Results for Federal Employees
Attorney Advertising. Real outcomes from Southworth PC matters, verified against the decision, order, judgment, or agreement in each case file, and anonymized to protect client confidentiality. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome; every case depends on its own facts, evidence, and law.
Southworth PC represents federal employees, applicants, and probationers nationwide before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), arbitrators, and in federal court. This is what that work looks like in practice.
Results at a Glance
- A six-figure federal jury verdict against the U.S. Postal Service – seven years after our client was wrongfully terminated, with attorney’s fees added by the court.
- A proposed removal rescinded in full at FEMA – neither charge supported by the evidence; our client returned to duty with no discipline of any kind.
- A removal reversed by the full Merit Systems Protection Board – the FAA violated due process; our client restored with back pay.
- OPM reversed itself four times – disability-retirement denials rescinded and benefits granted once we appealed to the MSPB.
- Sanctions imposed on the Defense Health Agency – three adverse inferences, discovery barred, late affidavits excluded.
- One client, three rounds, three wins – a two-day EEOC hearing victory, affirmed over the agency’s own appeal, relief and fees paid.
Every result on this page is real, anonymized, and labeled for exactly what it is – a verdict, a decision, a procedural ruling, or a settlement.
Negotiated Resolutions
Not every case should go the distance. Most, weighed honestly against the risks, should resolve – and we have resolved many. Between 2020 and 2026, our clients settled matters – at mediation, mid-litigation, and at least once in the middle of a hearing – with agencies including the VA, SSA, State, DOJ (including the FBI and Bureau of Prisons), USPS, DHS (including TSA and CISA), the Navy, the Army (including the Corps of Engineers), the Defense Health Agency, Commerce, Labor, Energy, Agriculture, Treasury, NASA, and Interior.
Elsewhere on this page we describe wins one by one; we deliberately do not do that here, because settlements are too numerous to list and many resolve confidentially. Outcomes ranged from targeted, non- monetary resolutions to six-figure recoveries, and verified terms have included reinstatement, rescinded removals, back pay, clean records and corrected SF-50s, withdrawn or downgraded discipline, neutral references, restored leave, step increases, retirement-preserving structures, changed supervisory chains, accommodation commitments, and attorney’s fees. A settlement is a compromise, not an adjudicated finding – but these are the terms that let federal employees move forward.
Stopping Discipline at the Reply Stage
When an agency proposes discipline, the employee may reply before a deciding official – and the agency bears the burden of proof. A strong written reply can end the matter before litigation ever begins. Sometimes that is exactly what happens:
Proposed removal rescinded in full – FEMA (2026)
A senior FEMA manager faced a proposed removal on two charges. After our written reply, the deciding official found neither charge supported by a preponderance of the evidence, rescinded the proposal in its entirety, and returned our client to duty with no discipline of any kind.
From removal, to a 14-day suspension, to a written reprimand – Navy (2023-2025)
A Navy contracting professional faced a proposed removal. Our reply knocked it down to a proposed 14-day suspension; we fought that down to a written reprimand. We then defeated summary judgment in relevant part in her EEO case – and mid-hearing, the agency settled.
DLA (2026): proposed removal of a supervisory law-enforcement officer mitigated to a Letter of Warning – job, career, and badge intact.
VA (2025): proposed removal of a nurse rescinded outright; the agency opened the reasonable-accommodation process instead.
HHS (2026): proposed removal mitigated to a 10-day suspension after our Douglas-factor reply.
TSA (2025): proposed removal reduced to a 14-day suspension – career preserved on our client’s own timeline. 14 days to 3 (2025): proposed 14-day suspension cut to 3 days on the strength of 20-plus years of clean service.
DLA (2025): proposed 7-day suspension cut to 3 – the difference between mid-range and minor discipline.
Demotion eliminated (2025): a proposed two-grade demotion dropped entirely; suspension reduced to 10 days.
Winning in Federal Court
A six-figure jury verdict against the USPS (2025)
Seven years after our client was wrongfully terminated, her Rehabilitation Act case reached a federal jury – which found for her and awarded six-figure damages; the court added attorney’s fees and expenses. First, though, we had to win the paper fight: the court denied the government’s summary-judgment motion on her disability, accommodation, and retaliation claims.
USPS – motion to dismiss defeated (2025): wrongful-termination claim sent into discovery, in a case we first kept alive at the EEOC appellate level; pending.
Race claim past summary judgment (2025): a stage few federal employment cases reach; tried to verdict and now on appeal.
Missouri (SJ denied): claims preserved for trial; the case later resolved.
Georgia (SJ denied): claims preserved for trial; the case later resolved.
Florida (SJ denied): claims preserved for trial; the case later resolved.
Wins After Hearing at the EEOC
Live testimony, credibility decided by the factfinder – and judgments that follow:
From dismissal on paper to victory at hearing – FEMA (2025-2026)
An Administrative Judge first dismissed our client’s harassment case on summary judgment. We appealed; the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations reversed and ordered a hearing – where the Administrative Judge found she proved a hostile work environment based on sex (and on several claims, race) and entered judgment in her favor.
One client, three rounds, three wins – DoDEA (2022-2026)
A two-day hearing, a bench ruling for our client, and judgment entered. The agency appealed its own loss; the OFO affirmed. Compliance closed in 2026 with the ordered relief – including attorney’s fees – paid.
Bench decision + damages + mandatory training (2026): judgment for our client with compensatory damages, EEO training ordered for the responsible officials, and a posted notice; his parallel MSPB appeal reversed a 21-day suspension, affirmed in core part on review with one issue still in litigation.
DoDEA (2026): reasonable-accommodation violation proven at hearing; damages, training, and a posted notice ordered.
Bureau of Prisons (2022): race-based hostile work environment proven; DOJ’s final order accepted the finding, damages, and fees.
TSA (2023): discrimination proven after a four-day hearing; final order fully implemented. The same client’s earlier case settled after six depositions – two cases, two results.
USPS (2023): racial-harassment liability established at hearing; the agency then resolved the case with a six-figure payment.
USPS (2022): sexual-harassment judgment after a multi-day hearing, with damages and fees; related litigation continues in federal court.
FBI (2023): judgment for our client – back pay, compensatory damages, and attorney’s fees ordered.
Navy (2024): retaliation proven after hearing; damages and fees awarded.
FAA (2023): disability discrimination proven – removal rescinded, reinstatement with accommodations, back pay with interest, damages.
FAA (2023): in a separate matter, an accommodation-denial win after a multi-day hearing, affirmed by the OFO over the agency’s appeal; part of the fight continues in federal court.
Commerce (2022): discrimination proven on six separate issues; damages phase ordered; final order adopted the decision.
HHS (2022): a Chapter 43 performance-removal appeal tried at MSPB hearing, then resolved by settlement with a compliance action to enforce it.
Bureau of Prisons (2025): before any hearing, the agency rescinded our client’s 7-day suspension with back pay and transferred the responsible official; her sexual-harassment EEO case continues.
Removals and Suspensions Reversed or Mitigated at the MSPB
FAA removal reversed for a due-process violation (final 2023)
The full Board granted our client’s petition for review and reversed his removal – the agency had relied on information never disclosed to him. The Board declined to sustain the removal, and back pay processing was ordered.
DoD audit agency (final 2023): Chapter 43 performance removal reversed; affirmed by the full Board.
Bureau of Prisons (final 2023): 30-day suspension reversed; the Board denied the agency’s petition for review; back pay with interest.
30-day suspension reversed (2025): affirmed by the full Board in a final order.
Removal reversed outright (final 2019): with the follow-on fee proceeding resolved by agreement.
Complete relief (2020): a 15-day suspension rescinded in full on appeal – back pay, restored leave, personnel file scrubbed; what began as a proposed removal ended as nothing at all.
VA (2023): a police officer’s removal reduced at hearing to a suspension with reassignment – career intact.
TSA (2025): removal cancelled at hearing; 60-day suspension substituted with back pay, interest, and immediate interim relief.
FAA (2025): removal cancelled at hearing; 30-day suspension substituted after the Board refused to sustain part of the agency’s case.
NASA (2020): removal reduced at hearing to a 60-day suspension; the rest resolved by agreement.
Whistleblower, RIF, and Threshold Victories
In cases of disputed jurisdiction, many MSPB appeals die at the threshold – jurisdiction, timeliness, the right to a hearing. These didn’t:
OSC steps in – two removals put on hold – Bureau of Prisons (2026)
After we brought whistleblower complaints to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel for two BOP employees facing proposed removals, the agency agreed to hold both decisions while OSC investigates – two careers, and two paychecks, preserved during the fight.
Army (2026): IRA jurisdiction established over claims that protected disclosures drove a reprimand, a delayed reassignment, and the denial of meaningful work.
HHS/CMS (2026): RIF appeal survives – a 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(9) reprisal allegation kept the case at the Board over the agency’s union-grievance argument.
DoD (2026): constructive-removal appeal held timely, with nonfrivolous allegations that a pressured retirement was involuntary – jurisdictional hearing earned.
NARA (2026): constructive-suspension and accommodation claims set for hearing over the agency’s threshold attacks.
USPS (2026): agency rescinded the removal mid-appeal, then sought dismissal as moot – denied; the disability-discrimination defense kept the Board’s jurisdiction and the fight for complete relief alive.
FHFA (2026): timeliness dismissal denied – Board deadlines were extended for each day of the government shutdown
Reversals on Appeal to the EEOC Office of Federal Operations
DLA (2026): dismissal for failure to state a claim reversed; complaint reinstated for investigation.
DoDEA (2026): dismissal of a disability/reprisal hostile-work-environment complaint reversed and remanded.
USDA (2025): after reading our appeal brief, the agency rescinded its own dismissal and accepted the complaint for full investigation.
USPS (2026): final agency decision vacated because the agency served the file on our client but not her lawyer – the hearing she was denied, restored.
Defeating Summary Judgment and Dismissal Motions
Agencies routinely ask for decisions on paper – no live witnesses, no credibility testing. Beating those motions is how a client gets their day before the factfinder. Each line below is a separate ruling from a separate case:
VA (2026): summary judgment denied – genuine credibility disputes; hearing scheduled.
VA (2026): summary judgment denied; case moved toward hearing.
VA (2026): motion to dismiss denied as to all four challenged claims (two outright, two without prejudice).
VA (2020): summary judgment denied in full in a case pending since 2017.
VA (2023): decision without a hearing denied.
VA (2020): summary judgment denied as to the core claims.
VA (2023): summary judgment denied in relevant part; central claims preserved.
The EEOC itself, as employer (2026): decision without a hearing denied on the core claim – retaliatory harassment tied to accommodation rights goes to hearing.
IRS/Treasury (2026): summary judgment denied; on the path to hearing.
Bureau of Prisons (2022): summary judgment denied in relevant part; settlement conference and hearing ordered.
Bureau of Prisons (2026): summary judgment denied – in the case where we had already reversed the client’s suspension at the MSPB.
Bureau of Prisons (2025): disability non-selection claim survives to hearing.
DHS/TSA (2026): summary judgment denied in full; later resolved by settlement.
DHS (2025): summary judgment denied in full; prehearing proceedings set.
DoD (2025): summary judgment denied in full; prehearing conference set.
DoDEA (2025): summary judgment denied – factual and credibility disputes to hearing.
DoDEA (2026): summary judgment survived – and the accommodation claim it preserved was then WON at hearing.
FEMA (2025-2026): an improper summary judgment reversed on appeal – and the case then WON at hearing.
Decision without a hearing denied (2025): the ruling that made the January 2026 bench-decision victory possible.
Navy (2024): retaliation claim preserved over the agency’s motion – then PROVEN at hearing.
Navy (2025): summary judgment denied on the core claims; the agency settled mid-hearing.
FDIC (2026): after a notice of intent to decide without a hearing, the Administrative Judge declined to enter summary judgment.
USPS (2025): medical-confidentiality claim survives summary judgment; later resolved by settlement.
Summary judgment denied in full (2025): prehearing conference set (order in the case file).
Summary judgment denied in full (2023): scheduling conference set.
Cross-motions denied (2020): case proceeded.
Summary judgment denied (circa 2020): the order sits in the case file; included per the firm’s records.
MSPB (2020): summary judgment refused – the Board noting it isn’t even available in its proceedings; hearing right preserved.
Timeliness dismissal denied (2026): full case kept intact at the initial conference.
DoDEA (2025): motion to dismiss four claims denied as procedurally improper.
Partial dismissal denied (2023): full complaint preserved (order in the case file).
VA/MSPB (2026): mootness dismissal denied – pressure maintained in the related removal matter.
Each ruling above comes from an order in a case file or the firm’s verified results ledger; several of these cases were later won at hearing or resolved on terms our clients accepted. This list reflects the orders located to date – not a cap.
Holding Agencies Accountable in Discovery
Sanctions imposed on the Defense Health Agency (2026)
When DHA missed its deadline to investigate, produced a report missing most management affidavits, and ignored an order to show cause, we moved for sanctions. The Administrative Judge imposed three adverse inferences against the agency, barred it from taking discovery, and barred it from patching the record with late affidavits at hearing.
Federal Disability Retirement: When OPM Says No
OPM denies many FERS disability retirement applications that should be granted. An appeal to the MSPB changes the conversation – four times over:
2024: denied twice by OPM; we appealed; OPM rescinded and granted the benefits outright – no hearing needed.
2023: OPM rescinded its denial and granted benefits; the Board dismissed because our client had received exactly what she asked for.
2023: OPM rescinded on reconsideration after our appeal – the same client whose separate removal appeal we had resolved by settlement.
2023: OPM moved to dismiss its own case – rescinding the denial and granting the benefits.
Reasonable Accommodations Secured
Not every win is an order or a check. Often the win is the accommodation itself:
VA (2025): proposed removal rescinded and the interactive process opened (described above).
Reconsideration approved (2025): we walked our client and her physician through a full accommodation reconsideration – approved.
IRS (2026): an alternate accommodation granted after nearly 18 months of agency silence, once we engaged directly.
Granted (2026): a focused, limited-scope engagement that ended with our client’s accommodation in place.
A Note on These Results
Every result above was verified against the underlying order, decision, judgment, or agreement before publication. We describe outcomes precisely: a settlement is a compromise, not an adjudicated finding; a procedural win earns a hearing, not a final ruling; Administrative Judges’ decisions are subject to review; and where a matter is still in litigation, we say so. Not every case ends in a win, and no honest firm will promise you one. We publish results this way because federal employees deserve straight answers about what a lawyer can – and cannot – promise.
Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of any future matter. Every case turns on its own facts, record, and law.