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.

DID VERONICA DESERVE THIS FROM HER UNION? Veronica worked hard and well for her union for ten years.  She won some novel cases, worked nights helping to organize a couple of new units, made over 100 overnight trips away from her children despite … Continue reading

Posted in Union Administration | Tagged | 1 Comment

DAMAGE TO EMPLOYEE’S PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION COSTS AGENCY $4,000 EEOC just issued another decision awarding an employee $4,000 in damages for the “embarrassment, frustration, social isolation, and injury to his professional reputation” he suffered when his manager confronted him about his … Continue reading

Posted in EEO/Discrimination | Tagged | Leave a comment

NEVER BORROW A STRIPPER’S VAPE PEN A Correctional Officer at the Federal Bureau of Prisons is learning why. After a death in his family, he went to a bar, had one too many, took a few hits off a stripper’s … Continue reading

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

IF YOU INSIST ON BITING YOUR WIFE… expect some job consequences if she has you arrested, especially if you are a Homeland Security law enforcement officer (LEO). When the employee reported the arrest to his supervisor the next workday, he … Continue reading

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

AGENCY INCOMPETENCE SNATCHES DEFEAT FROM JAWS OF VICTORY Harold, a GSA employee, filed an EEO complaint alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation (gay) and/or the intersection of his sex (male) and race (African American) when he was not selected for … Continue reading

Posted in EEO/Discrimination, Promotion/Hiring | Tagged | Leave a comment

QUICK UNION POWER QUIZ Do you know the difference between these SIX contract dates: 1- Execution Date, 2- Approval Date, 3- Effective Date, 4- Implementation Date, 5- Reopener Date, and 6- Termination Date? Do you know the FIVE routes a … Continue reading

Posted in Bargaining, Training | Tagged | 2 Comments

IVF AND VALUING THE DAMAGES WHEN AGENCY ERRORS DENY COUPLE A CHILD The simple story here is that EEOC has reviewed and upheld its 2018 conclusion that it violates the law protecting employees with disabilities for the feds to have … Continue reading

Posted in EEO/Disabilities | Tagged | Leave a comment

PROTECT YOUR “SANTOS” RIGHTS Two years ago the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an MSPB decision holding that “an agency must justify institution of a PIP when an employee challenges a PIP-based removal.”  In other words, when an agency … Continue reading

Posted in Unacceptable Performance | Tagged | Leave a comment

REMOVED CBP EMPLOYEE WINS FIVE YEARS OF BACK PAY PLUS This employee worked as an Air Interdiction Agent with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) until the agency removed him for unacceptable performance in June 2019.  However, the agency so botched … Continue reading

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FLRA PUNISHES UNION WITH DISPARATE TREATMENT Personally, I think FLRA is wrong, especially since it treats management much better in the same situation. But here is what it did last week and is very likely to do in the future. … Continue reading

Posted in Grievance/Arbitration | Tagged | Leave a comment