SOME PROBATIONERS JUST GOT A GUT PUNCH

Not all feds hold the same job uninterrupted throughout their probationary period.  Some get hired as seasonals to work a few months at a time, get furloughed, and then get called back. Others get hired into one job and move to another one during their probationary period.  They and those like them have had to string together enough months of work to satisfy their probationary period and the work they did in each job had to be similar.. Check out  McCormick v. Department of the Air Force, 307 F.3d 1339 and 98 M.S.P.R. 409 for an explanation of that criteria. But, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals just through a large monkey wrench into that building body of case law.  See the FEDWEEK article entitled, “Court Takes Restrictive Reading on Completing Probationary Period.” An employee may be flattered to be offered a new job while still a probationer or the agency just might have a critical need for the employee’s help in another job during that time. But unions should start thinking about what they can do to make sure those in probationary periods at least have ADVANCE notice when a job change is going to force them to restart their probationary period.