Attention all HR professionals and supervisors – this is a BRAND NEW and IMPORTANT training on a mandatory directive from the Office of Management and Budget, and you won’t get it anywhere else.
OMB Directive M-17-22, the Comprehensive Plan for Reforming the Federal Government and Reducing the Federal Civilian Workforce, requires agencies to eliminate unnecessary barriers to addressing poor performance contained in agency policies. This one-day course will give you the tools you need to analyze your existing appraisal system and to ensure that it helps managers to effectively and quickly deal with poor performance in the federal workplace – and to be able to survive third-party review.
Topics covered include:
- Focusing on accountability for job performance
- Designing and perfecting the appraisal system to ensure accountability
- Within-grade increases (WIGIs) and their impact on accountability
- Eliminating unacceptable performance requirements that are not based on law/regulation (and waste your valuable time!)
The program runs 8:30 – 4:15.
Instructors
Agenda:
Coming Soon!
Pricing
- 1 day = $460
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Shana Palmieri
Course Description
Attention federal supervisors, HR professionals, medical professionals, attorneys, and other agency employees:
- What should you do when an employee with a behavioral health issue has an episode in the workplace?
- What steps should you take if the employee threatens violence or suicide?
- Or, in a worst-case scenario, what do you do if someone actually becomes violent in the federal workplace?
Crisis management in the federal workplace is a critical area to understand – it is truly life and death. Join FELTG Executive Director Deborah Hopkins and Shana Palmieri, Director of Community Services and Behavioral Health at the Kalihi-Palama Health Center, on Wednesday, July 26 for the workshop Handling Behavioral Health Issues and Instances of Violence in the Federal Workplace.
The session will begin with an overview of the need-to-knows about the ADA requirements on accommodating individuals with mental impairments and other behavioral health issues, and will also discuss your agency’s legal obligation to provide its employees with a safe workplace.
From there the seminar will continue with discussions and workshops on:
- Types of mental disabilities and how they may exhibit in the workplace
- The “direct threat” analysis
- Dealing with suicidal employees
- Dos and don’ts when working employees who have behavioral health issues
- Myths and facts about targeted violence in the workplace
- Individual characteristics that put an employee at higher risk of committing an act of violence
- Steps to take if someone becomes violent in the workplace
Plus, we’ll show you 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. This is a session you truly can’t afford to miss.
The program runs from 8:30 – 4:00.
Pricing
- 1 day = $460
Instructor
Course Description
If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ve probably heard that people who “leak” information to the press or to Congress are the target of negative attention and in some cases are fired for their disclosures.
Listen up, folks: another word for “leaker” is “whistleblower.” So when you hear that someone is firing “leakers,” keep in mind that there are good leakers and there are bad leakers, according to the law. Good leakers are whistleblowers who cannot be disciplined; bad leakers are civil servants who disclose information prohibited from disclosure by law and who can be fired. Do you know the difference? If not, you’d better learn quickly – and we are here to help.
Congress has provided whistleblowers with the highest level of protection from reprisal for disclosures of waste, fraud or abuse in the government. Join FELTG President William Wiley on August 10 for a 90-minute webinar on this topic. After providing the statutory basis and explaining the civil service protections of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, he will discuss:
- The categories of protected disclosures
- How to handle disclosures that turn out to be false
- The appropriate avenues of protected disclosure
- What constitutes whistleblower reprisal – and how to avoid it
- Evidence needed to discipline a whistleblower for misconduct unrelated to whistleblowing
You won’t want to miss this important – and timely – session. Register your site today.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, on a space-available basis.
Instructor
Course Description
Resignations and retirements are normally voluntary – but can they become involuntary? How bad is it if a resignation or retirement is judged to be involuntary? Spoiler alert: you DON’T want this to happen to you.
For those answers – and much more – join instructor Barbara Haga on August 17 as she explains what exactly about resignations and retirements make them voluntary, and the management actions that might cause an employee-initiated action to be overturned by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) as a constructive removal.
She’ll also cover
- Regulatory requirements related to withdrawal of resignations and retirements
- Various problem elements in involuntary separation cases
- Who shares in the responsibility if an employee-initiated action is ruled to be involuntary
- Strategies to avoid so that your agency’s actions won’t be overturned
- A review of relevant MSPB decisions
Plus, you’ll have the chance to ask your questions and get them answered in real time, during this live 90-minute event. The information that will be covered in this seminar is not something you want to learn the hard way! Register your site today.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be registered for $25 each, in addition to a main site registration. Contingent on available space.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Shana Palmieri
Course Description
We see it every single week – a disgruntled employee, customer, or someone who is upset with an employee goes in to a workplace with a weapon, and kills innocent people. What should you do if someone threatens violence in your federal agency? How can you best prepare yourself to protect the lives of those around you? Are there risk factors that might give you an indication of when someone will become violent?
This topic is too important to ignore, so join FELTG for the webinar Handling Violence and Threats of Violence in the Federal Workplace. This program will be instructed by Deborah Hopkins, FELTG Executive Director, and Shana Palmieri, FELTG instructor and LCSW who specialized in mental health and who handled the aftermath of the Navy Yard shooting in 2013.
The session will begin with an overview of the legal issues that agencies encounter when dealing with an employee whose behavior poses a risk to workplace safety. From there the conversation will shift to:
- Warning signs that violence may be imminent, and dynamic risk and protective factors for workplace targeted violence
- How the ADA and the “direct threat” analysis interplay with circumstances to mandate an internal threat assessment investigation
- Equipping Threat Management Teams to respond to threats or violent acts
- Understanding the behavioral health issues that contribute to violent behavior – and those that don’t
- Domestic or intimate partner violence and the federal workplace
The webinar will also include time for Q & A on these topics. This is a session you truly can’t afford to miss, so register your site today.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, on a space-available basis.
Two spots left! Download Registration Form
MSPB Law Week covers the basics of charges, penalties and performance cases, with special emphasis on leave abuse and medical issues. Join top MSPB practitioners and topic authors, and learn the law, strategies, and techniques from their many years of combined experience.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day.
Become a certified MSPB practitioner: MSPB Law Week participants are eligible for the FELTG Certified Practitioner Program.
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins
Daily Agenda
Monday
Adverse Actions: Statutory basis including the Civil Service Reform Act; the new Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act; he five elements of every disciplinary case and the burdens of proof, the fundamentals of penalty selection and defense, obtaining testimony to protect the penalty selection should one or more charges fail, types of evidence necessary to support a penalty selection, the MSPB’s power to mitigate a penalty and recent trends in the Board’s use of that authority, educating uninformed arbitrators, using alternatives to discipline.
Tuesday
Charges: Types of charges, parts of a charge, how charges are interpreted, the role of the proposing and deciding officials, capitalizing on the general charge, allowing the inclusion of lesser-included offenses, charging in the alternative, attractive options to difficult charges and common charging mistakes, proving the difficult “intent” charge element, a step by step approach to charge drafting.
Wednesday
Penalties: MSPB and Federal Circuit lead cases in penalty determination, getting “intent” penalties off of “non-intent” charges, proving harsh penalties off of vanilla charges, charging down and proving up, how the maximum penalty is established, an update of recent Board and court decisions: what’s really new and what’s old wine in new bottles, placing the emphasis on notice, the Obama-Board and big penalty mitigation changes.
Thursday
Unacceptable Performance: Performance actions in perspective, drafting a defensible performance standard, implementing PIP’s, defeating the PIP rollercoaster, accommodating disability-related poor performance, converting an unacceptable performance problem into a Part 752 disciplinary action, termination based on failing a performance quiz.
Friday
Defending Against Affirmative Defenses: Claims of harmful error; whistleblower reprisal; reprisal for union activity; excessive penalty findings. Special Discussion: Recent Procedural Errors.
Pricing
Most people attend the full training week, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
- 5 days = $2070
- 4 days = $1700
- 3 days = $1310
- 2 days = $930
- 1 day = $510
As an Employee Relations Specialist, you have a challenging job –- and once you know the basics, you realize there is always more to learn. So, FELTG is happy to present Advanced Employee Relations, a three-day seminar focused on immersing you in the employee relations topics you need most.
Held in Norfolk, VA in September 2017, you’ll receive in-depth training on topics including leave, performance, misconduct and more. Plus, hands-on workshops will allow you to leave with the tools you’ll need to succeed.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:30 each day.
Instructor
Daily Agenda:
Tuesday
Leave and Attendance: Administering leave, with particular emphasis on sick leave, LWOP, and FMLA. Detailed review of sick leave provisions including authorized purposes for use of sick leave, limitations on use of sick leave for family care and bereavement, eligibility to use leave for care, notice requirements, acceptable documentation. Management actions to control use of leave and abuse of sick leave. Detailed review of FMLA provisions including eligibility to invoke FMLA, entitlement, coverage of family members, administration and notice requirements. Aacceptable medical documentation under FMLA, definition of serious health condition. Substitution of paid leave. Discipline tied to FMLA. LWOP – when LWOP is mandatory, limits on granting LWOP, employee status while on extended LWOP. Other topics –issues related to annual leave and leave transfer, other leave entitlements.
Wednesday
Performance Management: Managing performance from system establishment to conducting annual appraisals to taking actions linked to performance. GEAR initiative and other efforts focused on modifying Federal performance management system. Requirements for performance plans, including design of agency systems, rating schemes, and procedures for conducting appraisals. Revised DOD performance system to be implemented in 2016. Linkage between appraisal and other personnel management decisions, including reduction-in-force and within-grade increases. Writing effective and measurable performance criteria that will withstand third-party review, including a workshop where participants will do an in-depth review of performance plans. Requirements for successful performance-based actions – from drafting a PIP notice that will withstand scrutiny to conducting a bona fide PIP to ensuring that due process is met in effecting an action on unacceptable performance.
Thursday
Misconduct and Other Related Issues: Implementation of a successful disciplinary program – delegation of authority, role of advisors, warnings and cautions, use of administrative leave. Nexus. Dealing with comparators in determining a penalty. Involuntary actions – resignations and retirements. Ordering and Offering medical examinations. Specific disciplinary situations: handling situations when an employee is unable to perform including excessive leave, disability retirement, separation disability; conduct unbecoming; misuse and technology-related misconduct; failure to meet conditions of employment.
Pricing
- 3 days = $1310
- 2 days = $930
- 1 day = $510
Instructor
Course Description
Unacceptable performers. Every agency has them – employees who don’t meet the minimum performance standards of their positions. How does an agency take appropriate, defensible action against poor performers? You might be surprised to know: it’s SO easy.
FELTG President, attorney and renowned author William Wiley answers that question – and several more – in this 90-minute webinar. He’ll begin the presentation by explaining the appropriate procedures to take when initiating an opportunity period and a subsequent Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) and will highlight mistakes that your agency can’t afford to make in the PIP process.
In addition, Mr. Wiley will discuss:
- Critical time periods for the stages of performance-based actions
- How to draft and deliver performance documents
- The importance of holding employees accountable throughout the process
- Tips for managing problem employees during the notice period
- The necessary levels of proof an agency must maintain to defend a performance-based suspension or termination
It’s possible to remove a poor performer from the federal civil service in just 31 days. Attend this FELTG seminar to learn the appropriate methods to safeguard your agency when removing poor performers, and guarantee that your actions will stand.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be registered for $25 each, in addition to a main site registration. Contingent on available space.
Updated to reflect the most current, relevant topics related to employees who aren’t at work, this week brings together everything involving one of the most complex areas of federal sector employment law: absences from the workplace. Topics include employee leave, leave abuse, and medical issues as they relate to unacceptable performance and conduct, sick leave, annual leave, leave without pay, absence without leave, FMLA, ADA, OWCP, and telework.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day.
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Rock Rockenbach
Daily Agenda:
Monday – Leave Use & Abuse Overview
Types of leave and leave entitlements, overviews of Family Medical Leave Act leave, Office of Workers Compensation Program absences and leave as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, medical determinations, leave abuse, related offenses and controlling principles from case law.
Tuesday – Labor Relations & Other Leave
The impact of collective bargaining on leave-related issues, including negotiability of leave proposals, and relevant rulings of the Federal Labor Relations Authority and the Federal Service Impasses Panel; administrative leave; forced leave; funeral leave; military leave; miscellaneous leave scenarios.
Wednesday – FMLA Law & Policy
Federal sector FMLA basics, military family leave, serious health condition developments, medical certification issues, managing intermittent FMLA leave; discipline, FMLA and the under-performer; and employee notice issues.
Thursday – Reasonable Accommodation: Entitlements and Processes
The ADA Amendments Act; the reasonable accommodation process; the “regarded as” provision of the ADA; telework and leave as reasonable accommodation; religious accommodation.
Friday – Medical Documentation, Medical Requests and Record Confidentiality
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.
- 5 days = $2070
- 4 days = $1700
- 3 days = $1310
- 2 days = $930
- 1 day = $510
Lodging
A limited block of rooms is reserved at the Kimpton Carlyle Hotel Dupont Circle, through August 23. Book here directly or call 1-800-KIMPTON to make a reservation through the reservation desk with the special code 0924FELT.
Holding federal employees accountable for performance and conduct is easier than you might think. Too many supervisors believe that an employee’s protected activity (EEO complaints, whistleblower disclosures, or union activity) precludes the supervisor from initiating a suspension or removal, but that’s just not true.
FELTG is here to make federal supervisors’ lives easier by clarifying those misconceptions while helping supervisors understand how to take defensible misconduct actions quickly and fairly – actions that withstand scrutiny on appeal by the MSPB, EEOC, or in grievance arbitration. Plus, if you have a non-performing employee working for you now, we show you how you can remove that employee from your workplace in 31 days, among many other things. Join us for this brand-new three-day seminar and come away with the tools you need to hold your employees accountable.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day and meets OPM’s mandatory training requirements for federal supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins
Daily Agenda:
Wednesday
Accountability for Conduct and Performance, Part I: Accountability and supervisory authority; discipline and misconduct theory and practice; penalty defense and due process; discipline procedures and appeals; psychology of performance appraisal; performance-based removal procedures.
Thursday
Accountability for Conduct and Performance, Part II: Completing a performance action; team workshop; mentoring programs; handling the absent employee; union considerations; understanding the federal supervisor’s personal liability in employment actions.
Friday
Defending Against Discrimination Complaints: The Supervisor’s Role: The role of EEO in the federal government; defining protected categories: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, genetic information and reprisal; theories of discrimination; agency defenses; what to do if you’re a Responding Management Official in a complaint; what happens if you’re called as an EEO witness.
Pricing
- 3 days = $1325
- 2 days = $945
- 1 day = $525
Seminar registration includes a copy of the textbook UnCivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Performance and Conduct, 4th ed.
The 2017 Honolulu class is SOLD OUT. Register now for this program in Houston (November 28-30) or Las Vegas (February 27-March1).
Holding federal employees accountable for performance and conduct is easier than you might think. Too many supervisors believe that an employee’s protected activity (EEO complaints, whistleblower disclosures, or union activity) precludes the supervisor from initiating a suspension or removal, but that’s just not true.
FELTG is here to make federal supervisors’ lives easier by clarifying those misconceptions while helping supervisors understand how to take defensible misconduct actions quickly and fairly – actions that withstand scrutiny on appeal by the MSPB, EEOC, or in grievance arbitration. Plus, if you have a non-performing employee working for you now, we show you how you can remove that employee from your workplace in 31 days, among many other things. Join us for this brand-new three-day seminar and come away with the tools you need to hold your employees accountable.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day and meets OPM’s mandatory training requirements for federal supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins
Daily Agenda:
Wednesday
Accountability for Conduct and Performance, Part I: Accountability and supervisory authority; discipline and misconduct theory and practice; penalty defense and due process; discipline procedures and appeals; psychology of performance appraisal; performance-based removal procedures.
Thursday
Accountability for Conduct and Performance, Part II: Completing a performance action; team workshop; mentoring programs; handling the absent employee; union considerations; understanding the federal supervisor’s personal liability in employment actions.
Friday
Defending Against Discrimination Complaints: The Supervisor’s Role: The role of EEO in the federal government; defining protected categories: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, genetic information and reprisal; theories of discrimination; agency defenses; what to do if you’re a Responding Management Official in a complaint; what happens if you’re called as an EEO witness.
Pricing
- 3 days = $1325
- 2 days = $945
- 1 day = $525
Seminar registration includes a copy of the textbook UnCivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Performance and Conduct, 4th ed.
Instructor
Course Description
Not every leave request falls into a major category such as annual leave, sick leave or FMLA. What happens when someone wants to use leave for jury duty, or to attend the funeral of a friend? What about the new leave categories like investigative and notice leave, introduced in last year’s Administrative Leave Act?
Join FELTG instructor Barbara Haga as she discusses the various types of paid leave and excused time off that are often looked at as secondary to annual and sick leave and FMLA, but which can be problematic if not administered correctly.
This session will tackle discussions on several less-common types of leave – Leave Without Pay, Leave Transfer, Disabled Veteran Leave, and Court and Military Leave. Additionally, Ms Haga will cover excused absences and administrative leave and will detail the new requirements imposed by the Administrative Leave Act of 2016. You won’t want to miss this important information!
Price
$270 per webinar per site.
Add a teleworker for only $25 in addition to a main site registration. Contingent on available space.
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins
Course Description
Reprisal is a term that gets used a lot, but did you know that it has different definitions in different cases? If you join FELTG President William Wiley and FELTG Executive Director Deborah Hopkins during this 90-minute webinar to find out exactly where the differences lie, you just might save your agency from losing a reprisal case.
During this interactive discussion, the instructors will explain the legal background on the various forms of reprisal and why it’s such an important area of focus in federal employee statutory protection. From there, they’ll talk about:
- Whistleblower reprisal: the standards, burden of proof, and actions that constitute reprisal
- The many forms of EEO reprisal and why it’s the most common category in discrimination findings
- Reprisal for union activity, including what type of activity falls outside the bounds of coverage
- What is legal and not legal when considering someone’s veteran status in making employment-related decisions
- The distinction between reprisal and retaliation
This is an event you won’t want to miss, whether you’re an attorney, LER specialist, EEO specialist, union official or supervisor. We hope you’ll join us.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, on a space-available basis.
Settlement makes up a major part of federal employment law practice. Most disputes in our field settle – whether they initiate as grievances, EEO complaints or as appeals of agency disciplinary actions – before they ever get to hearing. You might be thinking, “Settlement just doesn’t feel right. It’s like saying the employee did nothing wrong and the agency is at fault.” That’s a common misconception, but it’s not actually grounded in truth; settlement has no direct tie to liability or admissions of wrongdoing.
Settlement happens – a lot. Yet somehow, this is a topic that doesn’t get a lot of love in the training world. Few people actually ever trained in the skills required to negotiate settlement agreements. That all changes now. Join FELTG for this brand-new seminar and learn the skills you need to save your agency time and money, and successfully resolve federal employment law disputes without litigation.
Instructors
William Wiley, Rock Rockenbach, Deborah Hopkins
Daily Agenda
Monday
Why Settle in Federal Sector Employment Disputes?: Why settlement is important; select options to discipline; rescinding the removal; statistics and writing; protective agreement provisions; unlawful agreements and duress.
Tuesday
Knowing the Players: The Office of Special Counsel, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, and Unfair Labor Practices; Interest-based negotiation in practice; positive framing; impasse; void agreements.
Wednesday
Determining Objectives and Methods: Why complainants and managers don’t want to resolve disputes without litigation (and how to combat that); statements v. objectives; separating the people from the problem; creating and evaluating options for mutual gain; settlement options; OPM restrictions.
Thursday
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Calculating the costs of litigation; preparing for settlement; mediations; arbitrations; settlement conference; using settlement memoranda; offers of resolution; compensatory damages; tax consequences; red flags: union impact.
Friday
Drafting Enforceable Settlement Agreements: Organizing for the agreement; settlement agreement writing style and conventions; parts of an agreement; sentence and paragraph structure; best practices for word selection; deconstruction of a sample settlement agreement.
Pricing:
Most people attend the full training week, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
- 5 days = $2070
- 4 days = $1700
- 3 days = $1310
- 2 days = $930
- 1 day = $510
Lodging
A limited block of rooms is reserved at the Kimpton Carlyle Hotel Dupont Circle, through September 28. Book here directly or call 1-800-KIMPTON to make a reservation through the reservation desk with the special code 1029FELT.
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins
Course Description
It’s that time again!
Twice a year we update you with what’s new from the MSPB, EEOC and FLRA. Join FELTG attorneys William Wiley and Deborah Hopkins as they combine forces for a fast-paced discussion on the most surprising, significant and groundbreaking recent decisions and trends from the MSPB, EEOC and FLRA. If you’ve attended a past edition, you know this is not your standard [“boring”] case law update, but an editorial discussion that not only informs you about current cases, but explains how they impact your daily work whether you’re a lawyer, or an HR, ER, LR or EEO practitioner.
Bill and Deb will share where we’ve been and where we’re headed with the trends and regulations that influence your workplace and the way issues are litigated in your agency or union. Plus, ask your questions and get answers in real time.
We’d love to tell you now about the cases and regulations that will be discussed, but that’s entirely up to the MSPB, EEOC and FLRA. Stay tuned!
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, on a space-available basis.
With a new administration in place, your guess is as good as ours about what the state of federal labor relations might become over the next few years. Some major areas of labor law haven’t changed in over 30 years, and some are poised to change soon. Every labor attorney, human resource specialist, and union representative in government needs to have both a firm foundation in the historical perspective and precedence of FLRA decisions, as well as a strategy for taking advantage of any new approaches that are coming out of an ever-evolving Federal Labor Relations Authority. This training week, updated to reflect the current state of the law, does just that.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day.
Become a certified FLRA practitioner: FLRA Law Week participants are eligible for the FELTG Certified Practitioner Program.
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins
Daily Agenda
Monday
Basic Management and Employee Rights: An overview of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute; fundamental employee, union, and management rights; bargaining unit definition; the union organizer’s role; information requests; and official time
Tuesday
Meetings and Bargaining: More on official time, when is the agency obligated to invite a union rep into a formal discussion, the collective bargaining process, the three categories of bargaining, management rights and management maybe’s.
Wednesday
Unfair Labor Practices and Negotiability: What happens when the FLRA comes knocking; what subjects must be bargaining, may not be bargained, and what subjects may be bargained at the agency’s discretion; the Federal Services Impasse Panel; negotiability appeals.
Thursday
Redress Alternatives and the Psychology of Bargaining: The interplay among grievances, appeals, MSPB, and EEOC; exceptions to arbitration awards; selecting a bargaining strategy; there are good ways and bad ways to implement bargaining and a lot of psychology is involved.
Friday
Two Bargaining Approaches and Arbitration Issues: Interest based bargaining as compared to hard ball bargaining, arbitration process overview, binding the arbitrator, how federal government arbitration is different from private sector arbitration and appeals, educating the arbitrator.
Pricing
Most people attend the full training week, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
- 5 days = $2070
- 4 days = $1700
- 3 days = $1310
- 2 days = $930
- 1 day = $510
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Katherine Atkinson
Course Description
Over the past few weeks, countless people have come forward to share that they have been the victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. In fact, in just three weeks the #MeToo hashtag has been used over six million times to signify support for to survivors of sexual assault, exploitation, and harassment – and to take a stand that this is not acceptable behavior.
As part of the #MeToo movement, we’ve also seen a number of stories about sexual harassment, assault, and abuse of federal employees. It’s topic a we can’t, and shouldn’t, ignore, so FELTG presents a special discussion on November 16 to explain – in clear terms – the law on sexual harassment in federal agencies. In addition, we’ll cover the following topics:
- Why many victims don’t come forward, until one person does
- Hostile Work Environment and Tangible Employment Action claims
- Time limits for filing sexual harassment claims
- Discipline for coworkers and supervisors who engage in sexual harassment
- Agency defenses and liability in sexual harassment claims
- Corrective action – what will stop harassment from continuing?
This is an event you won’t want to miss, whether you’re an attorney, LER specialist, EEO specialist, union official, supervisor, or federal employee. We hope you’ll join us.
Price
$225 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, on a space-available basis.
Instructors
Course Description
Under the Theory of Agency, when a federal employee suffers some type of harm at work, the agency is generally liable for the harm because the employee was at work when the tort occurred (you may be more familiar with the term “respondeat superior”).
What happens when the harm is not some type of workplace accident or third-party incident, but is committed by a supervisor or employee of the agency? In our world, under the Theory of Agency, a federal supervisor or employee who commits a harm during the course of conducting the government’s business is sheltered from personal lawsuit by the victim of the harm. But can the employee who commits the harm ever be sued personally? Is this different in MSPB and EEO cases?
Join FELTG for a 90-minute discussion on personal liability to get that answer and more. During this session we will discuss:
- The three areas of liability: torts, crimes, and administrative sanctions
- Actions committed inside vs. outside the scope of employment
- Whether federal supervisors need liability insurance
- Considerations and strategies for when the Office of Special Counsel gets involved
- Damages and remedies available to prevailing parties in EEOC cases
You’ll also get to ask questions – and get immediate answers – during this live event, so register your site today.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, on a space-available basis.
Instructor
Course Description
Every federal advisor and supervisor has to deal with discipline on some level – but have you ever considered using discipline alternatives in cases of employee misconduct?
Discipline alternatives are options that carry the weight of progressive discipline but look a little different than the reprimands, suspensions, demotions and removals you’re accustomed to seeing in the federal government. Join FELTG president Bill Wiley as he shares his experiences using these lesser-known tools in misconduct cases.
After explaining the the legal requirements that form the foundation of disciplinary actions, he will cover alternatives to adverse actions, including:
- Reprimands in lieu of suspensions
- Last chance agreements
- Leave bank donations, community service and other alternatives
- Legally talking an employee into quitting
- Avoiding a grievance, EEO complaint or MSPB appeal
You won’t want to miss this session, so register your site today.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, on a space-available basis.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Shana Palmieri
Course Description
FELTG proudly presents this four-part series on dealing with behavioral health issues in the federal workplace. Join us for one session, or register for them all.
Session 1: Handling Behavioral Health: Legal Considerations and Clinical Overview (February 8)
- Legal considerations for managing employees with a behavioral health disability
- Disability Accommodation
- The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Overview of Behavioral Health Conditions & Symptoms
- Effective Accommodations for Behavioral Health Conditions
- Effective Communication and Supervision/Management Strategies for Employees with Behavioral Health Conditions
Session 2: Successful Management and Supervision of Employees with PTSD (February 22)
- An in-depth understanding of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms, Causes, and Prevalence
- Overview of how symptoms of how PTSD symptoms impact performance in the workplace
- Learn Effective Management and Supervision strategies to support employees in the workplace
- Learn how to effectively assist an employee in the workplace having a crisis due to PTSD symptoms
Session 3: Managing Employees with Substance Use Disorders (March 8)
- Overview of substance use disorders, causes and prevalence
- Legal considers in the workplace for employees with substance abuse disorders
- What is protected and what is reason for termination
- How to handle intoxication in the workplace
- How to handle employees positive for cannabis (marijuana) on their drug test
- Learn how to effectively manage and support employees recovering from substance use disorders in the workplace
Session 4: Handling a Psychiatric Crisis in the Workplace (March 22)
- Overview of behavioral health symptoms that may present as a crisis in the workplace
- Suicidal Ideation and how to handle in the workplace
- Steps to take in the workplace with an employee experiencing a psychiatric crisis
Price
- $220 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each teleworker, each webinar, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through Feb. 3. See registration form for details.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Shana Palmieri
Course Description
FELTG proudly presents this four-part series on dealing with behavioral health issues in the federal workplace. Join us for one session, or register for them all.
Session 1: Handling Behavioral Health: Legal Considerations and Clinical Overview (February 8)
- Legal considerations for managing employees with a behavioral health disability
- Disability Accommodation
- The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Overview of Behavioral Health Conditions & Symptoms
- Effective Accommodations for Behavioral Health Conditions
- Effective Communication and Supervision/Management Strategies for Employees with Behavioral Health Conditions
Session 2: Successful Management and Supervision of Employees with PTSD (February 22)
- An in-depth understanding of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms, Causes, and Prevalence
- Overview of how symptoms of how PTSD symptoms impact performance in the workplace
- Learn Effective Management and Supervision strategies to support employees in the workplace
- Learn how to effectively assist an employee in the workplace having a crisis due to PTSD symptoms
Session 3: Managing Employees with Substance Use Disorders (March 8)
- Overview of substance use disorders, causes and prevalence
- Legal considers in the workplace for employees with substance abuse disorders
- What is protected and what is reason for termination
- How to handle intoxication in the workplace
- How to handle employees positive for cannabis (marijuana) on their drug test
- Learn how to effectively manage and support employees recovering from substance use disorders in the workplace
Session 4: Handling a Psychiatric Crisis in the Workplace (March 22)
- Overview of behavioral health symptoms that may present as a crisis in the workplace
- Suicidal Ideation and how to handle in the workplace
- Steps to take in the workplace with an employee experiencing a psychiatric crisis
Price
- $220 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each teleworker, each webinar, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through Feb. 3. See registration form for details.
Holding federal employees accountable for performance and conduct is easier than you might think. Too many supervisors believe that an employee’s protected activity (EEO complaints, whistleblower disclosures, or union activity) precludes the supervisor from initiating a suspension or removal, but that’s just not true.
FELTG is here to make federal supervisors’ lives easier by clarifying those misconceptions while helping supervisors understand how to take defensible misconduct actions quickly and fairly – actions that withstand scrutiny on appeal by the MSPB, EEOC, or in grievance arbitration. Plus, if you have a non-performing employee working for you now, we show you how you can remove that employee from your workplace in 31 days, among many other things. Join us for this brand-new three-day seminar and come away with the tools you need to hold your employees accountable.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day and meets OPM’s mandatory training requirements for federal supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins
Daily Agenda:
Tuesday
Accountability for Conduct and Performance, Part I: Accountability and supervisory authority; discipline and misconduct theory and practice; penalty defense and due process; discipline procedures and appeals; psychology of performance appraisal; performance-based removal procedures.
Wednesday
Accountability for Conduct and Performance, Part II: Completing a performance action; team workshop; mentoring programs; handling the absent employee; union considerations; understanding the federal supervisor’s personal liability in employment actions.
Thursday
Defending Against Discrimination Complaints: The Supervisor’s Role: The role of EEO in the federal government; defining protected categories: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, genetic information and reprisal; theories of discrimination; agency defenses; what to do if you’re a Responding Management Official in a complaint; what happens if you’re called as an EEO witness.
Pricing
- 3 days = $1350
- 2 days = $960
- 1 day = $530
Seminar registration includes a copy of the textbook UnCivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Performance and Conduct, 4th ed., by Wiley and Hopkins
FELTG has reserved a block of rooms at the host hotel, Tropicana Las Vegas. Call the hotel directly at 702-739-2222 and reserve your room before space runs out!
Course Description
Attention federal supervisors, HR professionals, medical professionals, attorneys, and other agency employees:
- What should you do when an employee with a behavioral health issue has an episode in the workplace?
- Do you know how to accommodate and work with employees who have PTSD or substance abuse issues?
- What steps should you take if the employee threatens violence or suicide?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health 43.4 million adults – nearly 1 in 5 – had a mental illness diagnosis during the past year. Crisis management in the federal workplace is a critical area to understand – it is truly life and death.
This class is unique in that it covers the legal issues (for example, avoiding discrimination when it comes to behavioral health disabilities; providing reasonable accommodation for “unseen” disabilities; discipline under Title 5 for things such as threats, outbursts, and off-duty violent conduct) as well as the practical/clinical issues (what to do/say when someone has a dissociative episode, or threatens suicide, or has PTSD, or makes violent comments toward a supervisor).
It’s a combination of learning the law, understanding how to deal with employees who have mental issues, and managing risk in your agency.
Join FELTG Executive Director Deborah Hopkins and Shana Palmieri, Managing Partner of Clinical Education & Consulting at the Healthcare Legal Education & Consulting Network, for the two-day workshop Handling Behavioral Health Issues and Threats of Violence in the Federal Workplace. See below for a daily agenda.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Shana Palmieri
Daily Agenda:
Tuesday
Handling Behavioral Health Issues: An overview of the ADA requirements on accommodating individuals with mental impairments and other behavioral health issues; your agency’s legal obligation to provide its employees with a safe workplace; types of mental disabilities and how they may exhibit in the workplace; the “direct threat” analysis; PTSD, substance abuse disorders;dos and don’ts when working employees who have behavioral health issues.
Wednesday
Dealing with Threats of Violence: Legal considerations for federal agencies; dangerous scenarios during the notice period; 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
Pricing
- 2 days = $950
- 1 day = $530
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Shana Palmieri
Course Description
FELTG proudly presents this four-part series on dealing with behavioral health issues in the federal workplace. Join us for one session, or register for them all.
Session 1: Handling Behavioral Health: Legal Considerations and Clinical Overview (February 8)
- Legal considerations for managing employees with a behavioral health disability
- Disability Accommodation
- The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Overview of Behavioral Health Conditions & Symptoms
- Effective Accommodations for Behavioral Health Conditions
- Effective Communication and Supervision/Management Strategies for Employees with Behavioral Health Conditions
Session 2: Successful Management and Supervision of Employees with PTSD (February 22)
- An in-depth understanding of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms, Causes, and Prevalence
- Overview of how symptoms of how PTSD symptoms impact performance in the workplace
- Learn Effective Management and Supervision strategies to support employees in the workplace
- Learn how to effectively assist an employee in the workplace having a crisis due to PTSD symptoms
Session 3: Managing Employees with Substance Use Disorders (March 8)
- Overview of substance use disorders, causes and prevalence
- Legal considers in the workplace for employees with substance abuse disorders
- What is protected and what is reason for termination
- How to handle intoxication in the workplace
- How to handle employees positive for cannabis (marijuana) on their drug test
- Learn how to effectively manage and support employees recovering from substance use disorders in the workplace
Session 4: Handling a Psychiatric Crisis in the Workplace (March 22)
- Overview of behavioral health symptoms that may present as a crisis in the workplace
- Suicidal Ideation and how to handle in the workplace
- Steps to take in the workplace with an employee experiencing a psychiatric crisis
Price
- $220 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each teleworker, each webinar, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through Feb. 3. See registration form for details.
Full-week seats for March 2018 are SOLD OUT. Consider registering for MSPB Law Week in Denver June 4-8.
MSPB Law Week covers the basics of disciplinary charges and penalties, plus understanding the law and strategy in handling performance cases. Special emphasis on leave abuse and medical issues. Join top MSPB practitioners and topic authors, and learn the law, strategies, and techniques from their many years of combined experience.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day.
Become a certified MSPB practitioner: MSPB Law Week participants are eligible for the FELTG Certified Practitioner Program.
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins
Daily Agenda
Monday
Adverse Actions: Statutory basis including the Civil Service Reform Act; the new Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act; he five elements of every disciplinary case and the burdens of proof, the fundamentals of penalty selection and defense, obtaining testimony to protect the penalty selection should one or more charges fail, types of evidence necessary to support a penalty selection, the MSPB’s power to mitigate a penalty and recent trends in the Board’s use of that authority, educating uninformed arbitrators, using alternatives to discipline.
Tuesday
Charges: Types of charges, parts of a charge, how charges are interpreted, the role of the proposing and deciding officials, capitalizing on the general charge, allowing the inclusion of lesser-included offenses, charging in the alternative, attractive options to difficult charges and common charging mistakes, proving the difficult “intent” charge element, a step by step approach to charge drafting.
Wednesday
Penalties: MSPB and Federal Circuit lead cases in penalty determination, getting “intent” penalties off of “non-intent” charges, proving harsh penalties off of vanilla charges, charging down and proving up, how the maximum penalty is established, an update of recent Board and court decisions: what’s really new and what’s old wine in new bottles, placing the emphasis on notice, the Obama-Board and big penalty mitigation changes.
Thursday
Unacceptable Performance: Performance actions in perspective, drafting a defensible performance standard, implementing PIP’s, defeating the PIP rollercoaster, accommodating disability-related poor performance, converting an unacceptable performance problem into a Part 752 disciplinary action, termination based on failing a performance quiz.
Friday
Defending Against Affirmative Defenses: Claims of harmful error; whistleblower reprisal; reprisal for union activity; excessive penalty findings. Special Discussion: Recent Procedural Errors.
Pricing
Most people attend the full training week, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
- 5 days = $2130
- 4 days = $1750
- 3 days = $1350
- 2 days = $960
- 1 day = $530
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Shana Palmieri
Course Description
FELTG proudly presents this four-part series on dealing with behavioral health issues in the federal workplace. Join us for one session, or register for them all.
Session 1: Handling Behavioral Health: Legal Considerations and Clinical Overview (February 8)
- Legal considerations for managing employees with a behavioral health disability
- Disability Accommodation
- The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Overview of Behavioral Health Conditions & Symptoms
- Effective Accommodations for Behavioral Health Conditions
- Effective Communication and Supervision/Management Strategies for Employees with Behavioral Health Conditions
Session 2: Successful Management and Supervision of Employees with PTSD (February 22)
- An in-depth understanding of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms, Causes, and Prevalence
- Overview of how symptoms of how PTSD symptoms impact performance in the workplace
- Learn Effective Management and Supervision strategies to support employees in the workplace
- Learn how to effectively assist an employee in the workplace having a crisis due to PTSD symptoms
Session 3: Managing Employees with Substance Use Disorders (March 8)
- Overview of substance use disorders, causes and prevalence
- Legal considers in the workplace for employees with substance abuse disorders
- What is protected and what is reason for termination
- How to handle intoxication in the workplace
- How to handle employees positive for cannabis (marijuana) on their drug test
- Learn how to effectively manage and support employees recovering from substance use disorders in the workplace
Session 4: Handling a Psychiatric Crisis in the Workplace (March 22)
- Overview of behavioral health symptoms that may present as a crisis in the workplace
- Suicidal Ideation and how to handle in the workplace
- Steps to take in the workplace with an employee experiencing a psychiatric crisis
Price
- $220 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each teleworker, each webinar, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through Feb. 3. See registration form for details.
You’ve probably noticed that the #MeToo movement is as strong as ever. There are all kinds of comments, from all kinds of people, about the need for training on this important topic, but there hasn’t been much action.
As we like to do at FELTG, we’re doing something about it by addressing the issue of sexual harassment in the federal government head-on. Join us in Washington, DC, March 26 for a half-day seminar Sexual Harassment as Misconduct: Defending Your Agency while Protecting Your Employees. In this program, we’ll discuss the foundational law and how sexual harassment cases come to be, but our emphasis will be on STOPPING it from happening by addressing the misconduct before it becomes a problem. Case examples will show you the best ways to handle inappropriate sexual conduct from employees and supervisors – and things to avoid. We hope you’ll be able to attend this important discussion.
The program runs from 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and is targeted to supervisors, managers, and advisers.
3
Instructor
Agenda:
- 9:30 – 10:30 – Statutory basis; differentiating tangible employment actions
- 10:40 – 11:50 – Hostile work environment cases; unwelcome conduct; severe or pervasive; agency liability; defenses
- 12:00 – 1:00 – Addressing the misconduct; proper and improper rules of behavior in the workplace; penalty determinations;disciplining for inappropriate sexual conduct; zero tolerance policies
Pricing
- $295 per participant. Group discounts for 5 or more attendees available.
Note the updated four-day agenda for the March 2018 program.
Updated to reflect the most current, relevant topics related to employees who aren’t at work, this week brings together everything involving one of the most complex areas of federal sector employment law: absences from the workplace. Topics include employee leave, leave abuse, and medical issues as they relate to unacceptable performance and conduct, sick leave, annual leave, leave without pay, absence without leave, FMLA, ADA, OWCP, and telework.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day.
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins, Ricky Rowe, Meghan Droste
Daily Agenda:
Tuesday – Leave Use & Abuse Overview
Types of leave and leave entitlements, overviews of Family Medical Leave Act leave, Office of Workers Compensation Program absences and leave as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, medical determinations, leave abuse, related offenses and controlling principles from case law.
Wednesday – Labor Relations; FMLA
The impact of collective bargaining on leave-related issues, including negotiability of leave proposals, and relevant rulings of the Federal Labor Relations Authority and the Federal Service Impasses Panel; federal sector FMLA basics; intermittent FMLA use; FMLA and the under-performer.
Thursday – Reasonable Accommodation: Entitlements and Processes
The ADA Amendments Act; the reasonable accommodation process; the “regarded as” provision of the ADA; telework and leave as reasonable accommodation; religious accommodation.
Friday – Medical Documentation, Medical Requests and Record Confidentiality
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 four days, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
- 4 days = $1740
- 3 days = $1340
- 2 days = $950
- 1 day = $520
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins
Course Description
1
It’s that time again!
Twice a year we update you with what’s new from the MSPB, EEOC and FLRA. Join FELTG attorneys William Wiley and Deborah Hopkins as they combine forces for a fast-paced discussion on the most surprising, significant and groundbreaking recent decisions and trends from the MSPB, EEOC and FLRA. If you’ve attended a past edition, you know this is not your standard [“boring”] case law update, but an editorial discussion that not only informs you about current cases, but explains how they impact your daily work whether you’re a lawyer, or an HR, ER, LR or EEO practitioner.
Bill and Deb will share where we’ve been and where we’re headed with the trends and regulations that influence your workplace and the way issues are litigated in your agency or union. Plus, ask your questions and get answers in real time.
We’d love to tell you now about the cases and regulations that will be discussed, but that’s entirely up to the MSPB, EEOC and FLRA. Stay tuned!
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, on a space-available basis.
Instructor
Course Description
1.5
You’ve probably noticed that the #MeToo movement is as strong as ever. There are all kinds of comments, from all kinds of people, about the need for training on this important topic, but there hasn’t been much action.
At FELTG, we’re doing something about it by addressing the issue of sexual harassment in the federal government as MISCONDUCT, not just as an EEO issue.
Join us for the webinar Sexual Harassment as Misconduct: Defending Your Agency while Protecting Your Employees. In this program, we’ll discuss the foundational law and how sexual harassment cases come to be, but our emphasis will be on STOPPING it from happening by addressing the misconduct before it becomes a problem. Case examples will show you the best ways to handle inappropriate sexual conduct from employees and supervisors – and things to avoid. We hope you’ll be able to attend this important discussion.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, if space is available.