Download Individual Registration Form
Course Description
Federal employees enjoy a wide variety of leave-related benefits. However, many of us would never use the words “enjoy” and “leave” so closely together. Whether you’re an HR professional, employee relations practitioner, EEO specialist, supervisor, or agency counsel, you have undoubtedly faced a leave-related challenge. FELTG’s Absence, Leave Abuse & Medical Issues Week: COVID-19 and Beyond will give you the critical foundation you need to address the most complex areas of federal employment law, including the recent challenges related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Our speakers will discuss sick leave, annual leave, leave without pay, absence without leave, and FMLA. Then they will tackle the most current, relevant topics, such as disciplining employees for leave abuse, dealing with medical issues and unacceptable performance, leave and reasonable accommodation, medical documentation, medical exams, and more.
If you attend, you’re going to learn an awful lot about “leave” and you’re going to “enjoy” the training.
The program runs 9:00 am – 4:00 pm eastern each day, with a break from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm, and is pre-approved for 29 CLE credits in Virginia and California. It is also approved for 29 HRCI general recertification credits.
Who Should Attend
Attorneys; Labor and Employee Relations Specialists; EEO managers and directors; EEO specialists; Reasonable Accommodation Coordinators; federal supervisors and managers; union representatives.
Instructors
Barbara Haga, Deborah Hopkins, Katherine Atkinson, Meghan Droste
Daily Agenda:
Monday, July 13
Leave Use Overview: Course topics: Types of leave and leave entitlements; proper leave administration; discretionary leave scenarios; leave stacking; understanding when you can say no to a leave request; Administrative Leave Act of 2016 changes.
Tuesday, July 14
FMLA Law and Policy: Course topics: Federal sector FMLA basics, including new provisions on paid family leave, employee notice issues, serious health condition developments, medical certification issues, managing intermittent FMLA leave; discipline and performance issues when FMLA is involved; last chance agreements with FMLA.
Wednesday, July 15
Leave-Related Discipline & Medical Removals: Course topics: The five elements of discipline; leave-related misconduct; documentation necessary to discipline an employee for leave-related misconduct and leave abuse; AWOL charges; excessive absence removals; medical inability to perform removals.
Thursday, July 16
Reasonable Accommodation: Entitlements and Processes: Course topics: The ADA Amendments Act; the Rehabilitation Act; the reasonable accommodation process; the “regarded as” provision of the ADA; telework and leave as reasonable accommodation; flexible work schedules and alternative work locations; religious accommodation.
Friday, July 17
Medical Documentation, Medical Requests and Record Confidentiality: Course topics: How the ADAAA and GINA impact the collection of medical information; pre- and post-employment medical exams and inquiries; conditional employment offers; medical documentation requests; direct threat; conflicting regulations and contra court decisions.
Pricing
Most people attend the full training week, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
Early Bird Tuition (register by June 29):
- 5 days = $2190
- 4 days = $1795
- 3 days = $1385
- 2 days = $980
- 1 day = $540
Standard Tuition (register June 30 – July 17):
- 5 days = $2290
- 4 days = $1895
- 3 days = $1485
- 2 days = $1080
- 1 day = $640
Seminar registration includes a printed copy of the materials. In order to receive materials by the training date, please register by June 29 and provide a shipping address. Registrations received after June 29 will also receive printed materials, but materials are not guaranteed to arrive by the training date.
Event FAQs
- Can I attend Virtual Training from my government computer?
- FELTG uses Webex for this Virtual Training Institute event. Many government computers and systems allow Webex access. If for some reason your firewall will not allow access, you’re welcome to use your personal email address to register, and to attend the sessions from your personal device.
- Can I earn CLE credits for this class?
- CLE applications are the responsibility of each attendee; FELTG does not apply for the credits on behalf of attendees. If you are seeking CLE credit, attendees may use the materials provided by FELTG in submission to your state bar. Attendees may also request a certificate of completion which will contain the number of training hours attended.
- Can I share my access link with co-workers?
- No. Registration for this event is per individual, and access links may not be shared. Each link may only be used by one person.
- Can I register a teleworker?
- This event is individual registration, so the cost is the same whether the person is teleworking or in an agency facility.
- How do I receive a group rate discount?
- Group rates are available for agencies registering 10 or more individuals for the full event. Group discounts are available through June 29.
Download Individual Registration Form
Course Description
COVID-19. Workplace harassment. Union negotiations. Telework. Mental health crises. These are just a few of the issues federal agencies are working through in 2020.
Navigating your role in the modern federal workplace requires not just the legal knowledge, but also the practical skills to handle the most intense and challenging situations. And the challenges you face today may not be the same as the challenges you faced last week, last month, or last year. And if that weren’t enough, there’s now a global pandemic to contend with.
For example, do you know what to do in the following scenarios?
- An employee with bipolar disorder is having a manic episode in the workplace.
- An employee threatens violence or suicide after the social isolation caused by COVID-19 has taken its toll.
- An employee claims she is being sexually harassed by one of your best performers.
- You’ve heard reports that another manager is bullying an employee.
- Your entire team is working remotely, but you need to meet with everyone to discuss a project or deadline.
- An employee is wasting time on social media when he is supposed to be working.
- The union is using abrasive language directed at agency leadership and management officials.
We will provide you the specific legal, practical and clinical guidance you need to reply effectively in these and many other difficult situations during our updated-for-2020 Emerging Issues Week. You’ll gain the tools to better understand how to:
- Deal with employees who are experiencing mental and behavioral health issues.
- Handle sexual harassment and bullying claims.
- Interact with the union in an effective way.
- Manage a mobile workforce and handle reasonable accommodation requests.
- Deal with threats of violence – from suicide to mass shootings – in the federal workplace.
Who Should Attend
Attorneys; Labor and Employee Relations Specialists; EEO managers and directors; EEO specialists; Reasonable Accommodation Coordinators; federal supervisors and managers; security officers; union representatives.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Shana Palmieri, Katherine Atkinson, Ann Boehm
Daily Agenda:
Monday, July 20
Handling Behavioral Health Issues: Course topics: An overview of the ADA/ADAAA and Rehabilitation Act requirements on accommodating individuals with invisible disabilities – with a focus on mental impairments and other behavioral health issues; types of mental disabilities and how they may exhibit in the workplace; accommodations for behavioral health-related disabilities; working with employees who have PTSD, handling substance abuse misuse and disorders; last chance agreements; dos and don’ts when working with employees who have behavioral health issues.
Tuesday, July 21
Dealing with Threats of Violence: Course topics: Handling the psychiatric emergency in the workplace; threatening behavior and the direct threat analysis; myths and facts about targeted violence in the workplace; dealing with suicidal employees; individual characteristics that put an employee at higher risk of committing an act of violence; how to develop and implement an in-house threat management team to deal with threat assessments, risk management, and the best ways to keep employees safe during a crisis; steps to take if someone becomes violent in the workplace.
Wednesday, July 22
Harassment Allegations and Investigations: Course topics: Differentiating between EEO and non-EEO harassment; protected categories; avenues of redress for the aggrieved; investigating harassment allegations; developing an investigative plan; dealing with difficult witnesses; witness and management rights during the investigation stage; agency obligations; the intersection with criminal investigations; bullying; special considerations in light of #MeToo and #TimesUp.
Thursday, July 23
The Nontraditional Workplace: Telework, Reasonable Accommodation, and Technology Challenges: Accountability tools for managing a mobile workforce; updated COVID-19 telework guidance from OPM, the White House, and EEOC; return to work challenges in the wake of COVID-19; handling requests for telework, leave, or flexible schedules as reasonable accommodation; challenges with technology in the federal workplace including technology-related misconduct.
Friday, July 24
Working in a Unionized Environment: What every supervisor and advisor should know about federal labor unions; collective bargaining agreements; official time; LR meetings; an overview of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute; fundamental employee, union, and management rights; unfair labor practices; controlling official time; handling information requests; the current status of the Executive Orders.
Pricing
Early Bird Tuition (register by July 6):
- 5 days = $2190
- 4 days = $1795
- 3 days = $1385
- 2 days = $980
- 1 day = $540
Standard Tuition (register July 7 – July 24):
- 5 days = $2290
- 4 days = $1895
- 3 days = $1485
- 2 days = $1080
- 1 day = $640
Seminar registration includes a printed copy of the materials. In order to receive materials by the training date, please register by July 6 and provide a shipping address. Registrations received after July 6 will also receive printed materials, but materials are not guaranteed to arrive by the training date.
Event FAQs
- Can I attend Virtual Training from my government computer?
- FELTG uses Webex for this Virtual Training Institute event. Many government computers and systems allow Webex access. If for some reason your firewall will not allow access, you’re welcome to use your personal email address to register, and to attend the sessions from your personal device.
- Can I earn CLE credits for this class?
- CLE applications are the responsibility of each attendee; FELTG does not apply for the credits on behalf of attendees. If you are seeking CLE credit, attendees may use the materials provided by FELTG in submission to your state bar. Attendees may also request a certificate of completion which will contain the number of training hours attended.
- Can I share my access link with co-workers?
- No. Registration for this event is per individual, and access links may not be shared. Each link may only be used by one person.
- Can I register a teleworker?
- This event is individual registration, so the cost is the same whether the person is teleworking or in an agency facility.
- How do I receive a group rate discount?
- Group rates are available for agencies registering 10 or more individuals for the full event. Group discounts are available through July 6.