Posted on September 16, 2024 by AdminUN

NEVER BORROW A STRIPPER’S VAPE PEN

A Correctional Officer at the Federal Bureau of Prisons is learning why. After a death in his family, he went to a bar, had one too many, took a few hits off a stripper’s vape pen he borrowed there and attempted to drive home.  Long story short, he wound up in a ditch, got blood tested by the troopers, and registered a positive hit for the ganja. When he tells his supervisor the next day, the agency retests him and it finds the wacky baccy as well. The employee’s explanation is that it must have come from the stripper’s gear. Between the mary jane traces in his blood and the DWI, the agency fired him and an arbitrator upheld his termination.  But in a case that has a couple of lessons for any union rep defending a terminated employee, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the  arbitrator and sent the case back to him to reconsider.  Here is why. Continue reading →

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Posted on September 16, 2024 by AdminUN

IF YOU INSIST ON BITING YOUR WIFE…

expect some job consequences if she has you arrested, especially if you are a Homeland Security law enforcement officer (LEO). When the employee reported the arrest to his supervisor the next workday, he explained that he never bit her.  Rather, he claimed she bit herself to make him look like the aggressor in the fight.  The agency removed the employee for conduct unbecoming and lack of candor. Continue reading →

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Posted on September 9, 2024 by AdminUN

AGENCY INCOMPETENCE SNATCHES DEFEAT FROM JAWS OF VICTORY

Harold, a GSA employee, filed an EEO complaint alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation (gay) and/or the intersection of his sex (male) and race (African American) when he was not selected for promotion. His case turned out to be yet another example of how unions should never underestimate or ignore the potential for agency incompetence to turn an iffy grievance into a winner. Here are some details of yet another example. Continue reading →

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

Posted on September 4, 2024 by AdminUN

QUICK UNION POWER QUIZ

Do you know the difference between these SIX contract dates: 1- Execution Date, 2- Approval Date, 3- Effective Date, 4- Implementation Date, 5- Reopener Date, and 6- Termination Date?

Do you know the FIVE routes a union can take to challenge an agency’s declaration of non-negotiability?

Do you know the TEN exceptions agencies can raise to avoid a union bargaining demand when the agency makes a mid-term change?

Do you know the TEN ways to reduce an agency’s power to make working conditions decisions without union involvement?

Do you know the FOUR elements of an agency’s notice of a proposed mid-term change?

If you do not, you should consider taking a course to be jointly offered by FEDSMILL and a highly prestigious D.C. law firm that we call “Bargaining By the Numbers.”  We have attached our original, more detailed announcement of the course below. Let us know if you are interested by sending an email to Fedsmill@gmail.com. No obligation.  We are just trying to decide whether to offer the class on-line or in person and for how many days. Continue reading →

Posted in Bargaining, Training | Tagged | 2 Comments

Posted on September 3, 2024 by AdminUN

IVF AND VALUING THE DAMAGES WHEN AGENCY ERRORS DENY COUPLE A CHILD

The simple story here is that EEOC has reviewed and upheld its 2018 conclusion that it violates the law protecting employees with disabilities for the feds to have offered health insurance plans that denied coverage for certain artificial insemination and IVF procedures. But the much more interesting holding is how EEOC concluded how much money the feds owe a husband and wife couple of feds because, “The Agency’s discriminatory conduct had the additional effect of prematurely and permanently ending Complainants’ twelve-year pursuit of wanted parenthood to a biological child.” In short, it wrote, “we believe one acceptable and fair method to discern how much Complainants valued becoming parents is to look at how much they were willing to pay to become parents to adopted children in 2002.” Continue reading →

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Posted on August 27, 2024 by AdminUN

PROTECT YOUR “SANTOS” RIGHTS

Two years ago the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an MSPB decision holding that “an agency must justify institution of a PIP when an employee challenges a PIP-based removal.”  In other words, when an agency takes unacceptable performance action against an employee it must not only prove that the employee failed to meet the standards outlined in the PIP.  It also must prove, if challenged, that the employee was failing to meet the performance standards before the PIP was imposed. We wrote about it in a post entitled, “ What Are You Doing With Your New Santos Rights?” But, it appears that agencies are whipping themselves into a frenzy over a new MSPB decision which they interpret as undercutting the value of the Santos precedent. Continue reading →

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Posted on August 27, 2024 by AdminUN

REMOVED CBP EMPLOYEE WINS FIVE YEARS OF BACK PAY PLUS

This employee worked as an Air Interdiction Agent with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) until the agency removed him for unacceptable performance in June 2019.  However, the agency so botched the removal process that MSPB had no choice but to reinstate him with five years of back pay, interest, retroactive leave earnings, etc. Because the errors are mistakes other agencies make, union reps should familiarize themselves of these grounds in case they get a similar case. Continue reading →

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Posted on August 20, 2024 by AdminUN

FLRA PUNISHES UNION WITH DISPARATE TREATMENT

Personally, I think FLRA is wrong, especially since it treats management much better in the same situation. But here is what it did last week and is very likely to do in the future. A union took a case to arbitration arguing that management violated its agreement when it failed to give an employee official time to engage in L-M activity.  The arbitrator disagreed and dismissed the grievance.  When the union filed exceptions with the FLRA arguing that the arbitrator ignored the statutory law entitling employees to official time in that situation, the FLRA hit the union like a speeding locomotor ruling … Continue reading →

Posted in Grievance/Arbitration | Tagged | Leave a comment

Posted on August 20, 2024 by AdminUN

NATIONAL UNION PRESIDENT DESERVES PRAISE

High on a very short list of things that bother me about unions is the hypocrisy of their national leaders. They demand that agency executives accept certain work protections for their employees and stand accountable for doing the right thing.  But all too often union leaders refuse to live under the same rules and standards. So, we have to call for a round of applause for the President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) for… Continue reading →

Posted in Union Administration | Tagged | 2 Comments

Posted on August 15, 2024 by AdminUN

LAW FIRM GENERATES $45 MILLION FOR CBP FEMALE EMPLOYEES

We just read that the Gilbert Employment Law (GEL) Group has racked up another huge $$$ win for CBP employees. Although federal employees can only be represented by their union if they file a contract grievance, they can turn to any law firm when they file under EEO, MSPB or similar processes. These firms often take up cases unions are not interested in or do not realize are staring them in the face. The Gilbert Group in Maryland is one of the most aggressive at enforcing these rights employees have outside their contracts.  Continue reading →

Posted in Pregnancy | Tagged | Leave a comment