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 IS CO-WORKER HARASSMENT ILLEGAL AND THE AGENCY’S FAULT? Although the lawyers break it down into a much longer list of criteria, EEOC recently put it in a nutshell as follows: “In the case of co-worker harassment, an agency is … Continue reading

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DON’T LET EMPLOYEES PICK THEIR “WORK FROM HOME (WFH)” DAYS The “Harvard Business Review” just posted a very thoughtful research piece on adjusting telework schedules now that the epidemic is winding down. It is short, very understandable and something union … Continue reading

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TWO PROBATIONERS WIN REINSTATEMENT & GOBS OF BACK PAY We love to pass on stories of probationers winning reinstatement and back pay because too many feds believe that there is nothing unions can do for probationary employees.  Here are the … Continue reading

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FLRA POSTS 9 TRAINING FILMS ON THE ULP INVESTIGATION PROCESS The Authority has done a great job of explaining every step of the ULP investigation process for anyone who might be involve in one on behalf of a union member … Continue reading

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EVEN DISCLOSURE BY MISTAKE OF MED INFO IS ILLEGAL AND COMPENSABLE Instead of sending an email notifying his supervisor that an employee had been taken to the hospital, a CBP manager sent all 118 co-workers at an Arizona station naming … Continue reading

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MSPB EXPANDS ACCUSED EMPLOYEE’S RIGHT TO INFORMATION A Homeland Security Agent was fired for falsifying an official form.  When he tried to defend himself by pointing out how supervisory employees who committed the same offense were not fired, DHS management … Continue reading

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COVID AND WORKERS’ COMP CLAIMS Thanks to one of our readers who pointed out that Federal employees can potentially qualify for Workers Compensation based on acquiring COVID.  Check out this web site for details.

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INSIDE THE MIND OF JAMES ABBOTT: MUDDLED OR MALICIOUS As time goes on it becomes clearer and clearer that it is only on a rare day that James Abbott can be called something as flattering as merely malicious.  Most of … Continue reading

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NEGOTIATING 7106(b)(1) GRADES We are going to open with the bad news.  FLRA has used the statutory provision of 7103(a)(14)(B) that excludes from the concept of conditions of employment anything “relating to the classification of any position” to pretty much … Continue reading

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UNION REP TEST #12 (Illegal Bypass and Direct Dealing) One of the harder things for managers to understand is a union’s “exclusive recognition” rights.  They just do not mean that the union is the only or exclusive organization the agency … Continue reading

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