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.

Posted on March 27, 2012 by AdminUN

DEMANDING TOO MUCH EDUCATION EEOC recently put employers on notice that they may violate the law if they demand more education to compete for a job than is actually required to be successful. Here is their reasoning.

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

Posted on March 27, 2012 by AdminUN

WATERBOARDING SELECTION OFFICIALS II Not long ago we posted an article about how frustrating it is when selecting officials will not give a best qualified candidate a substantive reason why he/she was passed over for promotion, especially when someone with … Continue reading →

Posted in EEO/Discrimination, Promotion/Hiring | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Posted on March 19, 2012 by AdminUN

FUBAR: MSPB’S HALF-PREGNANT EMPLOYEE There is a reason why this is the first article you have ever read about a half-pregnant employee. It is the same reason you have not come across stories about the half-dead. Pregnancy and death are … Continue reading →

Posted in Discipline/Adverse Action, FUBAR, MSPB | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Posted on March 19, 2012 by AdminUN

$300,000 FOR A DENIED REASSIGNMENT Employees almost never have the right to demand a reassignment to a different supervisor, job or location.  But if the employee has a disabling condition for which a reassignment would be a reasonable accommodation, the … Continue reading →

Posted in EEO/Disabilities | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Posted on March 19, 2012 by AdminUN

ZIP IT! – WHEN MANAGERS VIOLATE YOUR PRIVACY        This is not the first time we have written about managers who either can’t keep their mouth shut or their documents clean.  The newest example is the Chief of Dental Services who … Continue reading →

Posted in Disability, Medical Issues, Privacy, Remedies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Posted on March 16, 2012 by AdminUN

THREE BENCHMARK CONTRACTS JUST COMPLETED AFGE, NTEU, and NATCA all announced settlements for their major contracts in the last ten days.  AFGE has wrapped up the core of the SSA contract; NTEU has concluded mid-term reopener revisions to its IRS … Continue reading →

Posted in Bargaining | Tagged | Leave a comment

Posted on March 15, 2012 by AdminUN

SSA’s $8,987 ONE-PERSON SPACE HEATER How did the Social Security Administration turn the cost of a hundred-dollar personal space heater for one employee into something nearly 90 times as expensive?

Posted in EEO/Disabilities, EEO/Remedies | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Posted on March 15, 2012 by AdminUN

FLRA FUBAR: THE PAST PRACTICE “ACQUIESCENCE” MESS The FLRA has done a lot of good, and it has had moments where it neither helped nor harmed.  But there also have been times when it has Fouled Up Beyond All Reason … Continue reading →

Posted in Bargaining Law, FLRA, FUBAR | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Posted on March 13, 2012 by AdminUN

WHEN UNIONS LIBEL MANAGEMENT More than a few contracts state that the union may not libel (or slander) any manager when using the agency’s internal communications systems.  But what can management do if the union does cross the line.  An … Continue reading →

Posted in Arbitration, Bargaining, Membership Building | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Posted on March 12, 2012 by AdminUN

OCTOMOM AND THE “COVERED-BY” BARGAINING DEFENSE Much of science is devoted to finding out where things came from, e.g., the universe, global warming, the Kardashians, etc.  But there is no need to search very far for the origin of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bargaining Law, Covered-by, FLRA, ULPs | Tagged , , | Leave a comment