Ask FELTG
Have a question about federal employment law? Read below to find answers - or ask a question of your own.Ask FELTG: If an employee is AWOL, should agency charge only AWOL or also Failure to Follow Leave procedures?
June 26, 2023 Thanks for the question; it’s one we get fairly frequently. Let’s look at what the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) says on this matter: AWOL and Failure to Follow Leave Procedures generally are separate charges with different elements of proof....
Ask FELTG: Does a Local CBA Trump an Agency’s Nationwide Policy?
June 14, 2023 Here’s more context from the loyal FELTG reader who posed the question: Let’s say, hypothetically, management at a regional outpost agrees to terms regarding office workspace with their local union, and then enters into a CBA articulating those...
Ask FELTG: If an employee is out of leave and requests Leave Without Pay for an ongoing illness, is the agency required to grant the LWOP?
Thanks for the question. And the answer is … it depends. A foundational principle regarding LWOP is that granting or denying LWOP is within the agency’s discretion. See Sambrano v. Department of Defense, 116 M.S.P.R. 449, ¶ 4 (2011). In cases involving employee...
Ask FELTG: Could Last Chance Agreement Open Agency to Disparate Treatment Claim?
The following question came into the FELTG mailroom. Our agency sometimes uses Last Chance Agreements, but a few members of leadership are concerned that offering LCAs to only certain people could open the agency up to claims of disparate treatment discrimination....
Ask FELTG: I work for a fairly small agency. Is it a problem if the same supervisor acts as both the Proposing and Deciding Official in a disciplinary action?
You might be surprised by this, but the answer is no – it’s not a problem or issue as long as the employee is given due process: 1. Proposal notice with charge(s), penalty, and the material relied upon in making the proposal; 2. An opportunity to respond orally and in...
Ask FELTG: What’s the Best Way to Calculate Non-pecuniary Compensatory Damages in an EEO Case?
February 28, 2023 Thanks for the question. The best way to determine appropriate compensatory damages in cases where agencies are found liable for discrimination, harassment, reprisal, or a failure to accommodate is to look at the harm the employee endured. It’s...
Ask FELTG Tackles Accommodation Request for Inability to Commute
Here's a question that recently came into FELTG's mailroom: In granting or denying a reasonable accommodation request for telework, does it make any difference if the employee’s only disability-related problem is his commute to work? Hypothetically, he does not have...
Ask FELTG: How Exactly Did Union Rep Cross Line Into Misconduct?
An item in our weekly email generated the following question: You mentioned in one of your recent newsletters that an FLRA decision illustrated union activity “that very clearly crossed the line.” As our relationship with the union here is standoffish in its best...
Ask FELTG: What do OPM’s new regulations say about clean record agreements?
OPM’s new regulations on 5 CFR parts 432 and 752, which went into effect Dec. 12, 2022, removed the 2020 regulations’ prohibition on clean record agreements. Agencies are once again free to use clean record settlements. This was probably the most contested portion of...
Ask FELTG: If Metro is Closed, Is Telework a Reasonable Accommodation?
We recently received the following question: If a Metro station is closed for construction, does our agency have to accommodate a disabled employee who usually takes the Metro to work by granting temporary telework? Thanks for the question. As in every reasonable...