show that concern may be justified—but a...
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.