Posted on August 27, 2025 by AdminUN

IT IS NOW TOUGHER TO DENY A REQUEST FOR RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Imagine this happens to you. You represent employees at an agency that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, like the folks at Customs and Border Protection.  They assign officers to work weekends, graveyard shifts and holidays. Further imagine that a member asks union help for a religious accommodation. Specifically, she wants to be exempt from ever having to work a weekend or overtime. You instantly realize that will mean that the other employees will have to work weekends and overtime more often to make up for her absence—and that they are going to be very upset with the union if it backs her. What do you do?  Continue reading →

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Posted on August 27, 2025 by AdminUN

FMLA BASICS – SELF-LED TRAINING CHECKLIST

Although there are some slight differences between federal and private sector FMLA rights and procedures, one need not worry about them when trying to get a basic understanding of employee rights.  Consequently, we recommend using a U.S. Dept. of Labor checklist for union stewards handling their first couple of FMLA cases or for members asking about their FMLA rights. Click here for a very helpful web site checklist addressing 15 different elements of FMLA rights. Continue reading →

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Posted on August 13, 2025 by AdminUN

CAN RUMORS CREATE A HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT?

Yup, or at least that’s what the Third Circuit Federal Court of Appeals thinks. “So and so is gay,” “Did you hear she is cheating on her husband,“ “I understand he is the one leaking all the information about our workplace screw-ups to the local media.” According to the court, if there are mean or otherwise hurtful rumors spreading around the office, then the agency is obligated by law to step in and stop the chatter. If it doesn’t it may have to write someone a check. Click here for a post from the Ogletree Deakins law firm alerting its management clients to this little-known liability.

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Posted on August 13, 2025 by AdminUN

PRE-RIF CHECKLIST

Thought we would pass along a helpful post from Fedweek. With so many employees facing a RIF, think about passing along this story to your members.  The bump and retreat tips are particularly helpful. Click here for the post.

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Posted on August 5, 2025 by AdminUN

NOW THIS IS INTERESTING

Mandatory referral to EAP may be “adverse action,” court says.  That is the headline of the latest blog from the folks at Constangy, Brooks, Smith and Prophete, LLP.  I am not sure why any fed would refuse to enter an EAP program given that the likely alternative is that management would take disciplinary action for the offenses that led it to propose EAP. But if one employee is ordered to go while a similarly situated employee of a different race, gender, age, etc. is not that may be illegal discrimination according to this one court. This is another one of those unusual twists in case law you might want to recall the next time a member refuses EAP.

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Posted on August 5, 2025 by AdminUN

SATANIC POSTERS IN THE WORKPLACE  

In his latest effort to drive wedges between employees Trump has announced that he is urging federal employees to pray, preach, and proselytize in the workplace on behalf of their religious beliefs.  After all, if there is anything that divides people more than the race card  he has already played, it is religion. While I am sure he is thinking that employees will only push Christianity and Judaism, don’t be surprised if folks pop up pushing Satanism, paganistic Wicca, Rastafarianism, Shamanism, Scientology, Santeria, and my personal favorite Raëlianism—the belief in godly UFO’s. Unions had not only better prepare themselves for some employee playing odes to Satan or Tom Cruise in the workplace, but also what rules apply, e.g., will there be admin time to try to convert others, how loud can prayers be, can feds preach to members of the public as well as co-workers, will there be space set aside in the cafeteria for things like levitating and other religious ceremonies, will there be cash awards for conversions to the favored religions, can baptisms be performed on site, will Trump bibles be provided at a discount, etc. Click here for the OPM Guidance.

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Posted on July 24, 2025 by AdminUN

WHAT COUNTS AS A WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIATION?

We suspect there is going to be a lot of  whistleblowing in the next few months and years. So, unions could be wise to brush up on what whistleblower retaliation looks like.  A recent post from the bloggers at the Devados Law Firm with the same title as this post is a good place to start.  We recommend you circulate it among your stewards or even all members so you can react as soon as the abuse pops up.  Click here for the link to the post.

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Posted on July 24, 2025 by AdminUN

WHEN IS MANAGEMENT’S FMLA OBLIGATION TRIGGERED?

What happens if an employee takes a lot of LWOP and AWOL to deal with a medical situation, but never asks management for FMLA leave.  In many cases, she is likely to be disciplined for abusing leave.  But there are situations where management is obligated to put her on FMLA even if she never asked.  Check out this blog from the folks at Olgetree Deakins entitled, “FMLA Notice Requirements: Lessons From the Third Circuit.” It is written to advise managers, but in doing so shines a light on how unions can use this concept to protect members.

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Posted on July 24, 2025 by AdminUN

DAVID BOREN, EX-AFGE GENERAL COUNSEL, IS BACK

It is always good to get another advocate for employees, especially one so deeply experienced as David. Gilbert Employment Law of Silver Spring Maryland just announced that he is joining their firm. David has represented employees and their unions at the federal and state level as well as in the private sector. If you need help, he is another good reason to get in touch with Gilbert Employment Law.

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Posted on July 16, 2025 by AdminUN

“OH, YOU BLACK PEOPLE”

No, that is not a quote from President Trump’s latest anti-fed employee executive order, but we can’t vouch for the drafts.  The words were uttered by a Postal Service supervisor. According to the EEOC, his exact words to an employee, Harrison, were, “You Black people think you can do what you want to do; not while I’m here….you and Sammy [another Black driver] are just the same.” The day after he said them, he effectively suspended the employee indefinitely.  Harrison filed an EEO complaint charging racial discrimination, which the Commission upheld because another supervisor testified that he overheard Harrison’s supervisor say at another time, ““Black people are a lot slower.  They don’t have the intelligence to do the job unless you tell them to do it.”  (Someone please check to see if that came from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 25 report.) The Administrative Judge ordered the agency to award… Continue reading →

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