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Civil Rights for Civil Servants
Hear Shaun Southworth and Lydia Taylor explain federal employee rights, public service, workplace systems, and the people navigating them.
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Judge Orders DOJ to Restore Telework for Two Disabled EOIR Attorneys
A federal judge has ordered the Department of Justice to restore full-time telework accommodations for two attorney-advisors in DOJ's Executive Office for Immigration Review, findi...
The VA Rescinded Disabled Veterans' Telework — Then Called the Backlash "Absurd"
The Department of Veterans Affairs is rescinding telework accommodations for disabled veterans on its own payroll — and telling at least one employee that his 150-mile daily commut...
NTEU Sues Treasury and HHS Over Thousands of Stalled Accommodation Requests
Federal employees waiting on disability accommodation requests at the IRS, HHS, or CDC just got some backing. On Monday, the National Treasury Employees Union sued the Treasury Dep...
NSF Accommodation Revocation Risks for Federal Employees
Federal employees with disabilities should not be forced to lose an accommodation before an agency decides whether it is still needed. Recent reporting from AFGE Local 3403, the un...
FMLA for Federal Employee Burnout
A federal employee recently asked the question many workers quietly carry: “If I take FMLA for burnout, will it end my career?” The honest legal answer is no—not by itself. Needing...
CDC Telework Accommodations and Disability Rights
For many federal employees with disabilities, telework is not a preference. It is the difference between being able to perform the essential functions of a job and being pushed out...
Medical Privacy Rights for Federal Employees
Federal employees often assume that HIPAA protects their medical information at work. That assumption is understandable—but incorrect. HIPAA governs healthcare providers and insure...
Telework Accommodation and Disability-Based Commute Barriers
When a supervisor says, “Commuting isn’t our problem,” it can feel like the door just slammed shut. But in federal disability law, the real question is more nuanced. A long or unpl...
Telework Accommodation and Medical Records
If your agency is asking for your “full medical file” to approve telework, pause. Under the Rehabilitation Act (which applies ADA standards to federal employees), agencies are enti...
Telework Denied for “Teamwork”? Know the Law
If a telework accommodation was denied with phrases like “teamwork,” “collaboration,” or “we need you here face-to-face,” pause before accepting that answer as final. Those words m...
Telework and “Undue Hardship” Under the Rehab Act
When a supervisor says, “Telework is an undue hardship,” it can sound final. It is not. Under the Rehabilitation Act—applying ADA standards—the agency must provide a reasonable acc...
Federal Telework Accommodation: Build Your Record
When telework is questioned, the greatest risk often is not the policy memo. It is the record being created—quietly—while trying to get through the week.
In federal employment law...
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