WHY ALL FEDERAL EMPLOYEE UNIONS’ TOP LEADERS ARE HYPOCRITES

That’s right, even though the staffers at Fedsmill consider themselves to be diehard supporters of unions, we must call a foul when we see top union leaders behave so miserably toward a group of their employees. Every federal employee who completes a probationary or trial period is entitled to challenge an agency’s decision to fire him or her to a hearing before a third party neutral.  Moreover, this neutral can not only order the terminated employee reinstated, but in certain cases give money damages beyond any back pay entitlement and order the agency to consider discipline the agency manager who imposed the termination.  Additionally, even those employees no longer in the bargaining unit, namely those who became managers or confidential employees are entitled to due process before being fired. Finally, as best as I can tell the non-supervisory staff of every federal employee union has formed their own union and have the right to challenge any disciplinary action to arbitration. That leaves only one group of employees on the staff of these unions or among the people they represent who are totally exposed to unfair, arbitrary, capricious and retaliatory terminations without an opportunity to challenge.  I am talking about… Continue reading

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ARE UNIONS LISTENING TO EEOC’S WARNINGS ABOUT AI?

Probably not? But EEOC deserves high marks for all the effort it is making to get the word out there.  What is its message?  One, Federal agencies are starting to use Artificial Intelligence software to make promotion selections, discipline, and other major personnel decisions.  Two, … Continue reading

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THIS MSPB COVER-UP IS OUTRAGEOUS

This case came to our attention because some anti-employee bloggers characterized the MSPB’s decision as “saving” the Dep’t. of Army from a series of blunders its managers committed while firing an employee. But make no mistake, this is an MSPB cover-up, not some well-intended helping hand.  This case explains why employees should always choose to appeal adverse actions to a certified neutral arbitrator rather than MSPB. It also confirms that MSPB gladly will distribute “Get Out of Jail” cards to help management fire an employee. Here is a quick summary of what happened. Continue reading

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AGENCY PIP DISCRIMINATORY; EMPLOYEE REINSTATED

A deaf/Hard of Hearing employee could read lips in one-on-one conversations, but needed an accommodation to participate in group conversations. Consequently, his performance suffered and the agency put him on a PIP, which ended in his termination. But… Continue reading

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WORKPLACE ROMANCES: HERE ARE THE DATA

Forbes Magazine published an article recently entitled “Workplace Romance Statistics.” It delivers a bundle of very sound data showing that organizational leaders that feel a need to stamp out workplace romances are direct descendants of the most puritanical Puritans who arrived on the Mayflower and went on to burn witches in Salem. These cultural troglodytes cost their organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars in trained, experienced, and tested talent by firing the romantics just to satisfy a moral itch. Fortunately, the best union leaders are working to support staff who develop an affection for one another. Even where there is a power disparity within a couple, such as when a supervisor has a relationship with a subordinate, history has shown that the best way to deal with that is to find a way to separate them organizationally–not interrogate, intimidate and fire them. If the romance or post-romance seems to adversely impact their performance, go after them for the performance flaws, not for having had a romance.

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CONSTRUCTIVE DISCHARGE GENERATES FIVE YEARS BACK PAY & BOOSTED ANNUITY

When does discrimination become so bad that the employee can resign or retire and claim s/he had been constructively discharged? Continue reading

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WHEN ARE UNION-EMPLOYEE CONVERSATIONS CONFIDENTIAL?

The short answer is, “Most times, but not always.”  The FLRA rolled out a decision recently making that crystal clear by endorsing management’s right to force a union representative to reveal to its investigators what an employee had told him in confidence. Continue reading

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WHEN MAGIC WORDS ARE NOT NEEDED

Must a federal employee specifically utter the magic words “reasonable accommodation” before an agency is responsible for considering the need for a disability-related accommodation?  Here is what EEOC said recently. Continue reading

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LOOKING BACK TO 2011

Fedsmill.com went live 12 years (and 1,300 posts) ago, which makes it easy to forget some of the information we thought union activists would want. So, we are going to reach back and resurrect posts from the archives that we think were particularly relevant and should not be lost to history. Here are three from those firwst four months of operation.

  • FIVE UNION RIGHTS YOU MAY NOT REMEMBER STEWARD ALERT!     We all know that union activists cannot be fired, denied a benefit, or even poorly evaluated if the decision is based on or even related to our choice to be union … Click on FEDSMILL.com to continue reading
  • QUESTION: WHEN IS A PIP A ULP?  ANSWER: Almost always. Click on FEDSMILL.com to continue reading
  • TEN REASONS TO BE A UNION REPRESENTATIVE  There are lots of good reasons to be a union rep, whether you get involved in grievances, negotiations, arbitrations, employee meetings, or information gathering & analysis.  Here are ten that we hope lead … Click on FEDSMILL.com to continue reading.
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EMPLOYEE GETS $890,000 FOR SICK BUILDING EXPOSURE

A Dep’t. of Agriculture employee informed the agency that the mold spores in the agency building were causing her significant health problems. When she asked for approval for full-time telework it took the agency nearly three months to approve that.  Shortly after approval she suffered a near-fatal pulmonary attack which resulted in “organ deficits” including dysfunctional kidneys, cardiac fibrillation, and diabetes, and left her hospitalized for over three months. She filed an EEO charge alleging the agency’s delay in approving full-time telework led to her hospitalization. The agency argued that it should not be held liable for a building’s problem given that it is a mere tenant.  EEOC rejected the defense, upheld the idea that the agency was accountable for the delay in approving full-time telework and ordered the agency to cut the employee a check for over $890,000.  In short, unions and employees should not be reluctant to demand reasonable accommodations and monetary damages when the federal agency is merely a tenant to in a private building with health issues.  Check out Tien E., v. Thomas J. Vilsack, Sec’y., Dep’t of Agriculture, EEOC No. 2020001343 (2023)

 

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