Posted on February 11, 2017 by AdminUN

ANOTHER FLRA FUBAR?

What’s a “FUBAR?” It is shorthand for pronouncing something “Fouled Up Beyond All Repair,” although there are more verbally assertive versions. We use it to label those MSPB and FLRA cases that screw up the lives of LR practitioners by making day-to-day operations more complicated and risky rather than less. On the brink of the holiday season peak the FLRA appears to have gifted us with another one in AFGE, Local 1698 and Naval Supply Systems Command, Pennsylvania, 70 FLRA 96 (2016). Continue reading →

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Posted on February 2, 2017 by AdminUN

AN ADVERSE ACTION GUIDE

While we hope that no one on either side of the table has to deal with too many adverse actions, we know at least a few of you do a dozen or more oral replies and full hearings a year involving them. By this time you probably know a lot about the process, but then again maybe there are a few things you missed. So, you might want to check out MSPB’s “Primer.” Among our favorite sections are the following:

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Posted on February 2, 2017 by AdminUN

THE CROWN OF THORNS CASE

Some people put religious objects in their cubicle or office. Maybe it is a crucifix, mezuzah, kirpan, inverted pentacle, mandala, or rune. But we have to admit that we had never heard of someone putting an actual crown of thorns in her cubicle.  When one employee did in the notoriously conservative Christian community of Colorado Springs it apparently freaked out some of her co-workers who kept religious objects of their own on the desk.  They allegedly complained to the management that the crown said something about the woman’s mental stability and they were worried it could be used as a weapon. In any event her managers asked her to remove the crown and the employee filed an EEO charge alleging religious and disability discrimination. Continue reading →

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Posted on January 27, 2017 by AdminUN

UNION STAFF ARE PROTECTED FROM AGENCY CHANGES TOO

FLRA popped out an interesting case just before time ran out in 2016 that addressed an agency’s ability to change how it deals with union staff who are not now (and maybe never were) federal employees. Does the agency have to serve notice on the union and complete bargaining before it can change, for example, the security procedures the non-fed union staffer must follow to enter the agency’s building? After all, non-fed union staffers aren’t any different than any vendor or repair technician seeking to enter the building. Right?

No, Wrong! The Authority held yet again that it changes the conditions of employment for unit employment when the agency changes the procedures or rights of the union staff those employees rely upon. See VA, Richmond, VA and AFGE, Local 2145, 70 FLRA 119 (2016).   See also Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and MTC, 4 FLRA 255 (1980), and Bureau of Indian Affairs, Isleta Elementary School, Pueblo of Isleta, NM and AFT, Indian Educators Federation, 54 FLRA 1428 (1998).

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Posted on January 27, 2017 by AdminUN

EEOC SAYS IT WELL ON RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION       

A hospital granted some employees a waiver from its mandatory flu vaccine program based on religious objections. But apparently it decided to get into whether a person’s particular religious beliefs are worthy of being considered religious. EEOC pulled the hospital up short and also pulled $300,000.00 out of the hospital treasury for six harmed employees denied a waiver. We thought it did a good job in its press release explaining what managers cannot do when faced with a request for a religious accommodation, “The decree also requires that when considering requests for religious accommodation, the Health Center must adhere to the definition of ‘religion’ established by Title VII and controlling federal court decisions, a definition that forbids employers from rejecting accommodation requests based on their disagreement with an employee’s belief; their opinion that the belief is unfounded, illogical, or inconsistent in some way; or their conclusion that an employee’s belief is not an official tenet or endorsed teaching of any particular religion or denomination.”

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Posted on January 24, 2017 by AdminUN

IRS TORMENTS DIABETIC EMPLOYEE

It is hard to imagine that a diabetic employee can still be treated this badly in the 21st century, but maybe the Miami IRS office stopped tracking time somewhere in the 1930s. In any event, a GS-11 IRS Revenue Officer opted to file a complainant with the EEOC rather than use the grievance-arbitration process.  That gave her control over who represented her, whether her case went to a hearing, and what kind of settlement she would accept, if any.  IRS management put her through a four-year slog there before it agreed to follow an EEOC order to give her a private area to check her blood sugar, tune her insulin pump, and eat whenever her instruments said she must. Up until that EEOC order, her manager insisted that she wait until normal break times and use the women’s room for any private needs. We recommend you get a copy of Denese G. V. Jacob J. Lew, Secretary, Department of the Treasury (Internal Revenue Service), Appeal No. 0120141118 (2016) if you are involved with a diabetic employee whose requests for reasonable accommodation are being given only generalized consideration.  The Commission went out of its way in the decision to make it clear that agencies are obligated to respond to each reasonable accommodation request on an individualized basis.  In other words, not all diabetics are the same or need the same assistance. EEOC also ordered the agency to conduct an investigation to determine how much she is owed in compensatory damages.  We are betting it is north of $100,000.00 based on the public embarrassment her manager made her endure, e.g., she had to hold her insulin pump up in a group meeting to show everyone she was not texting while the manager spoke.  And then her attorney should be able to justify about the same amount in fees given how long and hard he had to push the IRS to respond properly.

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Posted on January 23, 2017 by AdminUN

HOMELAND SECURITY PAYS MILLIONS FOR DECADES OLD EMPLOYEE COMPLAINT

 If the Washington Post story is accurate, and we highly suspect it is, the Dept. Of Homeland Security just agreed to pay about 100 employees an average of $240,000.00 each in back pay to make up for promotions unjustly denied them as long ago as 1990.   Our compliments to these employees for hanging in there so long and to the law firm that made it all happen. 

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Posted on January 19, 2017 by AdminUN

COMMON FMLA MISTAKES

Understanding the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a requirement for representatives on both sides of the table. We have spent some time touching on it in Fedsmill, but there is a good series coming out of the firm of Jackson Lewis that we recommend, especially if you are the local union or ER/LR expert in FMLA matters. Check out, “What Am I Doing Wrong? Common FMLA Mistakes” a four-part series so far that we hope continues for a while. We are linking you to the fourth in the series but you can catch up by using the links at the end of the post. Want even more, checkout, “Top Five FMLA Mistakes.”

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Posted on January 19, 2017 by AdminUN

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICES

The Office of the Special Counsel has put on line a helpful quiz to help representatives deepen their understanding of Prohibited Personnel Practices. We have found it helpful to raise these in grievances involving promotions when we also have an argument that the agency violated 5 CFR 300.103. It takes about an hour, but if you know little to nothing about them today, this quiz will be a big benefit for you.

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Posted on January 19, 2017 by AdminUN

WHERE IS THE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL SERVICE REFORM ACT

Although it does not come up very much at all anymore, there are times when it can be helpful to dig into the legislative history of the CSRA. Unfortunately, unless you have a law library near-by or have purchased on-line access to some legal research service that is not going to be easy to do—unless you know about what FLRA gives us for free. It has posted the entire legislative history of the Act on its web site and made it word searchable.

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