Each presidential administration brings its own priorities and policies to the White House, but the speed with which the Trump Administration has issued Executive Orders regarding the Federal workplace is unprecedented. In this 60-minute review, FELTG President Deborah J. Hopkins will provide up to-minute guidance on what several new Federal …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
February 11UnCivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Performance and Conduct – February 12-13, 2025
FELTG’s flagship course UnCivil Servant empowers Federal supervisors and advisers to confidently handle the challenges that come with supervising in the Federal workplace. It shatters misconceptions about performance and misconduct-based actions and gives you simple step-by-step guidance for taking swift, appropriate, and legally defensible actions. This course fulfills the 5 CFR 412.202(b) …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
February 12President Trump’s inauguration day Memorandum to agencies was clear: Agency leaders must “require employees to return to work in-person.” In a follow-up memo, the Office of Personnel Management noted that agency supervisors could excuse employees “due to a disability, qualifying medical condition, or other compelling reasons.” Telework is already the …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
February 25President Trump recently reinstated his 2018 Executive Order 13839: Promoting Accountability and Streamlining Removal Procedures Consistent With Merit System Principles — and you are now on the clock. Agencies have until March 7 (yes, March 7, 2025) to report to OPM all policies that have been enacted, modified, or repealed in order to comply with …
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Employee Relations, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
February 25An employee does not follow an order. Seems like an open-and-shut case of insubordination, right? Think again. Was it a refusal or simply a failure to comply? When you charge an employee with insubordination, you must prove intent along with the other elements of the charge. This class explains what …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
March 6Robust. Uninhibited. Wide-open. These are words the U.S. Supreme Court used to describe the type of debate by union officials that is considered “protected activity.” But how robust, uninhibited, or wide open is acceptable? And when? There are many tales of profanity, shouting, rough speech, and bullying taking place between …
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Employee Relations, Labor Relations & Union Training, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
March 20When Potential Violence Impacts the Workplace: Addressing Threats in 2025 – April 2, 2025
Whether it’s a disgruntled employee or customer, a domestic issue that follows an employee to work, or an unknown individual intent on causing harm, workplaces are at a distinct risk for violent incidents. Healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience injury from workplace violence than employees in other …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
April 2The borderline between on-duty and off-duty has become increasingly blurred with the omnipresence of social media and many employees working flexible hours from home. Yet, one thing has remained clear and constant: If you’re going to discipline someone for what they do on their own time, you need to show …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
April 3Investigating harassment in your agency can be an intimidating assignment, one that is rife with innuendo, conflicting accounts, and raw emotions. This course provides a successful and effective approach to conducting legally sufficient harassment investigations that gives the agency the information it needs, while withstanding third-party scrutiny. Tuesday, April 29: …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Workplace Investigations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
April 29The administration has highlighted that agencies should swiftly and properly deal with employees who engage in misconduct. In many cases, progressive discipline is a win-win for agencies. It’s a valuable tool to (hopefully) correct an employee’s misconduct. But, if it doesn’t have its intended effect, it gives the agency a …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
May 8President Trump’s recent Executive Order laid out numerous steps to improve the efficiency of the Federal hiring system, focusing on merit-based personnel decisions. These steps include a decreased hiring timeline, improved communication with applicants, and the use of technical assessments as outlined in the Chance to Compete Act of 2024. …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
May 21Whether you’re an HR professional, Employee Relations practitioner, EEO specialist, supervisor, or agency counsel, you have undoubtedly faced a leave-related challenge or two. And chances are, you may have struggled with some of the more complicated scenarios. Leave and medical issues create a complex and seemingly burdensome issue, one often …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
June 2Some in the incoming administration, including the President, have voiced support for the changing of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance. Meanwhile, the drug is legal in 38 states for medicinal purposes, and 24 for recreational purposes. And we continue to receive questions regarding Federal employees …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
June 5UnCivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Performance and Conduct – June 10-11, 2025
FELTG’s flagship course UnCivil Servant empowers Federal supervisors and advisers to confidently handle the challenges that come with supervising in the Federal workplace. It shatters misconceptions about performance and misconduct-based actions and gives you simple step-by-step guidance for taking swift, appropriate, and legally defensible actions. This course fulfills the 5 CFR 412.202(b) …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
June 10If a Federal employee is required to have access to classified information, then the employee must be eligible for a security clearance in order to keep that position. What happens when the employee no longer has that clearance? This class will detail how to handle a security clearance suspension, revocation …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
June 12If only there was a checklist that you could use to determine the correct penalty to address employee misconduct. Oh right, there is: the 12 factors identified in the Merit Systems Protection Board’s landmark Douglas v. VA decision. Yet, look at any recent batch of MSPB decisions, and you’ll find continued confusion …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
July 10This year, it is more important than ever for agency supervisors, reasonable accommodation coordinators, EEO specialists, LR/ER specialists, attorneys, and union reps to understand the process for determining when an employee is entitled to an accommodation, whether the request is related to an individual’s disability, religious beliefs, or pregnancy status. …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
July 17Reasonable Accommodation in the Workplace: 5-part Training Series – July 17 – August 14, 2025
A request to telework due to disability? An appeal to skip mandatory training due to religious beliefs? A request for leave due to prenatal appointments and medical incapacitation? With back-to-the-office plans in effect, new and changing laws, and a growing push for religious expression, it’s expected that requests for reasonable …
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EEO Training, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
July 17Potential reasonable accommodations should be discussed by the employee and the agency, through what the EEOC refers to as “the interactive process.” So, what exactly does the interactive process involve? And when is it required? This course explains what agencies need to know when they work with employees on reasonable …
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EEO Training, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
July 24Barking Up the Wrong Tree? Service and Emotional Support Animals in the Workspace – July 31, 2025
Most of us know something about service animals, but what about emotional support animals, comfort animals, and the like? Are they permitted in the workplace? The EEOC’s stance that an emotional support animal may be a required reasonable accommodation for a qualified individual with a disability, even if it is not a …
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EEO Training, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
July 31With agencies mandating employees to return to the physical office space, you can expect more reasonable accommodation requests for telework. If someone has successfully teleworked already and is a qualified individual with a disability, must you grant the requested accommodation? This course will detail the required three-step process for agencies …
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EEO Training, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
August 7When faced with a particularly challenging request for a reasonable accommodation, you may want to claim it’s an undue hardship. Don’t. Undue hardship is an important concept in terms of reasonable accommodation, but one that differs depending on whether accommodation is for disability, religious, or pregnancy-related reasons. This class will …
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EEO Training, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
August 14UnCivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Performance and Conduct – September 3-4, 2025
FELTG’s flagship course UnCivil Servant empowers Federal supervisors and advisers to confidently handle the challenges that come with supervising in the Federal workplace. It shatters misconceptions about performance and misconduct-based actions and gives you simple step-by-step guidance for taking swift, appropriate, and legally defensible actions. This course fulfills the 5 CFR 412.202(b) …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
September 3Whether you’re an HR professional, Employee Relations practitioner, EEO specialist, supervisor, or agency counsel, you have undoubtedly faced a leave-related challenge or two. And chances are, you may have struggled with some of the more complicated scenarios. Leave and medical issues create a complex and seemingly burdensome issue, one often …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
September 22Maybe you envision yourself donning a Sherlock Holmes hat and cape. Or, perhaps, your model is the masterful Benoit Blanc of Knives Out Mystery fame. If only the work of a Federal administrative investigation was as easy as these fictional detectives make their jobs seem. Instead, there are more than …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingA reference to dinosaurs, a joke about retirement, or a snide “OK Boomer” – nothing wrong with that if it’s just in fun, right? Wrong! And if you think those are the only actions that’ll lead to an age discrimination claim, you’re wrong again. Join Attorney and FELTG Instructor Meghan …
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EEO Training, Supervisor TrainingFor many, it’s the most difficult and unpredictable part of the workplace investigation — conducting the interview. This is especially the case when the witness has suffered trauma. And it’s likely to happen, considering these sobering statistics: Seven to eight percent will have PTSD at some point in their lifetimes. …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Workplace Investigations, Supervisor TrainingIn this 60-minute webinar, FELTG instructor Ann Boehm identifies and discusses when the law requires your agency to provide the union an opportunity to be involved in discussions, focusing on the requirements for a meeting to be considered a formal discussion, the union’s rights and responsibilities when it comes to …
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Labor Relations & Union Training, Supervisor Training5 USC 7112 of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute defines the types of positions that must be excluded from the bargaining units. But in the modern workforce, those definitions aren’t always that clear. In this 60-minute webinar, FELTG Instructor Ann Boehm takes you through how to not only identify …
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Labor Relations & Union Training, Supervisor TrainingThe Role of the Douglas Factors in Arbitration
When faced with a case involving appealable adverse actions, an arbitrator must apply the same substantive standards as the Merit Systems Protection Board. The arbitrator must decide whether discipline was appropriate, and also assess whether the agency considered the relevant factors in determining the penalty. Just like an MSPB judge, the arbitrator …
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Labor Relations & Union Training, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingAvoiding Mistakes in Selection and Promotion Cases
The selection and promotion process is an emotional one, especially for those who aren’t selected. If you’re a federal EEO practitioner or supervisor, chances are you’ve had a case where an employee alleges that she was not selected or promoted because of something other than job qualifications – race, sex, …
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EEO Training, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingAntisemitism is never acceptable. However, recent remarks by celebrities, athletes, and news networks have made antisemitism seem more commonplace, in all facets of life, including the workplace. Title VII makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based on, among other things, religion. However, this is one of the protected categories …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvoiding Pitfalls: Advice from an EEOC AJ
Be prepared. Be on time. Be civil. These are fairly basic expectations. Yet, they’re often forgotten once parties enter the EEO process. And once in the process, the potential pitfalls only increase. EEOC Administrative Judge Meghan Droste discusses the common mistakes agencies make, from missing important deadlines to missing the …
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EEO Training, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingWant to reduce conflict, increase productivity, and limit absenteeism, turnover, and even removals? That’s impossible, you say. Maybe not, if you learn how to effectively manage individuals whose behavior repeatedly generates workplace conflict. This two-hour presentation teaches how to recognize employees with high-conflict personalities, whether it’s individuals who blame their peers …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingManaging Chronic Performance and Conduct Issues
Whether it’s up-and-down roller coaster performers or repeat offenders of misconduct, chronically challenging employees eat up time, create workplace stress, and dampen productivity. And it will only get worse until you address the issue. FELTG President Deborah J. Hopkins shares the tools necessary to address performance issues and lays the …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingWhether it’s a disgruntled employee or customer, or a domestic issue that follows an employee to work, workplaces are at a distinct risk of violent incidents. And that risk may be heightened when it’s a Federal workplace. How do you prepare yourself to protect the lives of those around you? …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Supervisor Training, Private Sector TrainingSexual harassment is a term of art that while easy to allege, isn’t always easy to prove. However, just because something may not rise to the level of Title VII sexual harassment, doesn’t mean it’s not inappropriate or that it should be tolerated in the workplace. FELTG President Deborah Hopkins, …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingWhen Domestic Violence Impacts the Workplace: Ensuring a Safe and Supportive Environment
Domestic violence significantly impacts the workplace. Nearly one in four women and one in nine men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, sexual violence, or stalking – and nearly three-quarters of those victims are harassed by their abuser at work. This leads to lost productivity, declining performance, and increased potential …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingWouldn’t it be great if your first reaction to a reasonable accommodation request didn’t involve increased heartbeat, immediate beads of sweat, or fear? It doesn’t have to be that way. You can be the supervisor (or advisor) who sees the benefit of the interactive process and confidently navigates it to find a …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingOn the surface, probationary periods seem rather simple. An employee is given a year to prove they are a good fit for the job, and if they aren’t, it’s an easy separation process, right? Generally, yes, but there can be challenges. What if you are unable to make an appropriate …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingNumerous pitfalls can derail an agency’s disciplinary action, whether it’s suspension, demotion, or removal – and even make a bad situation worse. The most “effective and efficient” approach isn’t always traditional disciplinary action. This two-hour training explains why, how, and when to use numerous alternative actions, including not just clean …
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Employee Relations, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingHas your agency received any Pregnant Workers Fairness Act claims? Are you even aware of your responsibilities under the PWFA? Does the act create a new EEO category? How do pregnancy protections under the PWFA differ from those under Title VII or the Americans with Disabilities Act? This training will …
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EEO Training, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingYou can’t discipline an employee for AWOL unless it has reached a certain number of days. Employees can’t be removed for AWOL. You can’t be charged AWOL for time that you were physically present in the office. None of these statements are true; they are AWOL myths. This training deconstructs …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingSay Whaaat?!? Respectful Communication in the Workplace
Subtle and overt language, joking, off-handed comments, and offensive comments and gestures can lead to a hostile work environment. And that includes ill-advised, even if not ill-intentioned, phrases such as “hold down the fort” and “low man on the totem pole.” Being a respectful communicator means more than just not …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Supervisor Training, Private Sector TrainingAvailable:
By AppointmentEvery agency has employees who struggle with performance, but there is a reliable solution for addressing unacceptable performance. A successful Performance Demonstrate Period (DP) will either lead to sustained improved performance or a defensible performance-based removal or demotion. This fast-paced class guides you through the critical steps to reaching that …
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Employee Relations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
By AppointmentWorkplace Investigations: Successfully Interviewing Witnesses With Mental and Behavioral Health Conditions
The most difficult and unpredictable part of the workplace investigation – conducting the interview – can be especially challenging when the witness has a behavioral or mental health condition, or violent tendencies. This course will explain temperament traits and personality disorders and provide a road map to help you understand how to …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Workplace Investigations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
By AppointmentMisconduct Investigations: Get Them Right From the Start
Any effective misconduct investigation starts with a solid foundation of the law and an understanding of the full scope of your investigation. This class explains the principles that underpin a successful investigation of Federal employee misconduct, including harassment. You’ll leave with guidance on developing the investigation, from creating a plan …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Workplace Investigations, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
By AppointmentThere are numerous examples of investigations that have gone awry. It could be an investigator’s failure to interview certain witnesses, a failure to take a complainant’s statement into account, or, perhaps, an action, such as a widely shared email, that shows a lack of objectivity. This course will provide guidance …
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EEO Training, Employee Relations, Workplace Investigations, Litigation & Advocacy, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
By AppointmentWhy are labor-management relations perpetually adversarial? Are agencies and unions supposed to be working together, or against each other? How can both sides get along better, as Congress intended? The Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute says collective bargaining “safeguards the public interest,” “contributes to the effective conduct of public business,” …
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Labor Relations & Union Training, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
By AppointmentExecutive Order 14003 rescinded limitations on collective bargaining and instructed agency leaders that they “shall elect to negotiate over the subjects set forth in 5 USC 7106(b)(1) and shall instruct subordinates to do the same.” How should this be interpreted? Shall seems to be the critical word here. In this training, …
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Labor Relations & Union Training, Supervisor TrainingAvailable:
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