Monthly Archives: August 2021

REASONABLE WORK SCHEDULE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THE MUSLIM SABBATH A Muslim DHS Supervisory Immigration Services Officer wanted to take every Friday off so he could fully observe his Sabbath. He was initially allowed to do this with the following schedule: working … Continue reading

Posted in Religion | Tagged | 3 Comments

GRIEVANCE STRATEGY ISSUES – Part 4 Every contract we have ever seen requires the grievance to describe the alleged violation. Again, that sounds like an easy thing to do, but there are some traps to watch for.  Let’s go back … Continue reading

Posted in Grievance/Arbitration | Tagged | Leave a comment

LONG COVID PROBLEMS COVERED AS ADA DISABILITIES, NOT JUST FMLA Members afflicted with long COVID problems are likely to run out of FMLA benefits as they struggle with the disease and need more leave or other accommodations. The Departments of … Continue reading

Posted in EEO/Disabilities | Tagged | Leave a comment

GRIEVANCE STRATEGY ISSUES – Part 3 The third typical requirement of every grievance is that the union note the date of the alleged violation or the date it became aware of the violation. Not only can that be more complicated … Continue reading

Posted in Grievance/Arbitration | Tagged | Leave a comment

AFGE’S GUTSY MOVE PAYS OFF FOR EVERYONE There are a few things that separate an average union representational effort from a super one, and one of them is whether its reps are creative, e.g., they do things, even risky things, … Continue reading

Posted in Discipline/Adverse Action | Tagged | Leave a comment

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION: HERE IS SOMETHING WE HAVE NOT SEEN BEFORE EEOC just blessed the idea that while an employee who has requested a reasonable accommodation waits for that accommodation to be provided it is equally reasonable for the employee to … Continue reading

Posted in Performance, Reasonable Accommodations | Tagged | Leave a comment

WHAT UNIONS ALMOST ALWAYS MISS TARGETING WITH FRIENDLY WHITE HOUSES History has shown that when there is a union-friendly President in the White House federal sector unions usually want on three things, i.e., 1- new appointees to the FLRA, 2- … Continue reading

Posted in Government-wide Regs, OPM | Tagged | Leave a comment