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 lovely San Francisco in December 2016, you’ll receive three days of 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 – 4:00 each day.
Instructor
Daily Agenda:
Monday
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.
Tuesday
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.
Wednesday
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 = $1290
- 2 days = $910
- 1 day = $490
Attention, all federal supervisors (and those who advise them): this is a program you can’t afford to miss. This week covers a range of topics including employee performance and conduct, FMLA and other leave scenarios, EEO and disability discrimination, workplace management and leadership skills, and supervising unionized employees.
As a bonus, supervisors who complete this training meet OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day.
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga.
Daily Agenda:
Monday
Uncivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Performance and Conduct: Fundamentals of disciplinary actions and unacceptable performance actions; establishing rules of conduct; proving misconduct; selecting a defensible penalty; providing due process via agency discipline procedures; writing valid performance standards; implement a Performance Improvement Plan; removal for unacceptable performance in 31 days.
Tuesday
The Manager’s Role in EEO: The role of EEO in the federal government; defining protected categories: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability and reprisal; what to do if you’re a Responding Management Official in a complaint; EEO witness tips.
Wednesday
Essential Management Skills for Federal Supervisors: Communicating effectively with employees; managing a multigenerational workforce; handling difficult employees; managing a mobile workforce; mentorship; honing your presentation skills; conducting effective meetings.
Thursday
Effectively Managing Employee Leave Issues: Annual leave; sick leave; Leave Without Pay; FMLA; medical certification requirements; substitution of paid leave; leave stacking.
Friday
Supervising in a Unionized Environment: What every supervisor 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.
Pricing
Most people attend the full training week, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
- 5 days = $2075
- 4 days = $1705
- 3 days = $1315
- 2 days = $935
- 1 day = $515
Registered participants will receive a copy of the textbook UnCivil Servant, fourth edition (pending publication date).
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 that will be discussed, but that’s entirely up to the MSPB, EEOC and FLRA. Stay tuned!
Price
$270 per site
Instructor
Course Description
Absence due to illness has changed the landscape in dealing with federal workplace issues. Problems arise when employees are absent – let alone the huge amounts of leave entitlements tied to family member medical conditions.
Administering sick leave can be complicated, and proper documentation is critical. The Family & Medical Leave Act adds an additional layer of complexity to these illness-related absences. When can you require medical examinations? When can you take action on excessive absences?
If you need more information on absence related to illness so you are able to answer those tough questions on sick leave and FMLA – or if you want to ensure that the adverse action case you assemble will withstand the scrutiny of the MSPB – then this webinar series is custom-made for you.
Join instructor Barbara Haga for any or all of the sessions as she guides you through these thorny issues.
- Session 1 – Sick Leave (4/13)
- Earning and accumulation
- Authorized uses of sick leave
- Family care sick leave – documentation and limits
- Advance sick leave
- Session 2 – Sick Leave II (4/27)
- Notice requirements
- Definition of “serious health condition”
- Substitution of paid leave for FMLA LWOP
- Medical certification – what is required and what needs to be in it
- Sick leave abuse
- Medical examinations
- Taking action on sick leave-related absences
- Session 3 – FMLA (6/1)
- Basic entitlement
- Notice requirements
- FMLA Medical certification requirements
- Discipline and FMLA – excessive absence, falsified information, failure to comply with notice requirements, last chance agreements
You’ll have the chance to ask your questions, and get them answered in real time, during each of these 90-minute sessions. Register your site today.
Price
$270 per webinar per site. Register for all three by 4/8 for only $780.
Add a teleworker for only $25 in addition to a main site registration. Contingent on available space.
Instructor
Course Description
Absence due to illness has changed the landscape in dealing with federal workplace issues. Problems arise when employees are absent – let alone the huge amounts of leave entitlements tied to family member medical conditions.
Administering sick leave can be complicated, and proper documentation is critical. The Family & Medical Leave Act adds an additional layer of complexity to these illness-related absences. When can you require medical examinations? When can you take action on excessive absences?
If you need more information on absence related to illness so you are able to answer those tough questions on sick leave and FMLA – or if you want to ensure that the adverse action case you assemble will withstand the scrutiny of the MSPB – then this webinar series is custom-made for you.
Join instructor Barbara Haga for any or all of the sessions as she guides you through these thorny issues.
- Session 1 – Sick Leave (4/13)
- Earning and accumulation
- Authorized uses of sick leave
- Family care sick leave – documentation and limits
- Advance sick leave
- Session 2 – Sick Leave II (4/27)
- Notice requirements
- Definition of “serious health condition”
- Substitution of paid leave for FMLA LWOP
- Medical certification – what is required and what needs to be in it
- Sick leave abuse
- Medical examinations
- Taking action on sick leave-related absences
- Session 3 – FMLA (6/1)
- Basic entitlement
- Notice requirements
- FMLA Medical certification requirements
- Discipline and FMLA – excessive absence, falsified information, failure to comply with notice requirements, last chance agreements
You’ll have the chance to ask your questions, and get them answered in real time, during each of these 90-minute sessions. Register your site today.
Price
$270 per webinar per site. Register for all three by 4/8 for only $780.
Add a teleworker for only $25 in addition to a main site registration. Contingent on available space.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Shana Palmieri
Course Description
While you might be familiar with the legal requirements for reasonable accommodation of individuals with mental disabilities, do you know the necessary steps to take when an employee with a behavioral health issue has an episode in the workplace? What should supervisors, HR professionals or medical professionals do if an employee shows up to work under the influence of alcohol or drugs? What if the employee threatens violence, or suicide?
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 May 11 for the 90-minute webinar Dealing with Behavioral Health Issues in the Federal Workplace.
The session will begin with an overview of the need-to-knows about accommodating individuals with mental disabilities and other behavioral health issues. From there the conversation will shift to:
- Types of mental disabilities and how they may exhibit in the workplace
- How to react during a crisis situation
- Handling threats of violence in the workplace
- Dealing with suicidal employees
- Dos and don’ts when working with people who have behavioral health issues
The webinar will also include time for Q & A on mental and behavioral health issues. This is a session you truly can’t afford to miss, so register your site today.
Price
$270 per site
Instructors
Course Description
At some point, it happens to the best of us: you receive notice that you’re named as a potential witness or a responding management official in an MSPB Appeal or EEO Complaint. Or maybe you’re a federal employee who has filed an appeal or complaint yourself, and you want to know what you should expect during the process.
Join FELTG on May 25 for a special 90-minute event that answers all the questions you might have about being a witness in a federal employment law case. This live webinar will be presented by attorney at law Katherine Atkinson, a partner at Wilkenfeld, Herendeen & Atkinson in Washington, DC, who heads up the firm’s federal sector litigation team.
After an explanation on how the MSPB and EEOC forums work, she’ll discuss:
- A timeline of what to expect after you’re named in a complaint or appeal
- The difference between providing deposition testimony and testimony at hearing
- Types of interview questions – and the best way to answer them
- FAQs about the hearing process
- Tips on being an effective witness
This is a session that agency employees and supervisors of all levels shouldn’t miss. Registration is open now.
Price
$270 per site
Add a teleworker to a main site registration for only $25. Contingent on available space.
Instructor
Course Description
Absence due to illness has changed the landscape in dealing with federal workplace issues. Problems arise when employees are absent – let alone the huge amounts of leave entitlements tied to family member medical conditions.
Administering sick leave can be complicated, and proper documentation is critical. The Family & Medical Leave Act adds an additional layer of complexity to these illness-related absences. When can you require medical examinations? When can you take action on excessive absences?
If you need more information on absence related to illness so you are able to answer those tough questions on sick leave and FMLA – or if you want to ensure that the adverse action case you assemble will withstand the scrutiny of the MSPB – then this webinar series is custom-made for you.
Join instructor Barbara Haga for any or all of the sessions as she guides you through these thorny issues.
- Session 1 – Sick Leave (4/13)
- Earning and accumulation
- Authorized uses of sick leave
- Family care sick leave – documentation and limits
- Advance sick leave
- Session 2 – Sick Leave II (4/27)
- Notice requirements
- Definition of “serious health condition”
- Substitution of paid leave for FMLA LWOP
- Medical certification – what is required and what needs to be in it
- Sick leave abuse
- Medical examinations
- Taking action on sick leave-related absences
- Session 3 – FMLA (6/1)
- Basic entitlement
- Notice requirements
- FMLA Medical certification requirements
- Discipline and FMLA – excessive absence, falsified information, failure to comply with notice requirements, last chance agreements
You’ll have the chance to ask your questions, and get them answered in real time, during each of these 90-minute sessions. Register your site today.
Price
$270 per webinar per site. Register for all three by 4/8 for only $780.
Add a teleworker for only $25 in addition to a main site registration. Contingent on available space.
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.
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: The 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
Instructor
Course Description
The law requires federal agencies to engage in the interactive process when assessing reasonable accommodations for employees who have disabilities. In 2017, telework, leave and modified work schedules are among the most commonly requested – and most effective – accommodations for individuals who have physical and mental disabilities. But telework is often requested in cases where the “convenience” of working from home is called in to question. What should you do in those situations?
Join FELTG Executive Director and Attorney at Law Deborah Hopkins for a discussion on this timely topic during the 90-minute webinar Telework and Leave as Reasonable Accommodation. Ms Hopkins will start with a quick review of the law, and will detail the required three-step process for agencies to be compliant when dealing with reasonable accommodation requests.
From there, she’ll discuss:
- What to do if telework would be an effective accommodation – but something else would work too
- Why accommodations are always the agency’s choice
- Alternative approaches to providing telework, leave and modified work schedules as accommodation
- The undue hardship analysis
- What the EEOC says about accommodating an employee’s commute
Oftentimes the best way to learn is by looking at real-life case studies, so the session will include a discussion on recent federal cases – won and lost – involving telework and reasonable accommodation. Because of the cost incurred when handling a reasonable accommodation complaint, your agency EEO staff, reasonable accommodation coordinators, disability coordinators, HR staff and supervisors truly cannot afford to miss this event.
Price
$270 per site
Instructors: Deborah Hopkins, Katherine Atkinson, Rock Rockenbach
Course Description
Meet your mandatory EEO Counselor and Investigator refresher training with FELTG this summer. Each 90-minute session provides 1.5 hours toward the annual refresher requirement mandated by EEOC. Register for the entire series and receive a bonus supplement of materials on interviewing skills, to complete the hours of content mandated by EEOC to fulfill the entire 8-hour refresher requirement. Series attendees will receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the series.
Sessions
Wednesday, June 28: EEO Complaints in 2017: What Counselors and Investigators Need to Know
Wednesday, July 12: Understanding Current Issues: Reasonable Accommodation Trends in 2017
Wednesday, July 26: The Latest on Sexual Orientation and Gender Discrimination in the Federal Government
Wednesday, August 9: Updates on Discrimination: Recent Cases about Race, Color, Religion and National Origin
Wednesday, August 23: Practical Skills for Counselors and Investigators: Interviewing Complainants and Witnesses
Price
$270 per session. Register for all five by June 23 and pay only $1180!
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 per person, per session, on a space available basis.
Instructors: Deborah Hopkins, Katherine Atkinson, Rock Rockenbach
Course Description
Meet your mandatory EEO Counselor and Investigator refresher training with FELTG this summer. Each 90-minute session provides 1.5 hours toward the annual refresher requirement mandated by EEOC. Register for the entire series and receive a bonus supplement of materials on interviewing skills, to complete the hours of content mandated by EEOC to fulfill the entire 8-hour refresher requirement. Series attendees will receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the series.
Sessions
Wednesday, June 28: EEO Complaints in 2017: What Counselors and Investigators Need to Know
Wednesday, July 12: Understanding Current Issues: Reasonable Accommodation Trends in 2017
Wednesday, July 26: The Latest on Sexual Orientation and Gender Discrimination in the Federal Government
Wednesday, August 9: Updates on Discrimination: Recent Cases about Race, Color, Religion and National Origin
Wednesday, August 23: Practical Skills for Counselors and Investigators: Interviewing Complainants and Witnesses
Price
$270 per session. Register for all five by June 23 and pay only $1180!
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 per person, per session, 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, Rock Rockenbach
Course Description
Meet your mandatory EEO Counselor and Investigator refresher training with FELTG this summer. Each 90-minute session provides 1.5 hours toward the annual refresher requirement mandated by EEOC. Register for the entire series and receive a bonus supplement of materials on interviewing skills, to complete the hours of content mandated by EEOC to fulfill the entire 8-hour refresher requirement. Series attendees will receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the series.
Sessions
Wednesday, June 28: EEO Complaints in 2017: What Counselors and Investigators Need to Know
Wednesday, July 12: Understanding Current Issues: Reasonable Accommodation Trends in 2017
Wednesday, July 26: The Latest on Sexual Orientation and Gender Discrimination in the Federal Government
Wednesday, August 9: Updates on Discrimination: Recent Cases about Race, Color, Religion and National Origin
Wednesday, August 23: Practical Skills for Counselors and Investigators: Interviewing Complainants and Witnesses
Price
$270 per session. Register for all five by June 23 and pay only $1180!
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 per person, per session, on a space available basis.
Instructors: Deborah Hopkins, Katherine Atkinson, Rock Rockenbach
Course Description
Meet your mandatory EEO Counselor and Investigator refresher training with FELTG this summer. Each 90-minute session provides 1.5 hours toward the annual refresher requirement mandated by EEOC. Register for the entire series and receive a bonus supplement of materials on interviewing skills, to complete the hours of content mandated by EEOC to fulfill the entire 8-hour refresher requirement. Series attendees will receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the series.
Sessions
Wednesday, June 28: EEO Complaints in 2017: What Counselors and Investigators Need to Know
Wednesday, July 12: Understanding Current Issues: Reasonable Accommodation Trends in 2017
Wednesday, July 26: The Latest on Sexual Orientation and Gender Discrimination in the Federal Government
Wednesday, August 9: Updates on Discrimination: Recent Cases about Race, Color, Religion and National Origin
Wednesday, August 23: Practical Skills for Counselors and Investigators: Interviewing Complainants and Witnesses
Price
$270 per session. Register for all five by June 23 and pay only $1180!
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 per person, per session, on a space available basis.
Instructors: Deborah Hopkins, Katherine Atkinson, Rock Rockenbach
Course Description
Meet your mandatory EEO Counselor and Investigator refresher training with FELTG this summer. Each 90-minute session provides 1.5 hours toward the annual refresher requirement mandated by EEOC. Register for the entire series and receive a bonus supplement of materials on interviewing skills, to complete the hours of content mandated by EEOC to fulfill the entire 8-hour refresher requirement. Series attendees will receive a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the series.
Sessions
Wednesday, June 28: EEO Complaints in 2017: What Counselors and Investigators Need to Know
Wednesday, July 12: Understanding Current Issues: Reasonable Accommodation Trends in 2017
Wednesday, July 26: The Latest on Sexual Orientation and Gender Discrimination in the Federal Government
Wednesday, August 9: Updates on Discrimination: Recent Cases about Race, Color, Religion and National Origin
Wednesday, August 23: Practical Skills for Counselors and Investigators: Interviewing Complainants and Witnesses
Price
$270 per session. Register for all five by June 23 and pay only $1180!
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 per person, per session, on a space available basis.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
This week focuses on administrative investigations in the federal workplace, with a focus on investigating employee misconduct. After an overview of the substantive law, participants will learn procedures and best practices for conducting investigations in the federal workplace, including planning the investigation, collecting evidence, dealing with witnesses, understanding types of questioning, and testifying at hearing. The week concludes with a day focused on writing an investigative report.
Sessions run from 8:30 – 4:00 each day.
This program fulfills the requirements for 32-hour EEO Investigator training and 8-hour annual EEO investigator refresher training.
Instructors
William Wiley, Deborah Hopkins, Ricky Rowe
Daily Agenda
Monday
Administrative Investigations: The Substantive Basis: Why investigate; discipline law and elements; understanding charges of misconduct; collecting penalty evidence; witness rights; union representation.
Tuesday
Conducting the Investigation, Part I: Evidentiary principles; purpose of investigation; preparing for the investigation; role of the investigator; planning the investigation.
Wednesday
Conducting the Investigation, Part II: Setting up the room; question types and techniques; conducting the interview; handling difficult witnesses; assessing credibility/lies/hearing what isn’t said; body language; interviewing exercise.
Thursday
Conducting the Investigation, Part III: Gathering other evidence; technology and investigations; high profile case considerations; when misconduct and EEO intersect; testifying at an administrative hearing; rules for being an effective witness.
Friday
Writing the Investigative Report: Organizing for the report; establishing the chronology; report writing style; report writing conventions; report organization.
Pricing
Most people attend the full training week, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
- 5 days = $2120
- 4 days = $1740
- 3 days = $1340
- 2 days = $950
- 1 day = $520
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
Instructor
Course Description
1.5
One of the most important – and challenging – areas in federal employment law is the obligation to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. While the law changed nearly ten years ago with the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, a number of agencies are still following outdated procedures that are not compliant with the law. Because there are so many complexities in the reasonable accommodation process, the best way for your agency to avoid pitfalls and to be sure you provide accommodations to people who are entitled is to follow the appropriate steps, in the proper order.
Join FELTG Executive Director and Attorney at Law Deborah Hopkins for Part 1 of the four-part Reasonable Accommodation in the Federal Workplace Series. Ms Hopkins will begin by explaining the current state of disability law and how the ADA, ADAAA, and Rehabilitation Act apply to federal employees with disabilities. From there, she’ll discuss:
- Making disability determinations
- What a “qualified individual” actually means
- Reasonable accommodation requests
- The interactive process
- Denials of reasonable accommodation
- Reassignment and Medical Inability to Perform removals
Whether you’re an attorney, disability program manager, EEO or HR Specialist or a supervisor, you’ll want to be sure to attend this session.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, if space is available.
Instructor
Course Description
1.5
When the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act became effective nearly a decade ago, the law expanded ADA coverage to include more individuals in disability determinations. In Part 2 of the Reasonable Accommodation in the Federal Workplace webinar series, FELTG Instructor Katherine Atkinson, attorney at law, will take a focused look at three challenging areas in the disability process that have changed in recent years: qualified individuals, essential functions, and undue hardship.
After an overview of the disability accommodation law and analysis, Ms Atkinson will dive into the details, including:
- How to determine whether an individual is qualified for a particular job
- How to decide what job functions are essential, and what job functions are marginal or ancillary
- What factors control an undue hardship determination
You’ll have time to ask your questions, and get answers in real time, so make plans now to attend this important event.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, if space is available.
Instructor
Course Description
1.5
The law requires federal agencies to engage in the interactive process when assessing reasonable accommodations for employees who have disabilities. In 2018, telework and modified work schedules are among the most commonly requested – and most effective – accommodations for individuals who have physical and mental disabilities. But telework is often requested in cases where the “convenience” of working from home is called in to question. What should you do in those situations?
Join FELTG Executive Director and Attorney at Law Deborah Hopkins for a discussion on this timely topic during Part 3 of the Reasonable Accommodation in the Federal Workplace webinar series. Ms Hopkins will start with a quick review of the law, and will detail the required three-step process for agencies to be compliant when dealing with reasonable accommodation requests.
From there, she’ll discuss:
- What to do if telework would be an effective accommodation – but something else would work too
- Why accommodations are always the agency’s choice
- Alternative approaches to providing telework, leave and modified work schedules as accommodation
- The undue hardship analysis
- What the EEOC says about accommodating an employee’s commute
Oftentimes the best way to learn is by looking at real-life case studies, so the session will include a discussion on recent federal cases – won and lost – involving telework and reasonable accommodation. Because of the cost incurred when handling a reasonable accommodation complaint, your agency EEO staff, reasonable accommodation coordinators, disability coordinators, HR staff and supervisors truly cannot afford to miss this event.
Price
$270 per site
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $25 each, if space is available.