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

OPM's Forced Distribution Rule: What It Means for Your Federal Performance Rating

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Federal performance ratings are about to look very different. This week, the Office of Personnel Management finalized the biggest overhaul of federal employee performance ratings i...

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OPM Medical Data Proposal Updates

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A growing number of lawmakers are urging the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to fully withdraw its proposal to collect detailed medical data from federal health plans. Sixteen...

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Federal Shutdown Watch: Why a Minibus Matters

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For many federal employees, the word “shutdown” triggers a familiar mix of anxiety and fatigue. Even when leaders say the risk is low, lived experience teaches that things can chan...

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Federal HR 2.0: Why Your Records Matter More Than Ever

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Federal employees know the frustration of being told, “The system says…,” even when personal paperwork clearly shows something different. That moment—when a computer record outweig...

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How OPM’s Push for Forced Distribution Could Impact Your Federal Career

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OPM’s recent announcement that it wants to “normalize” agency performance ratings should get every GS-9 and above employee’s attention. Behind the technical language is a major shi...

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Judge Ruled OPM’s Mass Probationary Firings Were Not Lawful

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Earlier this year, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directed agencies to list every probationary employee, update that list daily, and fire nearly everyone not labeled “mis...

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OPM Just Killed the “Five Things” Email. Here’s Why That Matters.

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For months, federal employees were trapped in a Sunday-night ritual: condensing their entire workweek into five bullet points for leadership’s inbox. Born from a top-down directive...

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OPM’s “Five Things” Directive: What Should Federal Employees Do?

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If you've been keeping up with the latest federal workplace developments, you may have noticed a wave of uncertainty surrounding OPM’s new directive: the so-called “Five Things” em...

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Federal Probationary Employees: OPM Walks Back Directive—What Now?

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If you're a probationary federal employee—or know someone who is—pay close attention. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has just issued a new memo clarifying that agencies, ...

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OPM’s Last-Minute Shutdown: What Federal Employees Need to Know

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If you’ve been following the latest developments with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), you know how unpredictable federal employment policies can be. Recently, thousands o...

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About 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.

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