Author Archives: AdminUN

About AdminUN

FEDSMILL staff has over 40 years of federal sector labor relations experience on the union as well as management side of the table and even some time as a neutral.

UPDATE ON OGE ADVERSE ACTION REGULATIONS Not long ago we pointed out a case where MSPB overturned an employee’s removal from FDIC because the agency failed to get approval from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) of an FDIC-created rule … Continue reading

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INTERESTING DRESS CODE DECISION Several federal judges have held that the FLRA should follow closely NLRB case law precedent since the private sector law was the model for the private sector one.  The NLRB just issued an interesting decision about … Continue reading

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AGENCIES MAY HAVE TO BARGAIN WITH UNIONS OVER EMPLOYEE DATA BREACHES The NLRB recently indicated it believes employers are obligated to bargain when employee data they hold is hacked. Take a look at this article, Employers May Have to Bargain … Continue reading

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FLRA REGIONAL OFFICE SEMINARS AVAILABLE FLRA just distributed the announcement below.  We have found these meetings interesting and helpful.  Sign up fast before all the seats are gone.

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A PLEASANT PARTICULARIZED NEED PRONOUNCEMENT: Test Yourself A nice thing happened last week.  The Authority issued an easier to understand than normal, unanimous decision on particularized need.  (AFGE, 68 FLRA 492 (2015))  See if you can predict what the ruling … Continue reading

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NTEU’S JUNK YARD DOGS DIG UP EVEN MORE CBP MILLIONS Less than four months ago we wrote about how FLRA had upheld an arbitrator’s decisions awarding what likely will be over $100 million in back pay to Customs and Border … Continue reading

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WHAT’S NEXT FOR NTEU—AND YOU? There are two reasons why NTEU might have a big impact on your union soon.  First, it is about to install a new national leadership after 16 years under the current one. New leaders often … Continue reading

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UNDERSTANDING CATEGORY RATING SYSTEMS As we have said before, category rating is brimming with opportunities for agency HR and managers to abuse the process.  There are very few rules, and MSPB has consistently looked the other way so that there … Continue reading

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ASPERGER’S SYNDROME, THE INABILITY TO INTERACT WITH OTHERS & ADA        Some of us are shy, some are introverts, some of us have Asperger’s Syndrome and some of us have other conditions interfering with our ability to interact with others in … Continue reading

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WHEN PERFORMANCE AWARDS ARE DISCRETIONARY What’s a union to do when management distributes cash performance awards as it sees fit without any negotiated formal criteria?  A lot, even if the FSIP said the agency could do it that way. The … Continue reading

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