Monthly Archives: December 2012

DOL’s FINANCIAL CONTROLS TRAINING MANUAL FOR UNIONS There is an interesting documents sitting deep inside the Dept. of Labor’s web site. It is a training PowerPoint manual it prepared, apparently for AFGE, to explain what the law requires union elected … Continue reading

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SEQUESTRATION: WHAT UNION LEADERS NEED TO KNOW If we fall off the cliff, “sequestration” will be a word union leaders use often over the next few months. There are two documents you might want to be aware of at the … Continue reading

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MSPB CLARIFIES INDEFINITE SUSPENSION RULES The law gives management the right to put someone on an immediate, indefinite suspension if it believes the person is guilty of a criminal offense for which he/she may be imprisoned. Unfortunately, agencies are a … Continue reading

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EMPLOYEES CAN WITHDRAW RESIGNATIONS & DOWNGRADE REQUESTS At times, agency managers will pressure and even harass an employee to the point that he gives up and resigns or asks for a downgrade to an easier job.  Once the managers have … Continue reading

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AFGE PULVERIZES PERFORMANCE STANDARDS No one on the union side of the table should ever argue that it is easy to evaluate employee performance.  It is not.  But at the same time, AFGE just showed that OPM, a wholly-owned subsidiary … Continue reading

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CRITICAL CONTRACT CLAUSES (#2A) – Mandatory Gainsharing Awards Given the complexity of a good Incentive Awards article, we have decided to supplement the original Awards posting #2 about Suggestion Awards.  Today’s is about negotiating to give employees a guaranteed share … Continue reading

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TEST YOURSELF: Is There a Violation Here? Read over the facts below and identify what, if anything, the union can do to help. The answer is provided below the facts. FACTS: Assume that an employee’s administrative workweek starts in the … Continue reading

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WHEN THE GERMANS BOMBED PEARL HARBOR One of the great lines from film is the Animal House passage where one of the frat boys declares that nothing is over until the frat declares it over—just like it wasn’t over for … Continue reading

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OUR COMPLIMENTS TO GAO ANALYSTS FOR THEIR UNION WEB SITE If you have followed FEDSMILL.com for a while you know that we try to shine a light on particularly good union web sites. We have spotlighted ones at NFFE, NTEU, … Continue reading

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FMLA OFTEN REQUIRES PERFORMANCE STANDARD ADJUSTMENTS Often an employer must adjust an employee’s performance standards once it approves the employee’s FMLA leave request.  Not long ago a Federal Circuit Court spelled it out for LR practitioners on both sides of … Continue reading

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