Given that the World Health Organization (WHO) has joined the building push to focus on this, it is time unions also paid attention. The WHO Report is a good place to start your research on the specific hazards and remedial actions.
It is not easy remembering all the different ULP’s managers can commit or the union’s right to attend formal meetings or a dozen or so other legal issues that pop up regularly in a steward’s work. But FLRA has made a lot easier by issuing something called the “FLRA General Counsel ULP Case Law Outline 2020.” It covers dozens of labor law issues by providing short, easy to understand descriptions of the precedent cases in each. If you ever wished there was a short book explaining federal employee labor law, this is as close as it gets. Stewards should keep a copy easily accessible in a draw or a bookmarked tab. Continue reading
FLRA issued a decision in the middle of 2021 that put a bright light on how these cases are won and lost. Given how hostile the current FLRA members—or at least two of them—are to employee rights, AFGE deserves a lot of credit for surviving the Authority’s majority predisposition to overturn every employee arbitration win. The case involved housekeeping staff at a VA hospital who the arbitrator found were entitled to environmental-differential pay (EDP) because they worked in close proximity to high-hazard microorganisms. These were not just COVID organisms. He built his bulletproof decision on the following findings, which are going to be critical issues in any hazardous duty case: Continue reading
Very few unit employees will ever see union leaders negotiate a contract or even represent a co-worker in a grievance. But if the union uses its right to attend all formal discussions, every unit employee will see union reps in action several times a year. It is the single best way to demonstrate union expertise and clout to the employees you want to pay dues. So, it is important to know what a union’s rights are to attend and be active in these discussions. Listed below are statements about formal discussion law and representational tactics. Indicate whether the statement is True or False. The answers, along with some case citations for further research, follow the questions. Continue reading
It is that time of the year again for hundreds of union officials. They are obligated to file reports with the Department of Labor (DOL) spelling out what they have done with the local’s money over the last 12 months. While DOL rarely reacts with any speed or force if a local is late filing—even very, very late, stewards should know that if their local’s reports are not filed timely they could be financially liable if their employing agency decides to enforce the timely filing requirement. Here is how that would work. Continue reading
Almost a year ago the Federal Court of Appeals, in a case known as Santos v. NASA, made it just a little bit harder to fire federal employees for poor performance. It reversed a long-time precedent by declaring henceforth management will need to prove by substantial evidence that an employee was performing unacceptably BEFORE it puts him/her on a PIP. Prior to this, an employee could be put on PIP for any reason—or no reason at all—because management was not required to prove a thing. While the court’s decision is a welcomed contribution to employee protections, it will mean little unless unions think creatively about how to use it. For example, … Continue reading
EEOC just issued a new decision involving African-American employees and qualification standards. It is a familiar story about the difficulty those employees often have when required to be clean shaven in case a need arises to wear tight seal face masks, e.g., Pseudofolliculitis Barbae. The agency removed ten of them from their police officer positions in 2010 because of their inability to shave close enough to meet the agency qual standard. They filed a discrimination complaint, forcing EEOC to address the conditions under which it will find a qual standard discriminatory. Continue reading
Joseph Sharnoff is one of the top labor arbitrators in the country, but that meant nothing to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals when it reviewed his decision in an adverse action case. The result seems to be a new set of standards arbitrators must meet when they deal with similar cases. Here is a quick view of the court’s criticisms in Binta M. Robinson v. U.S Patent and Trademark Office, (Fed. Cir., 12/21/2021) Continue reading
The employee worked in a large, open-space area surrounded by dozens of other employees when she developed allergies to spicy foods, e.g. pepper, Szechuan peppercorn, ginger, especially those made with oils. She brought in a MD’s note outlining the need for her to avoid contact with those contaminants lest she develop immediate problems swallowing and breathing as well as shock. Management responded by asking the employee’s fellow team members to eat pungent foods in a separate area away from the team workspace and that spicy food products had to be kept in air-tight, covered containers in the workspace. However, as time progressed, management stopped enforcing that request and refused to even inform employees of the issue—leaving it to the allergic employee to do so. Moreover, it took no action when co-workers ignored the problem. All this earned her the nickname “allergy lady” and the agency an EEO complaint, which could have been just as easily raised as a grievance. Continue reading
If you are representing a member looking for more flexibility to deal with COVID problems than the agency is allowing, check out this post with the same title as this post from a law firm known for its employment law expertise. Raising the disability issue opens the door to mandatory reasonable accommodations.