Helpful Resources for Federal Employees and a Checklist

[Saluki]

I put these things together in case it helpful to anyone here who is working at the Federal Government or knows someone who is and is worried about losing their job. I include a checklist at the end that was very useful when I was getting ready to early retire to make sure I had all my ducks lined up in a row.  Feel free to forward or copy paste anything that you think would help someone you know. 

 

Working at an agency covered by a collective bargaining agreement. 

If you work at an agency that has a union and is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, speak to your union representative. It’s free, and because you have rights in your collective bargaining agreement that may be greater than those that exist in the regulations governing other federal employees, you are in a different, better position. 

 

Agency not covered by collective bargaining agreement. 

If you have a unique circumstance that places you in danger such as being a probationary employee, recently transferred or promoted, or being politically targeted like DOJ lawyers who worked on January 6 cases, you should seek out an employment law firm that deals with federal employees and book an hour or two of their time to discuss your issues and get advice for gathering evidence to protect yourself.  There are lots of employment law firms that will take your money but the rules about federal employment are specialized and you don’t want a dabbler. I’m not recommending any particular firm, but rather a type of firm that specializes in representing federal employees like the ones below. I don’t get anything for recommending these firms, and I’m including three names so that it doesn’t look like I am giving you one name and telling you they are good. I am not saying go to any of these 3, but find a firm like these that do only (or mostly) these types of cases.

 

https://www.attorneymahoney.com/

https://fedpractice.com/meet-our-team/

https://www.fedelaw.com/washington-dc-federal-employment-attorney/

 

No money for a lawyer:

If you are worried about being laid off and don’t want to pay for two hours of a lawyer’s time but still want some answers to very basic questions, not just hear scary stories on the news, this is what I would do. I am NOT an employment lawyer, so I don’t know the answers to a lot of the questions people have, but if I did want to know, these are the resources I would use, if the ones above were unavailable or unaffordable. 

 

LEGAL BOOKS

Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide, 3rd Edition by Joseph V. Kaplan (2014-05-03) 

This one is very thorough at almost 700 pages. It’s $92, so it’s priced like a textbook, but it’s probably my first choice, and I would split the cost with a co-worker if necessary. 

https://amzn.to/3DejU70

 

FedWeek's 2025 Federal Employees Handbook

This is about ⅓ the size of the other book at 250 pages and it’s only $20. It obviously doesn’t get into as much detail, but I bought one of these when I first joined the government (out of date now).  And it’s a decent resource that everyone should have.

https://amzn.to/4h2yVqn

 

 

YOUTUBE Channels:

Besides the scary news channels, there are a few that are very useful. 

Fedsmith Channel:  Very detailed channel by lawyers and financial discussing federal rights and benefits for employees and retirees. They have been providing content for years on these topics and have been putting out one or two videos and articles a day trying to keep up the dumpster fires as they spread. 

https://www.fedsmith.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@fedsmith

 

This one is mine where I will be talking about some of these issues: 

https://www.youtube.com/@iamnotyourlawyer

 

 

These other two are general news sites devoted to the federal government and contractors, but not necessarily focused on the workers or retirees:

 

https://fedscoop.com/

https://federalnewsnetwork.com

 

Checklist to Prepare for Leaving Government Service:

•  Bring home personal effects
  • Family photos
  • Diplomas 
  • Don’t rely on them mailing it back

 

• Schedule Leave and Comp Time or Time Off Awards if you are leaving voluntarily. 
  • Annual Leave is paid out after you leave
  • Comp time is paid out too
  • Time off Awards are Forfeited so use these first
  • Sick Leave is Forfeited
    • but may be used to increase your “time in service” calculation if you are eligible for retirement.
    • Will be restored if you re-hired with the federal government, even at a different agency.
• Download:
  • All your SF-50s (especially first and last, but get all of them to be safe)
    • Contains paygrade and title, bonuses etc.
  • Your Entire EOPF File
    • Be sure to save the secret password that it will generate for the encrypted PDF as that is the only way you can open/view it.
  • Leave and Earnings statement
  • Latest Performance Appraisal
  • Any W2s that you want
  • Proof of FEHB Health Insurance coverage5 (in case you return to federal service to show that had FEHB for the 5 prior years)

 

• Passwords/Personal Email.
  • Make sure you have access to TSP.gov and
  • Employee Express or MyPay.gov with your personal email
  • Copy email and Phone Numbers for key people:
    • HR
    • Direct supervisors
    • Your direct reports
    • References

 

• Decide about Health Insurance:
  • TCC Temporary Continuation of Coverage  
  • ACA Affordable Care Act
  • coverage through spouse

 

• Decide if you want a refund of FERS contributions
  • Probably not for FERS
  • Possibly for FERS-FRAE
• Understand Ethics Rules about post-government employment. (e.g. with government contractors)

 

• Change TSP Contributions:
  • Keep 5% contribution to keep employer match but use the rest as a cash buffer in case of layoff or
  • contribute to a ROTH IRA or ROTH 401k, so that you can withdraw your contribution, if needed, without a tax penalty. 

 

 

[DooDiligence]

I'm not government worker, and just wanted to say that you are an absolute gem for caring enough to do this for anyone who is.

[Hektor]

3 hours ago, DooDiligence said:

I'm not government worker, and just wanted to say that you are an absolute gem for caring enough to do this for anyone who is.

+1

 

Good work @Saluki

[Xerxes]

A+

[Spekulatius]

Much of the above applies to regular workers just as well.

 

Financially speaking it is always better to get fired than to quit. Never quit  your job if you can help it, let him fire you. If you are not in a union but working in  collective bargaining agreement it may be time to join the union. Union guys are very good at negotiating.

 

I had an ex Gf who worked for a state and got fired for insubordination basically. Her union negotiated quite a good deal for her and helped her file for disability later. I was surprised how well she did given the circumstances. 5 years younger than me and never got back to work.
The art of a deal, I guess.

 

I think these Doge firings will be more expensive than people think.