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

OPM’s Push for Forced Performance Ratings Explained

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Federal employees are getting an early warning about a major shift in how performance may be evaluated in the FY 2026 appraisal cycle. According to statements from OPM Director Sco...

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OPM Back Pay Guidance Changes and a New Bill That Could Fix It

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Federal employees may feel relief that the recent shutdown ended, but a quiet change by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) deserves attention. OPM recently removed language f...

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OPM’s Telework Shift: Why Monitoring Now Matters Legally

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Federal employees who rely on telework should pause and read the fine print of OPM’s revised guidance. The most consequential change is not about where work happens—it is about how...

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Telework, SF-50s, and Locality Pay: What Feds Must Check

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For many GS-9 and above federal employees, telework has quietly shifted from a flexibility issue into a pay and compliance issue. OPM’s December 2025 Guide to Telework and Remote W...

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OPM’s New Telework Rules: What Federal Employees Must Know

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Federal employees are hearing a familiar rumor again: telework is ending. That framing is misleading—and dangerously incomplete. What actually changed is how the Office of Personne...

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RIF Notices This Fall: What the New OPM Rules Really Mean for You

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If you received a RIF notice this fall—or even heard rumors of one—the new guidance tied to the Continuing Appropriations Act changes your legal footing in very real ways. Under th...

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Are Federal Employees Guaranteed Back Pay After the Shutdown?

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Federal employees are asking the right question: “Are we really getting back pay this time?” The short answer is yes. Under the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (GEFT...

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Federal Employees and Voting Leave: What Today’s Rules Really Say

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For many federal employees, Election Day raises an unexpected question: can you take paid administrative leave to vote? The answer, unfortunately, depends on where you work. Some a...

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Shutdown Roundup: Pay, RIFs, and What Feds Must Do

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Federal employees, here’s your no-spin roundup from Friday through Monday—and the steps to protect your pay, benefits, and rights amid this shutdown.

What Changed Friday–Monday

F...

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Unions Challenge Shutdown RIFs: What Federal Employees Must Know

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Federal unions have filed a lawsuit against the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), challenging recent guidance that encouraged agen...

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RIFs Continue During Shutdown: What Federal Employees Must Know

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When a government shutdown looms, many federal employees assume all personnel actions grind to a halt. But as of September 29, 2025, OPM has clarified: Reduction in Force (RIF) act...

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Federal Discipline Overhaul: What You Must Know

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For decades, federal employees relied on progressive discipline as a safeguard. It required managers to start small—warnings, short suspensions—before escalating to removal. That s...

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