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

Return-to-Office Orders Are (Mostly) Legal — But Disability Accommodations Are a Different Story

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A recent Federal News Network survey found that most federal employees say returning to the office has made them less productive — but for most workers, a return-to-office (RTO) or...

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Arbitrator Orders Forest Service to Restore Telework for 20,000 Employees

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An arbitrator has ordered the U.S. Forest Service to restore telework and remote work agreements for close to 20,000 employees represented by the National Federation of Federal Emp...

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Telework Contracts Can Beat RTO Memos

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Federal employees facing return-to-office directives should understand a central point from the recent USPTO telework arbitration: a presidential memorandum may set policy goals, b...

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Federal RTO Monitoring and Employee Rights

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Federal employees should pay close attention when an agency describes a monitoring tool as an office-space solution while the contract language points to “continuous compliance mon...

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Federal Telework and Rising Gas Costs

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Federal employees are being asked to absorb a commute shock that is not just inconvenient—it is financially destabilizing. Recent reports place the national average for regular gas...

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Federal Employee Surveillance and RTO Compliance

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Federal employees are used to workplace rules changing. But the reported use of Palantir technology to track USDA employees entering and leaving the office signals something more s...

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Return-to-Office Is Not Just a Commute Issue

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For many federal employees, return-to-office has not felt like a neutral management preference. It has felt like a disruption to work, family obligations, health routines, and mora...

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Telework Accommodations Still Apply Under RTO Memos

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Federal employees are being told a familiar story: “Leadership says return-to-office, so telework accommodations are over.” That framing is legally risky—and often a sign the agenc...

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HHS Telework Order Blocked by Arbitration Ruling

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Federal employees received a notable reality check this week: a presidential return-to-office memo does not automatically override negotiated union contracts. In a significant arbi...

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IRS Ends Hardship Telework — What That Means for Your Accommodation Rights

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IRS employees are waking up to a harsh reality: the agency has closed out pending hardship telework requests without individualized review, citing a top-down return-to-office manda...

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GAO Data Confirms What Federal Workers Already Know

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A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report has thrown hard evidence behind what many federal employees have been saying for years: telework isn’t just convenient—it’s a...

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Mindful Response to Sudden Return-to-Office Orders

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Imagine relaxing on a Sunday evening, only to receive a text at 9:00 PM demanding you report to your duty station Monday morning—or risk losing your leave. This is not hypothetical...

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Shaun Southworth & Lydia Taylor

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