Monthly Archives: September 2018

FMLA QUIRKS QUIZ Our fellow bloggers at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP do a good job of keeping up with FMLA developments.  This week they published a quiz for readers to test their own command of FMLA matters.  We … Continue reading

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THE LONG LOST EEO REMEDY A cardinal rule of filing an EEO complaint, whether as an employee or employee representative, is to request every potential remedy available. That raises the potential cost to the agency should it lose, and the … Continue reading

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BEING JAMES ABBOTT Few people in this country have benefited from the democratic liberal agenda as much as James Abbott, the FLRA Member. We suspect his quality of life would be a tiny, tiny fraction of what it is today without … Continue reading

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NEGOTIATORS TO THE RESCUE? One of the most important jobs of a union negotiator is to try to fix things when the General Counsel or other litigators fail. A new Federal Circuit decision that an employee lost gives negotiators yet … Continue reading

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HOW TO NEGOTIATE FOR PASS-FAIL EVALUATIONS There is only one reason OPM demands that agencies use scored appraisals, e.g., scores ranging from one to five or from Outstanding to Unacceptable. Scores enable agencies to dilute the role of seniority and … Continue reading

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HAS FLRA TAKEN SEMI-USEFUL POSITION ON ATTORNEY FEES? Kiko and Abbott just ruled against a union in attorney fee matter that ironically might help other unions down the road.  To being with, they approved an arbitrator’s conclusion that the union … Continue reading

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IF YOU ARE COUNTING, … today’s post is number 900 for Fedsmill. Can number 1,000 be that far away? Thanks to all the subscribers who keep us energized about this project.

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SECRETARY ZINKE IS INCOMPETENT, AND THE UNION WAS NOT MUCH BETTER The EEOC just issued a default judgment against the Secretary because he was unable to produce a Report of Investigation (ROI) on an EEO employee’s complaint in less than … Continue reading

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PANEL CONTINUES TO IMPOSE ILLEGAL, UNENFORCEABLE (AND CLUELESS) DECISIONS Not long ago, we wrote about the Panel exceeding its legal authority by imposing a contract clause even more onerous on the union than what the agency had proposed.  But that … Continue reading

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DHS MANAGERS’ SWORN STATEMENTS “SUSPICIOUSLY THIN AND VAPOROUS AND NOT SUPPORTED BY THE RECORD” SAYS EEOC The facts of yet another Homeland Security merit promotion EEOC case brought a big smile to our faces. No other agency manipulates the law, … Continue reading

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