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.

WHEN ADVOCATES COMPLAIN TOO LITTLE Although this is hardly something new, it is worth repeating.  If an arbitrator sustains a grievance, but denies the union’s desired remedy on three different grounds, it is not enough to file exceptions attacking only … Continue reading

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AFGE SEALS 6101 SHIELD AGAINST SHADDY SHIFT SCHEMES Here is how FLRA described the scheme, “The Agency planned a seventy-fifth anniversary celebration on a Saturday at the Shenandoah National Park (the event). Several weeks before the event, the Agency scheduled all … Continue reading

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PIZZELLA AGHAST OVER 76 YEAR OLD PRECEDENT An ALJ found an agency discriminated against an employee when it denied her request to telework from home while she recovered from a broken ankle.  When the judge failed to require the agency … Continue reading

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THE FORWARD-LOOKING NEGOTIATOR Federal employee unions have been bargaining for over 35 years now—and a few for over 50 years.  So, it is reasonable to ask when all the reasonable issues will have been addressed and there is little to … Continue reading

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THE AUTOMATED FORMAL DISCUSSION The statute has been in place for over 30 years now, but FLRA case law guidance on what is and is not a formal discussion is still next to useless for practitioners.  (Check out “FLRA FUBAR: … Continue reading

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UPDATE ON BARGAINING OVER WORKLOAD CHANGES Two years ago we pointed out what we believed to be the error in FLRA’s thinking when it held that an agency can stand by and watch employee workloads skyrocket out of sight due … Continue reading

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MANAGEMENT LIABLE IF PUBLIC HARASSES EMPLOYEE What can an employee do if a member of the public regularly sexually harasses her?  For example, suppose the person regularly makes sexually suggestive comments, perhaps touches the employee on the arm or shoulder, … Continue reading

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CONGRATS ON AFGE’s VA SCANDAL RESPONSE (How Scandals Are Planned In Advance) Congress may not pass any laws, budgets, treaties or other legislation, but it sure does have a guaranteed way to generate scandals in federal agencies.  Since the media … Continue reading

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ADVOCATES’ ALERT: AT LEAST MAKE THE ARGUMENT The Authority just posted a new decision and the lesson for advocates on either side of the arbitration table is that they should get all their arguments on the record, even if they … Continue reading

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TELECOMMUTING CAN BE A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION Just a few weeks ago another federal circuit court held that a disabled employee’s request to telecommute can be a reasonable accommodation.  If an employer wants to deny the requested accommodation, it has the … Continue reading

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