Is it possible to prove illegal EEO retaliation when the promotion selecting official had no knowledge that the an applicant she passed over ever had filed an EEO charge? Yes, it is possible if you use the “cat’s paw” approach. Continue reading
Unions can grieve to enforce any of the law’s Prohibited Personnel Practice. We can include them in a grievance along with allegations that the contract was violated as well as that there was a ULP. Or we can file a grievance alleging a contract violation, a ULP with the FLRA General Counsel, and a Prohibited Personnel Practice allegation with the Office of Special Counsel if each has been violated in an employee’s situation. The choice is ours. But before we can do any of that, union reps and employees need to know that they have these rights and what a violation would looks like. So, we have included examples of each of the prohibited practices that you might want to share with them. These are taken verbatim from the Office of Special Counsel web-site with the exception of Comment we included about probationary employee rights. Continue reading
Bargaining unit employees returning from active military service have rights that unions can enforce through their grievance-arbitration procedures. Among the most important are that they must receive promotions and job offers that they would have received but for the fact they were away on military service. The Office of Special Counsel, which also enforces the law, recently announced four successful cases. We thought you would like to read a short summary of each to get more familiar with the Act and what you can do for employees. Continue reading
One reason managers fail to settle grievances early is that they are unaware of the risks. Although it would help everyone if agency leaders made them aware of the risk, unions carry some of the blame for this gap in management’s development. We should be publicizing widely any disputes that went all the way through litigation and produced a big win for the employee, but that could have been settled much earlier if the local managers worked at it. For example, a court decision just came out giving the employee $550 for having suffered sexual harassment from his female supervisor, but awarded Continue reading
Many law enforcement agencies demand that their officer/agents be clear-shaven at all times because they believe, without a scintilla of evidence, that makes them more effective. But a large number of officers/agents believe that intrudes unnecessarily on their personal lives. After all, it is not like a man can end his shift at 5 p.m. and grow a beard before going out that night. NTEU stood up for Customs and Border Protection Officers of Homeland Security and won the right via an FSIP decision for their CBPO members to wear “neat, trimmed and properly groomed” facial hair between ½” to 1” in length. (See NTEU 2012 FSIP 010 (2011)) But the last few weeks have brought more good news for those opposed to an employer’s facial hair ban, including cops. Continue reading
Way back in the late 70’s agencies could only fire poor performing employees using the adverse actions statutes. Managers complained that made it too hard because they had to prove their allegations by the preponderance of evidence as well as prove that the employee’s alleged failings were serious enough to merit termination. President Carter changed all that by creating a way for agencies to fire these employees with merely substantial evidence, and no chance to challenge the seriousness of the mistake or the penalty imposed. However, in return for that he signed a statue that stated that agencies would let employees know in advance what the performance standards would be and that they would “to the maximum extent feasible, permit the accurate evaluation of job performance on the basis of objective criteria.” (5 USC 4301) When that deal was struck, the law was signed and then the roof fell in on federal employees. Continue reading
Too many arbitration cases have come before the FLRA where the union failed to ask for a tough enough remedy. Often, it appears the union concluded that it would be too tough to prove precisely what would have been done if the violation had not happened–or what would have happened “but for” the violation. Consequently, the union merely asks for a cease and desist order and a posting acknowledging that the agency violated the law rather than the far more powerful back pay and status quo ante orders. However, FLRA does not require that arbitrators impose a remedy that duplicates exactly what would have happened but for the violation. It allows them to impose remedies that only approximate the same conditions as if the violation had not occurred. For example, . . . . Continue reading
Unions make serious mistakes when they fail to cover every formal meeting in their unit or when they fail to train their stewards in how to tap the full potential value of these meetings. A good argument can be made that these meetings are more strategically important to the growth and strength of the union than grievance meetings or bargaining sessions. Here is why we say that and how to get the most out of these meetings. Continue reading
Almost every bargaining unit has a Gladys. She works as a secretary, clerk, or clerical assistant. Although she has performed acceptably for years, suddenly management puts her on a short PIP, imposes deadlines no one has ever heard of before, and shoves her out the door without any concern for how long she has been there or other mitigating factor. Sadly, if your Gladys appeals to MSPB she will likely lose, as Gladys Towne found out when she appealed her removal from the Air Force. (2013 MSPB 81 (0ct. 28, 2013)) But here are two things a union can do to protect its Gladys from the fate Ms. Towne met. Continue reading
In July we wrote about the pending change to OPM’s FMLA rules that would allow same-sex spouses employed by the federal government all the benefits of the FMLA. (See FMLA, DOMA and Same-Sex Spouses). OPM has now made it official. Check out OPM Director Elaine Kaplan’s memo dated in late October.