CBP IMPORT SPECIALIST LOSES AWARDS-RELATED RETALIATION CLAIM
A new decision out of the MSPB not only highlights how complicated some appeal actions can be, but also raises the question of why the employee chose to represent himself rather than have his quite capable union help him out at MSPB. The employee was a National Import Specialist with Customs and Border Protection, Office of International Trade. On February 8, 2015, he filed a MSPB appeal alleging that his former branch chief failed to nominate him for a performance award for fiscal year 2011 in reprisal for a September 16, 2011 letter he sent to the Assistant Commissioner of the Office of International Trade in which he alleged that his former branch chief had violated 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8) by retaliating against him. Perhaps the employee did not want the union’s help or he asked and the union declined to help for one of several legitimate reasons. We do not know. What we do know, however, is that if you have co-workers who have decided not to join the union because they think they can represent themselves this is a good case to show them to make the point how necessary it is to have a representational expert help them out—not just the family’s real estate lawyer. Employee representation takes serious skill. See Kalus v. DHS, CBP, NY-1221-15-0110-B-1 (October, 2016)