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

Six Places a New Congress Could Look First on Federal Workforce Accountability

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The new Congress gets subpoena power in January, so federal employees are asking where accountability on federal workforce issues could start. Here are 6 places Congress could star...

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NTEU Wins Two Arbitration Cases Against the IRS: What the Law Says About Enforcing Final Awards

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The IRS has lost two more arbitration cases to its own employees, and the union that won them is already warning that the agency may not comply. The cases were reported by Drew Fri...

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What the Midterm Results Could Mean for Federal Employees: Oversight, Shutdowns, and the VA

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The midterm results are in, and many federal employees are asking what a new Congress could mean for their agencies, their jobs, and their pay. These are early guesses, not guarant...

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Did IRS and Social Security Emails Praising President Trump Violate the Hatch Act? What Federal Employees Should Know

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On Election Day, a question is circulating among federal employees: did the IRS and the Social Security Administration (SSA) violate the Hatch Act with mass emails praising Preside...

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336,000 Federal Jobs Are Gone: Why Your Vote Still Counts and Why Civil Service Protections Do Not Have a Party

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Since January 2025, 336,000 federal jobs are gone. And today, every one of the people who held those jobs still has exactly one vote. On Election Day, it is worth looking at the fe...

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DOJ Says the Voter Intimidation Ban Does Not Cover the Federal Government: What Section 11(b) Actually Says

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Voter intimidation is against federal law, and Election Day is when that rule matters most. So it caught many people off guard when the Department of Justice (DOJ) told a federal c...

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State Department RIF’d Nearly 1,350 Employees and Now Recruits Outsiders: What You Can Do After a RIF

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The State Department laid off nearly 1,350 employees last year, and it is now recruiting mid-career outsiders into the Foreign Service, which raises a question many former employee...

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IRS Told Managers to Ignore a Telework Arbitration Award: What NTEU’s New Lawsuit Says

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The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) has sued the IRS over a telework arbitration award, and the lawsuit alleges that when the agency lost, it told its managers to ignore t...

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Musk’s Companies Won $10 Billion in Federal Contracts After DOGE: What the New Report Says About Federal Ethics Rules

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A new report says Elon Musk’s companies have won at least $10 billion in federal contracts and grants since he left DOGE, and for federal employees, who operate under strict gift a...

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OPM Ends the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey: What the Final Rule Changes

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OPM has officially ended the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), the survey federal employees have filled out for more than twenty years. The final rule was published this we...

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USDA Sends New Reassignment Letters Despite Court Order: What NRCS Employees Should Do

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USDA reassignment letters are back in the news. A federal judge ordered USDA to stop sending relocation letters, and two weeks later the department sent more. If you work at USDA’s...

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VA Ends Union Contract for 320,000 Employees: What the Court Fight Means for Federal Workers

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The VA union contract termination affecting roughly 320,000 employees is still being fought in federal court, and the VA’s explanation for it deserves a close look. According to th...

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