This class is nearly full. Consider registering for this program in Norfolk, VA (September 10-12) or in New Orleans, LA (November 19-21).
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. Acceptable 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
Early Bird Tuition (register by April 16):
- 3 days = $1370
- 2 days = $970
- 1 day = $530
Standard Tuition (register April 16 – May 2):
- 3 days = $1470
- 2 days = $1070
- 1 day = $630
Metro, Parking, Directions
Metro: The International Student House (1825 R Street NW) is located in convenient proximity to the Red Line. Exit Metro at the Dupont Circle station and proceed to the Q Street/North exit. Head north (you will come off the escalator facing north; if you use the elevator take a left after exiting) on Connecticut Avenue to R Street NW (approximately one block). Turn right onto R Street NW. Cross 19th Street NW and the International Student House will be on the left side of the street approximately halfway down the block. If you reach the Bikeshare dock, you’ve gone too far. Approximate walk time: 7-10 minutes.
Parking: Street parking is metered and is limited to two hours, unless you have a Washington, DC, Zone 2 parking pass. The closest parking garage is at 11 Dupont Circle, approximately two blocks from the International Student House (1825 R Street NW). Approximate walk time: 5 -7 minutes.
From the Carlyle Hotel: After exiting the Carlyle Hotel, turn left. At the first intersection, R Street NW, turn right. Proceed approximately one block. The International Student House (1825 R Street NW) will be on your right, just past the Bikeshare dock. Approximate walk time: 4-6 minutes.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm
Course Description
Back by popular demand, and updated for 2019! Join FELTG for the most comprehensive supervisory training event available anywhere. Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions, a 13-part webinar training series (with a bonus session for those who supervise unionized employees), is targeted specifically to the issues and challenges faced by supervisors in agencies across the country, and around the world.
These 60-minute sessions, held every other Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide federal supervisors with the necessary tools and best practices they need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers – in real time.
As a special bonus, the first six modules fulfill OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2019 dates:
March 5: Accountability for Performance and Conduct: The Foundation: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 19: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
April 2: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
April 16: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the system; defining elements and standards; creating the performance plan.
April 30: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance in a nutshell; preparing a performance case; proof and evidence standards.
May 14: Dealing with Poor Performing Employees: Managing the PIP; proposed removal letters; unacceptable performance documents.
May 28: Mentoring a Multigenerational Workforce: What OPM says about mentorship; mentorship styles; formal and informal mentorship; pilot mentorship programs; best practices for leadership; handling difficult employee types.
June 11: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 25: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 9: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
July 23: Intentional EEO Discrimination: What supervisors should know about EEO discrimination; discrete acts of discrimination; selection and promotion cases; defending against claims of intentional discrimination.
August 6: Combating Against Hostile Work Environment Harassment Claims: The elements of a hostile work environment; liability in hostile work environment claims; tangible employment actions; harassment v. bullying; supervisor responsibilities in harassment claims; agency defenses.
August 20: EEO Reprisal: Handle It, Don’t Fear It: How reprisal is different than other EEO claims; what the complainant must show to establish reprisal; how a supervisor can defend against reprisal claims; what to do and what not to do when an employee engages in protected EEO activity.
September 3: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Price
- $225 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $35 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through March 1. See registration form for details.
Instructors
Course Description
If one of your employees had a mental health crisis in the workplace, would you know what to do? This isn’t a far-fetched scenario. Almost 18 percent of all adults have a mental illness diagnosis at some point in their lives. This 90-minute webinar will provide you with an understanding of mental health conditions and the impact they have on the individual, as well as strategies to effectively provide supervision and management to ensure a productive workplace.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker Shana Palmieri will help you walk the tenuous line between providing accommodations and support for a mental health condition and holding employees accountable for their work performance.
Attendees will leave this webinar with strategies to:
- Improve performance and success for employees with mental health conditions.
- Effectively accommodate employees with behavioral health conditions.
- Set appropriate boundaries and expectations in the workplace.
This class focuses on the practical and clinical side of managing employees with behavioral health conditions, rather than the legal side. You won’t want to miss it.
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per webinar per site (registration submitted by April 8)
Standard Tuition: $305 per webinar per site (registration submitted April 9 or later)
Register for both webinars by April 8 and pay only $530.
Add a teleworker for $35 per webinar, in addition to a main site registration, if space permits.
SOLD OUT. Register now for this program August 5-9, also in Denver.
This week focuses on conducting administrative investigations in the federal workplace with an emphasis on employee misconduct including workplace harassment. 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, fact finding, 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.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day and is pre-approved for 29 CLE credits in Virginia and California. It is also approved for 29 HRCI general recertification credits.
This program fulfills the requirements for 32-hour EEO Investigator training and 8-hour annual EEO investigator refresher training.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Katherine Atkinson, Meghan Droste
Daily Agenda
Administrative Investigations: The Substantive Basis: Why investigate; discipline law and elements; understanding charges of misconduct; collecting penalty evidence; law behind other types of administrative investigations; witness rights; union representation.
Tuesday
Harassment Investigations: Investigating allegations of harassment; differentiating between EEO and non-EEO harassment; the intersection with criminal investigations; special considerations in light of #MeToo and #TimesUp.
Wednesday
Conducting the Investigation, Part I: Evidentiary principles; purpose of investigation; preparing for the investigation; role of the investigator; planning the investigation. beginning the interview.
Thursday
Conducting the Investigation, Part II: Conducting the interview; handling difficult witnesses; assessing credibility/lies/hearing what isn’t said; body language; gathering other evidence; technology and investigations; high profile case considerations; testifying at an administrative hearing; rules for being an effective witness.
Friday
Writing the Investigative Report: Organizing for the report; establishing the chronology; writing for your audience; report writing style; report writing conventions; report organization; sample report.
Pricing
Most people attend the full training week, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
Early Bird Tuition (register by April 29):
- 5 days = $2170
- 4 days = $1780
- 3 days = $1370
- 2 days = $970
- 1 day = $530
Standard Tuition (register April 30 – May 17):
- 5 days = $2270
- 4 days = $1880
- 3 days = $1470
- 2 days = $1070
- 1 day = $630
Lodging
The host hotel, the Sheraton Denver West, has a limited block of rooms set aside at the per diem rate. Call the hotel directly at 303-987-2000 and mention this training event to receive the special rate.
Cancellation and No-show Policy for Registered Participants: Cancellations made after the cancel date on the registration form will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. Pre-paid training using the “Pay Now” option will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. No-shows will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses.
This class is nearly full. Consider registering for this program in Washington, DC June 25-27 or Atlanta, GA September 17-19.
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 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
Deborah Hopkins, Meghan Droste
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; handling the absent employee and dealing with attendance issues; medical removals; union considerations; mentorship in the federal government.
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
Early Bird Tuition (register by April 30):
- 3 days = $1380
- 2 days = $980
- 1 day = $540
Standard Tuition (register May 1 – May 16):
- 3 days = $1480
- 2 days = $1080
- 1 day = $640
Seminar registration includes a copy of the textbook UnCivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Performance and Conduct, 4th ed., by Wiley and Hopkins.
Lodging
The host hotel, the Sheraton Denver West, has a limited block of rooms set aside at the per diem rate. Call the hotel directly at 303-987-2000 and mention this training event to receive the special rate.
Cancellation and No-show Policy for Registered Participants: Cancellations made after the cancel date on the registration form will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. Pre-paid training using the “Pay Now” option will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. No-shows will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm
Course Description
Back by popular demand, and updated for 2019! Join FELTG for the most comprehensive supervisory training event available anywhere. Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions, a 13-part webinar training series (with a bonus session for those who supervise unionized employees), is targeted specifically to the issues and challenges faced by supervisors in agencies across the country, and around the world.
These 60-minute sessions, held every other Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide federal supervisors with the necessary tools and best practices they need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers – in real time.
As a special bonus, the first six modules fulfill OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2019 dates:
March 5: Accountability for Performance and Conduct: The Foundation: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 19: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
April 2: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
April 16: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the system; defining elements and standards; creating the performance plan.
April 30: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance in a nutshell; preparing a performance case; proof and evidence standards.
May 14: Dealing with Poor Performing Employees: Managing the PIP; proposed removal letters; unacceptable performance documents.
May 28: Mentoring a Multigenerational Workforce: What OPM says about mentorship; mentorship styles; formal and informal mentorship; pilot mentorship programs; best practices for leadership; handling difficult employee types.
June 11: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 25: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 9: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
July 23: Intentional EEO Discrimination: What supervisors should know about EEO discrimination; discrete acts of discrimination; selection and promotion cases; defending against claims of intentional discrimination.
August 6: Combating Against Hostile Work Environment Harassment Claims: The elements of a hostile work environment; liability in hostile work environment claims; tangible employment actions; harassment v. bullying; supervisor responsibilities in harassment claims; agency defenses.
August 20: EEO Reprisal: Handle It, Don’t Fear It: How reprisal is different than other EEO claims; what the complainant must show to establish reprisal; how a supervisor can defend against reprisal claims; what to do and what not to do when an employee engages in protected EEO activity.
September 3: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Price
- $225 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $35 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through March 1. See registration form for details.
Instructor
Course Description
1.5
The EEO process can be challenging for even the most experienced practitioners. If only there was someone with close to 35 years of experience as an EEOC administrative judge who has seen numerous agency mistakes who was willing to take the time to explain what you can do to avoid them.
Now there is. Meet Dwight Lewis, who recently retired as chief administrative judge in the Dallas region – a post he held since 1990. Mr. Lewis will guide you through the Dos and Don’ts of the EEO process from effectively framing an EEO complaint to avoiding sanctions.
Join FELTG for this 90-minute webinar, where Mr. Lewis will discuss appropriate etiquette when interacting with a judge. He’ll also help you learn how to:
- Determine which complaints should be investigated, and which should be dismissed.
- Avoid retaliation claims.
- Get past your resistance to settle.
The webinar will also include time for Q&A on these topics. Don’t miss this important opportunity to learn from the highly respected former Chief AJ. Register now.
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (registration submitted by May 6) Standard Tuition: $305 per site (registration submitted May 7 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, on a space-available basis.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm
Course Description
Back by popular demand, and updated for 2019! Join FELTG for the most comprehensive supervisory training event available anywhere. Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions, a 13-part webinar training series (with a bonus session for those who supervise unionized employees), is targeted specifically to the issues and challenges faced by supervisors in agencies across the country, and around the world.
These 60-minute sessions, held every other Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide federal supervisors with the necessary tools and best practices they need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers – in real time.
As a special bonus, the first six modules fulfill OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2019 dates:
March 5: Accountability for Performance and Conduct: The Foundation: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 19: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
April 2: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
April 16: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the system; defining elements and standards; creating the performance plan.
April 30: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance in a nutshell; preparing a performance case; proof and evidence standards.
May 14: Dealing with Poor Performing Employees: Managing the PIP; proposed removal letters; unacceptable performance documents.
May 28: Mentoring a Multigenerational Workforce: What OPM says about mentorship; mentorship styles; formal and informal mentorship; pilot mentorship programs; best practices for leadership; handling difficult employee types.
June 11: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 25: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 9: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
July 23: Intentional EEO Discrimination: What supervisors should know about EEO discrimination; discrete acts of discrimination; selection and promotion cases; defending against claims of intentional discrimination.
August 6: Combating Against Hostile Work Environment Harassment Claims: The elements of a hostile work environment; liability in hostile work environment claims; tangible employment actions; harassment v. bullying; supervisor responsibilities in harassment claims; agency defenses.
August 20: EEO Reprisal: Handle It, Don’t Fear It: How reprisal is different than other EEO claims; what the complainant must show to establish reprisal; how a supervisor can defend against reprisal claims; what to do and what not to do when an employee engages in protected EEO activity.
September 3: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Price
- $225 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $35 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through March 1. See registration form for details.
Instructors
Course Description
Within-grade Increases (WIGIs), besides having an acronym that’s fun to say, have often been dubbed “those automatic increases that Federal employees always receive.” In 2011, OPM instructed agencies to make sure that WIGIs were properly granted, and withheld when warranted. If you are looking for detailed information on WIGIs from the fine points of eligibility to the steps to deny one, or how to answer the appeal, join FELTG’s Barbara Haga for this 90-minute webinar. Ms. Haga will give you a primer on this seemingly simple subject complete with detailed references to relevant MSPB decisions.
Attendees will learn about:
- Eligibility for WIGIs
- When a WIGI decision may be delayed
- Properly handling the notice of an acceptable level of competence determination and the reconsideration decision
- Successfully defending the appeal
You’ll have the opportunity to ask your questions – and get answers – in real time. Register your site today and get ready to assist supervisors and managers at your agency properly act on within-grade increase determinations.
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (registration submitted by May 20)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (registration submitted May 21 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, on a space-available basis.
Instructor
Course Description
Your agency’s Office of Inspector General employs investigators, auditors, evaluators, and, sometimes, armed special agents. Its mission is to prevent and detect waste, fraud, and abuse, and promote economy, effectiveness, and efficiency of Agency operations, and it does that by investigating potential violations of law or misconduct and auditing or evaluating the agency’s operations and systems.
If it sounds like your OIG’s mission may overlap or interconnect with your office’s mission, you’re right. So it’s important that you not only have a clear picture of what the OIG does, but also how to work with them. Jim Protin, whose 30-year federal career included several positions in the National Security Agency’s Office of Inspector General, will explain both.
In this 90-minute webinar, Mr. Protin will review how the IG’s statutory authority was created, how it has developed, and what it means to you that the OIG is “independent.”
Attendees will learn:
- The various types, purposes, and qualifications of Inspector Generals.
- The agency information that the OIG has access to, and any limitations it has on that information.
- What triggers responsibility for you to notify the OIG of something.
- How the OIG reports its findings.
- The situations in which the OIG will work directly interact with the agency.
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (payment required by May 27)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (for payments made May 28 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, if space is available.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm
Course Description
Back by popular demand, and updated for 2019! Join FELTG for the most comprehensive supervisory training event available anywhere. Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions, a 13-part webinar training series (with a bonus session for those who supervise unionized employees), is targeted specifically to the issues and challenges faced by supervisors in agencies across the country, and around the world.
These 60-minute sessions, held every other Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide federal supervisors with the necessary tools and best practices they need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers – in real time.
As a special bonus, the first six modules fulfill OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2019 dates:
March 5: Accountability for Performance and Conduct: The Foundation: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 19: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
April 2: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
April 16: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the system; defining elements and standards; creating the performance plan.
April 30: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance in a nutshell; preparing a performance case; proof and evidence standards.
May 14: Dealing with Poor Performing Employees: Managing the PIP; proposed removal letters; unacceptable performance documents.
May 28: Mentoring a Multigenerational Workforce: What OPM says about mentorship; mentorship styles; formal and informal mentorship; pilot mentorship programs; best practices for leadership; handling difficult employee types.
June 11: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 25: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 9: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
July 23: Intentional EEO Discrimination: What supervisors should know about EEO discrimination; discrete acts of discrimination; selection and promotion cases; defending against claims of intentional discrimination.
August 6: Combating Against Hostile Work Environment Harassment Claims: The elements of a hostile work environment; liability in hostile work environment claims; tangible employment actions; harassment v. bullying; supervisor responsibilities in harassment claims; agency defenses.
August 20: EEO Reprisal: Handle It, Don’t Fear It: How reprisal is different than other EEO claims; what the complainant must show to establish reprisal; how a supervisor can defend against reprisal claims; what to do and what not to do when an employee engages in protected EEO activity.
September 3: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Price
- $225 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $35 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through March 1. See registration form for details.
Instructors
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 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, Ms. Hopkins 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, she will 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
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (registration submitted by June 3)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (registration submitted June 4 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, on a space-available basis.
Instructor
Course Description
We are still getting used to this “new” FLRA. With Chair Colleen Duffy Kiko joining James Abbott and Ernest DuBester, and with the the nomination of Catherine Bird to be General Counsel, the FLRA will soon be at full strength. What will the next year bring for this new group?
Joe Schimansky, former Executive Director of the Federal Service Impasses Panel, will take a look at what’e been happening, and what’s likely to happen in the next few months at the FLRA. He’ll take a look at the most important new decisions to demonstrate how the world of federal labor relations is changing daily, and will provide an explanation of where everything stands with game-changing executive orders issued a year ago by President Trump.
In addition, attendees will learn about the FLRA’s most recent perspectives on:
- Attorneys fees
- The distinction between working conditions and conditions of employment
- Representation cases
- Excessive interference test
- And much more
If you are involved in federal sector labor relations, this is a topic you can’t afford to miss.
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $225 per site (payment required by June 7)
Standard Tuition: $255 per site (for payments made June 8 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, if space is available.
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 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
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; handling the absent employee and dealing with attendance issues; medical removals; union considerations; mentorship in the federal government.
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
Early Bird Tuition (register by June 11):
- 3 days = $1380
- 2 days = $980
- 1 day = $540
Standard Tuition (register June 12-27):
- 3 days = $1480
- 2 days = $1080
- 1 day = $640
Seminar registration includes a copy of the textbook UnCivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Performance and Conduct, 4th ed., by Wiley and Hopkins.
Metro, Parking, Directions
Metro: The International Student House (1825 R Street NW) is located in convenient proximity to the Red Line. Exit Metro at the Dupont Circle station and proceed to the Q Street/North exit. Head north (you will come off the escalator facing north; if you use the elevator take a left after exiting) on Connecticut Avenue to R Street NW (approximately one block). Turn right onto R Street NW. Cross 19th Street NW and the International Student House will be on the left side of the street approximately halfway down the block. If you reach the Bikeshare dock, you’ve gone too far. Approximate walk time: 7-10 minutes.
Parking: Street parking is metered and is limited to two hours, unless you have a Washington, DC, Zone 2 parking pass. The closest parking garage is at 11 Dupont Circle, approximately two blocks from the International Student House (1825 R Street NW). Approximate walk time: 5 -7 minutes.
From the Carlyle Hotel: After exiting the Carlyle Hotel, turn left. At the first intersection, R Street NW, turn right. Proceed approximately one block. The International Student House (1825 R Street NW) will be on your right, just past the Bikeshare dock. Approximate walk time: 4-6 minutes.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm
Course Description
Back by popular demand, and updated for 2019! Join FELTG for the most comprehensive supervisory training event available anywhere. Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions, a 13-part webinar training series (with a bonus session for those who supervise unionized employees), is targeted specifically to the issues and challenges faced by supervisors in agencies across the country, and around the world.
These 60-minute sessions, held every other Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide federal supervisors with the necessary tools and best practices they need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers – in real time.
As a special bonus, the first six modules fulfill OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2019 dates:
March 5: Accountability for Performance and Conduct: The Foundation: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 19: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
April 2: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
April 16: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the system; defining elements and standards; creating the performance plan.
April 30: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance in a nutshell; preparing a performance case; proof and evidence standards.
May 14: Dealing with Poor Performing Employees: Managing the PIP; proposed removal letters; unacceptable performance documents.
May 28: Mentoring a Multigenerational Workforce: What OPM says about mentorship; mentorship styles; formal and informal mentorship; pilot mentorship programs; best practices for leadership; handling difficult employee types.
June 11: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 25: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 9: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
July 23: Intentional EEO Discrimination: What supervisors should know about EEO discrimination; discrete acts of discrimination; selection and promotion cases; defending against claims of intentional discrimination.
August 6: Combating Against Hostile Work Environment Harassment Claims: The elements of a hostile work environment; liability in hostile work environment claims; tangible employment actions; harassment v. bullying; supervisor responsibilities in harassment claims; agency defenses.
August 20: EEO Reprisal: Handle It, Don’t Fear It: How reprisal is different than other EEO claims; what the complainant must show to establish reprisal; how a supervisor can defend against reprisal claims; what to do and what not to do when an employee engages in protected EEO activity.
September 3: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Price
- $225 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $35 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through March 1. See registration form for details.
Instructor
Course Description
1.5
In 2017, an MSPB survey revealed that more than 20 percent of female federal employees were sexually harassed in the workplace between 2014 and 2016. There has been a lot of talk about the need for training on this important topic. But now it’s time for action.
Let FELTG help you take that action. Join us for the 90-minute webinar Employee Sexual Misconduct: Discipline Early to Make Your Agency a Safer Place. FELTG President Deborah Hopkins, attorney at law, will show you how to address sexual harassment in the federal government as MISCONDUCT — not just as an EEO issue.
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
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (payment required by June 17)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (for payments made June 18 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, if space is available.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm
Course Description
Back by popular demand, and updated for 2019! Join FELTG for the most comprehensive supervisory training event available anywhere. Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions, a 13-part webinar training series (with a bonus session for those who supervise unionized employees), is targeted specifically to the issues and challenges faced by supervisors in agencies across the country, and around the world.
These 60-minute sessions, held every other Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide federal supervisors with the necessary tools and best practices they need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers – in real time.
As a special bonus, the first six modules fulfill OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2019 dates:
March 5: Accountability for Performance and Conduct: The Foundation: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 19: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
April 2: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
April 16: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the system; defining elements and standards; creating the performance plan.
April 30: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance in a nutshell; preparing a performance case; proof and evidence standards.
May 14: Dealing with Poor Performing Employees: Managing the PIP; proposed removal letters; unacceptable performance documents.
May 28: Mentoring a Multigenerational Workforce: What OPM says about mentorship; mentorship styles; formal and informal mentorship; pilot mentorship programs; best practices for leadership; handling difficult employee types.
June 11: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 25: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 9: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
July 23: Intentional EEO Discrimination: What supervisors should know about EEO discrimination; discrete acts of discrimination; selection and promotion cases; defending against claims of intentional discrimination.
August 6: Combating Against Hostile Work Environment Harassment Claims: The elements of a hostile work environment; liability in hostile work environment claims; tangible employment actions; harassment v. bullying; supervisor responsibilities in harassment claims; agency defenses.
August 20: EEO Reprisal: Handle It, Don’t Fear It: How reprisal is different than other EEO claims; what the complainant must show to establish reprisal; how a supervisor can defend against reprisal claims; what to do and what not to do when an employee engages in protected EEO activity.
September 3: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Price
- $225 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $35 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through March 1. See registration form for details.
Instructor
Course Description
If you’ve attended a FELTG training or read our newsletters, you know how important we believe word selection is when framing charges of employee misconduct. FELTG President Deborah Hopkins, attorney at law, will conduct a 90-minute webinar discussing best practices for drafting disciplinary documents that will withstand even the harshest scrutiny by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) or an arbitrator.
After the proper statutory foundation is laid, this program will cover:
- The four mandatory rules of charging
- The three styles of charging
- Charge specifications and label elements
- Why less is more in proposal and decision letters
- Specific words to use – and avoid – in drafting charging documents
Whether you’re new to drafting disciplinary documents, or you’ve been doing it for years, your work will be more efficient, professional, and defensible if you participate in this program. Register your site today!
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (payment required by July 1)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (for payments made July 2 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, if space is available.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Shana Palmieri, Katherine Atkinson, Anthony Marchese
Course Description
Navigating your role in the modern federal workplace requires not just the legal knowledge, but also the practical skills to handle the most intense and challenging situations. For example, do you know what to do in the following scenarios?
- An employee with bipolar disorder is having a manic episode in the workplace.
- An employee threatens violence or suicide.
- An employee claims she is being sexually harassed by one of your best performers.
- You’ve heard reports that another manager is bullying an employee.
- An employee is requesting leave or telework as a reasonable accommodation.
- An employee is wasting time on social media when he is supposed to be working.
We will provide you the specific legal, practical and clinical guidance you need to reply effectively in these and many other difficult situations during our all-new Emerging Issues Week. You’ll gain the tools to better understand how to:
- Deal with employees who have mental and behavioral health issues.
- Handle sexual harassment and bullying claims.
- Manage risk in your agency.
- Handle the conflicts that take your employees off task.
- Respond appropriately to the most challenging reasonable accommodation requests.
Daily Agenda:
Monday
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; PTSD, substance abuse disorders; dos and don’ts when working with employees who have behavioral health issues.
Tuesday
Dealing with Threats of Violence: Handling the psychiatric emergency; 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.
Wednesday
Employee Conflict Management: Managing vs. leading; difficult employee personality types; potential generational conflicts; using structured communication with your employees; learning how to “Flex” in difficult conversations with others; conflict resolution skills; utilizing a team-based approach in the federal government.
Thursday
Harassment Allegations and Investigations: Differentiating between EEO and non-EEO harassment; investigating harassment allegations; the intersection with criminal investigations; bullying; special considerations in light of #MeToo and #TimesUp.
Friday
The Nontraditional Workplace: Telework, Reasonable Accommodation, and Technology Challenges: Accountability for a mobile workforce; telework or flexible schedules as reasonable accommodation; challenges with technology in the federal workplace.
Pricing
Early Bird Tuition (register by July 1):
- 5 days = $2170
- 4 days = $1780
- 3 days = $1370
- 2 days = $970
- 1 day = $530
Standard Tuition (register July 2 – July 19):
- 5 days = $2270
- 4 days = $1880
- 3 days = $1470
- 2 days = $1070
- 1 day = $630
Metro, Parking, Directions
Metro: The International Student House (1825 R Street NW) is located in convenient proximity to the Red Line. Exit Metro at the Dupont Circle station and proceed to the Q Street/North exit. Head north (you will come off the escalator facing north; if you use the elevator take a left after exiting) on Connecticut Avenue to R Street NW (approximately one block). Turn right onto R Street NW. Cross 19th Street NW and the International Student House will be on the left side of the street approximately halfway down the block. If you reach the Bikeshare dock, you’ve gone too far. Approximate walk time: 7-10 minutes.
Parking: Street parking is metered and is limited to two hours, unless you have a Washington, DC, Zone 2 parking pass. The closest parking garage is at 11 Dupont Circle, approximately two blocks from the International Student House (1825 R Street NW). Approximate walk time: 5 -7 minutes.
From the Carlyle Hotel: After exiting the Carlyle Hotel, turn left. At the first intersection, R Street NW, turn right. Proceed approximately one block. The International Student House (1825 R Street NW) will be on your right, just past the Bikeshare dock. Approximate walk time: 4-6 minutes.
Cancellation and No-show Policy for Registered Participants: Cancellations made after the cancel date on the registration form will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. Pre-paid training using the “Pay Now” option will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. No-shows will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm
Course Description
Back by popular demand, and updated for 2019! Join FELTG for the most comprehensive supervisory training event available anywhere. Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions, a 13-part webinar training series (with a bonus session for those who supervise unionized employees), is targeted specifically to the issues and challenges faced by supervisors in agencies across the country, and around the world.
These 60-minute sessions, held every other Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide federal supervisors with the necessary tools and best practices they need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers – in real time.
As a special bonus, the first six modules fulfill OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2019 dates:
March 5: Accountability for Performance and Conduct: The Foundation: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 19: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
April 2: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
April 16: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the system; defining elements and standards; creating the performance plan.
April 30: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance in a nutshell; preparing a performance case; proof and evidence standards.
May 14: Dealing with Poor Performing Employees: Managing the PIP; proposed removal letters; unacceptable performance documents.
May 28: Mentoring a Multigenerational Workforce: What OPM says about mentorship; mentorship styles; formal and informal mentorship; pilot mentorship programs; best practices for leadership; handling difficult employee types.
June 11: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 25: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 9: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
July 23: Intentional EEO Discrimination: What supervisors should know about EEO discrimination; discrete acts of discrimination; selection and promotion cases; defending against claims of intentional discrimination.
August 6: Combating Against Hostile Work Environment Harassment Claims: The elements of a hostile work environment; liability in hostile work environment claims; tangible employment actions; harassment v. bullying; supervisor responsibilities in harassment claims; agency defenses.
August 20: EEO Reprisal: Handle It, Don’t Fear It: How reprisal is different than other EEO claims; what the complainant must show to establish reprisal; how a supervisor can defend against reprisal claims; what to do and what not to do when an employee engages in protected EEO activity.
September 3: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Price
- $225 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $35 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through March 1. See registration form for details.
Instructor
Deborah Hopkins, Joe Schimansky
Course Description
The drama continues.
President Trump issued three Executive Orders last year aimed at curtailing union activity and increasing supervisors’ ability to hold employees accountable for misconduct and shoddy performance. Three months later, several provisions of those Executive Orders were set aside as illegal, per a D.C. District Court judge decision.
And now, almost a year since the District Court decision, its ruling has been overturned by an Appeals Court. The Executive Orders are no longer enjoined.
If you think this all seems confusing, you’re not alone. As always, you can count on FELTG to help you through these confusing times. Join FELTG President and Attorney at Law Deborah Hopkins and Joseph Schimansky, former Executive Director of the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP), on July 31 for a 60-minute discussion about the most important takeaways from this decision. They will explain the key provisions of the Executive Orders, and spell out exactly your agencies can, cannot, and should do under these EOs.
You’ll leave this important webinar with answers to the the 6 Ws:
- Who is impacted by the latest decision?
- What did the District and Appeals Courts actually decide?
- Why did the courts make those decisions?
- Where will the next challenge to the Executive Orders take place?
- When will this all finally be resolved?
- What does this mean for us today?
You can’t afford to miss this session. Register your site now.
Price
- $225 per site through July 26, 2019.
- $255 per site July 27, 2019 and later.
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, on a space-available basis.
This week focuses on conducting administrative investigations in the federal workplace with an emphasis on employee misconduct including workplace harassment. 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, fact finding, 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.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day and is pre-approved for 29 CLE credits in Virginia and California. It is also approved for 29 HRCI general recertification credits.
This program fulfills the requirements for 32-hour EEO Investigator training and 8-hour annual EEO investigator refresher training. It also meets the requirements for training under the Department of Interior’s Anti-Harassment Policy.
Instructors
Daily Agenda
Administrative Investigations: The Substantive Basis: Why investigate; discipline law and elements; understanding charges of misconduct; collecting penalty evidence; law behind other types of administrative investigations; witness rights; union representation.
Tuesday
Harassment Investigations: Investigating allegations of harassment; differentiating between EEO and non-EEO harassment; the intersection with criminal investigations; special considerations in light of #MeToo and #TimesUp.
Wednesday
Conducting the Investigation, Part I: Evidentiary principles; purpose of investigation; preparing for the investigation; role of the investigator; planning the investigation. beginning the interview.
Thursday
Conducting the Investigation, Part II: Conducting the interview; handling difficult witnesses; assessing credibility/lies/hearing what isn’t said; body language; gathering other evidence; technology and investigations; high profile case considerations; testifying at an administrative hearing; rules for being an effective witness.
Friday
Writing the Investigative Report: Organizing for the report; establishing the chronology; writing for your audience; report writing style; report writing conventions; report organization; sample report.
Pricing
Most people attend the full training week, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
Early Bird Tuition (register by July 22):
- 5 days = $2170
- 4 days = $1780
- 3 days = $1370
- 2 days = $970
- 1 day = $530
Standard Tuition (register July 23-August 9):
- 5 days = $2270
- 4 days = $1880
- 3 days = $1470
- 2 days = $1070
- 1 day = $630
Lodging
The host hotel, the Sheraton Denver West, has a limited block of rooms set aside at the per diem rate. Call the hotel directly at 303-987-2000 and mention this training event to receive the special rate.
Cancellation and No-show Policy for Registered Participants: Cancellations made after the cancel date on the registration form will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. Pre-paid training using the “Pay Now” option will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. No-shows will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm
Course Description
Back by popular demand, and updated for 2019! Join FELTG for the most comprehensive supervisory training event available anywhere. Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions, a 13-part webinar training series (with a bonus session for those who supervise unionized employees), is targeted specifically to the issues and challenges faced by supervisors in agencies across the country, and around the world.
These 60-minute sessions, held every other Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide federal supervisors with the necessary tools and best practices they need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers – in real time.
As a special bonus, the first six modules fulfill OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2019 dates:
March 5: Accountability for Performance and Conduct: The Foundation: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 19: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
April 2: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
April 16: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the system; defining elements and standards; creating the performance plan.
April 30: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance in a nutshell; preparing a performance case; proof and evidence standards.
May 14: Dealing with Poor Performing Employees: Managing the PIP; proposed removal letters; unacceptable performance documents.
May 28: Mentoring a Multigenerational Workforce: What OPM says about mentorship; mentorship styles; formal and informal mentorship; pilot mentorship programs; best practices for leadership; handling difficult employee types.
June 11: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 25: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 9: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
July 23: Intentional EEO Discrimination: What supervisors should know about EEO discrimination; discrete acts of discrimination; selection and promotion cases; defending against claims of intentional discrimination.
August 6: Combating Against Hostile Work Environment Harassment Claims: The elements of a hostile work environment; liability in hostile work environment claims; tangible employment actions; harassment v. bullying; supervisor responsibilities in harassment claims; agency defenses.
August 20: EEO Reprisal: Handle It, Don’t Fear It: How reprisal is different than other EEO claims; what the complainant must show to establish reprisal; how a supervisor can defend against reprisal claims; what to do and what not to do when an employee engages in protected EEO activity.
September 3: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Price
- $225 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $35 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through March 1. See registration form for details.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm
Course Description
Back by popular demand, and updated for 2019! Join FELTG for the most comprehensive supervisory training event available anywhere. Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions, a 13-part webinar training series (with a bonus session for those who supervise unionized employees), is targeted specifically to the issues and challenges faced by supervisors in agencies across the country, and around the world.
These 60-minute sessions, held every other Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide federal supervisors with the necessary tools and best practices they need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers – in real time.
As a special bonus, the first six modules fulfill OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2019 dates:
March 5: Accountability for Performance and Conduct: The Foundation: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 19: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
April 2: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
April 16: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the system; defining elements and standards; creating the performance plan.
April 30: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance in a nutshell; preparing a performance case; proof and evidence standards.
May 14: Dealing with Poor Performing Employees: Managing the PIP; proposed removal letters; unacceptable performance documents.
May 28: Mentoring a Multigenerational Workforce: What OPM says about mentorship; mentorship styles; formal and informal mentorship; pilot mentorship programs; best practices for leadership; handling difficult employee types.
June 11: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 25: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 9: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
July 23: Intentional EEO Discrimination: What supervisors should know about EEO discrimination; discrete acts of discrimination; selection and promotion cases; defending against claims of intentional discrimination.
August 6: Combating Against Hostile Work Environment Harassment Claims: The elements of a hostile work environment; liability in hostile work environment claims; tangible employment actions; harassment v. bullying; supervisor responsibilities in harassment claims; agency defenses.
August 20: EEO Reprisal: Handle It, Don’t Fear It: How reprisal is different than other EEO claims; what the complainant must show to establish reprisal; how a supervisor can defend against reprisal claims; what to do and what not to do when an employee engages in protected EEO activity.
September 3: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Price
- $225 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $35 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through March 1. See registration form for details.
If only all employees showed up for work when they were supposed to and behaved like responsible adults. If so, your job would be easier. Also, you wouldn’t need to attend this open enrollment course. But alas, attendance and conduct challenges are very real. And very complicated. However, your time is limited. That’s why we created this intensive two-day course for supervisors and advisers. Over two days, leave expert Barbara Haga will provide you with everything you need to know to effectively handle your most challenging attendance and conduct issues.
Day one runs the gamut on attendance issues from AWOL to Sick Leave; from the ins and outs of the Family and Medical Leave Act to Leave Without Pay; from Annual Leave accrual to understanding the role of EEO in leave and attendance. On day two, you’ll learn the principles, understand the penalties, and gather the necessary tools to take effective and decisive disciplinary action.
Instructor
Daily Agenda:
Wednesday
Attendance Challenges: Legislative and regulatory requirements related to employee relations programs; Merit Principles and Prohibited Personnel Practices; Annual Leave accrual; purposes for which sick leave may be used; sick leave for family care and bereavement; granting/denying sick leave; advanced leave; sick leave abuse, Disabled Veteran leave; FMLA coverage, entitlements, and family member eligibility; serious health conditions; medical certification requirements, substitution of paid leave; Court Leave; LWOP; leave transfer; excused absence; AWOL; reasonable accommodation.
Thursday
Conduct Challenges: Philosophy of discipline, roles in the process, and due process; Nexus; Douglas factors; table of penalties; Pre-Action investigations; procedural requirements of disciplinary and adverse actions; Common disciplinary charges, such as Theft, insubordination, falsification, threats, misuse, negligence, unacceptable performance as a conduct matter, conduct unbecoming, excessive absence, and inability to perform; grievances and appeals; medical issues.
Pricing
Early Bird Tuition (register by August 13):
- 2 days = $970
- 1 day = $530
Standard Tuition (register August 8 – 22):
- 2 days = $1070
- 1 day = $630
Cancellation and No-show Policy for Registered Participants: Cancellations made after the cancel date on the registration form will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. Pre-paid training using the “Pay Now” option will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. No-shows will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm
Course Description
Back by popular demand, and updated for 2019! Join FELTG for the most comprehensive supervisory training event available anywhere. Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions, a 13-part webinar training series (with a bonus session for those who supervise unionized employees), is targeted specifically to the issues and challenges faced by supervisors in agencies across the country, and around the world.
These 60-minute sessions, held every other Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide federal supervisors with the necessary tools and best practices they need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently. Plus, they’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers – in real time.
As a special bonus, the first six modules fulfill OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2019 dates:
March 5: Accountability for Performance and Conduct: The Foundation: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 19: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
April 2: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
April 16: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the system; defining elements and standards; creating the performance plan.
April 30: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance in a nutshell; preparing a performance case; proof and evidence standards.
May 14: Dealing with Poor Performing Employees: Managing the PIP; proposed removal letters; unacceptable performance documents.
May 28: Mentoring a Multigenerational Workforce: What OPM says about mentorship; mentorship styles; formal and informal mentorship; pilot mentorship programs; best practices for leadership; handling difficult employee types.
June 11: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 25: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 9: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
July 23: Intentional EEO Discrimination: What supervisors should know about EEO discrimination; discrete acts of discrimination; selection and promotion cases; defending against claims of intentional discrimination.
August 6: Combating Against Hostile Work Environment Harassment Claims: The elements of a hostile work environment; liability in hostile work environment claims; tangible employment actions; harassment v. bullying; supervisor responsibilities in harassment claims; agency defenses.
August 20: EEO Reprisal: Handle It, Don’t Fear It: How reprisal is different than other EEO claims; what the complainant must show to establish reprisal; how a supervisor can defend against reprisal claims; what to do and what not to do when an employee engages in protected EEO activity.
September 3: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Price
- $225 per site, per session.
- Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $35 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
- Special series discounts available through March 1. See registration form for details.
Instructor
Course Description
1.5
The law regarding sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace continues to evolve, but not in a way that makes the law clear. For example: The EEOC says sexual orientation and gender identity are protected under Title VII. The Department of Justice says just the opposite. There is the federal circuit split on the issue. And in October 2019, the Supreme Court will finally consider the issue.
It may be confusing, but you don’t have to be confused. In this 90-minute webinar, FELTG instructor Meghan Droste, attorney at law and experienced LGBTQ and Gender Issues Practice Group team lead, will explain where the law stands now. She will provide the latest information on protections under the law, define the terminology, and explain gender stereotyping as sex discrimination.
Attendees will also learn about:
- Transgender status and legal protections
- Identify the actions that have gotten agencies into legal trouble
- Cases involving LGBTQ status and religion
- The best practices for agencies to follow
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (payment required by August 26)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (for payments made August 27 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, if space is available.
Let’s face it: being a federal sector Employee Relations Specialist is a tough job. It’s great to know the basics, but the basics don’t always help you when you’re facing those really challenging situations. That’s when you realize that there is much more to learn. No worries. FELTG is presenting Advanced Employee Relations, a three-day seminar focused on immersing you in the employee relations training you need most.
Held in Norfolk in September 2019, you’ll receive in-depth training on topics including leave, performance, misconduct, disability accommodation, and more. Plus, hands-on workshops will allow you to leave with the tools you’ll need to succeed. And it will all be taught by FELTG Senior Instructor Barbara Haga.
Great training. Great instructor. Great location. Register now.
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. Acceptable 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
Early Bird Tuition (register by August 27):
- 3 days = $1370
- 2 days = $970
- 1 day = $530
Standard Tuition (register August 28 – September 12):
- 3 days = $1470
- 2 days = $1070
- 1 day = $630
Lodging
The hotel has a limited block of rooms reserved for the event at the federal per diem rate. Please contact the hotel directly at 757-333-3100 and reference FELTG when booking.
Cancellation and No-show Policy for Registered Participants: Cancellations made after the cancel date on the registration form will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. Pre-paid training using the “Pay Now” option will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. No-shows will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses.
Instructor
Course Description
We are often get asked: “Why should I use the Douglas factors?” Our answer is always: “Why in the world wouldn’t you?”
The Douglas factor analysis is incredibly useful in helping any manager figure out an appropriate penalty for an employee who engaged in misconduct. If you don’t use Douglas, you are just penalizing based upon what seems or feels right, and that isn’t going to be easy to defend.
FELTG instructor Ann Boehm will explain the importance of the Douglas Factors even in the seemingly most relatively minor misconduct cases. After this 90-minute webinar, attendees will be able to :
- Explain the importance of the Douglas Factors in penalty determination.
- Address all 12 Douglas Factors in an analysis.
- Identify cases that illustrate the perils of not considering the Douglas Factors.
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (payment required by September 2)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (for payments made September 3 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, if space is available.
This training is SOLD OUT. Register now for EEOC Law Week April 27 – May 1 to guarantee your spot for 2020!
If you’re looking for training that covers the gamut of EEO issues, and provides usable guidance for all practitioners, regardless of experience level, this is it: FELTG’s EEOC Law Week. FELTG’s expert speakers, drawing on years of experience from all sides of the litigation table, deliver a fast-paced week of strategies, principles, and authorities relative to the major aspects of the field of discrimination law in the federal government. This course is updated for 2019, and has a whole day focused on harassment. Register early because EEOC Law Week regularly sells out.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day and is pre-approved for 29 CLE credits in Virginia and California. It is also approved for 29 HRCI general recertification credits.
6 per day Monday – Thursday; 5 on Friday.
Instructors
Ernest Hadley, Meghan Droste, Katherine Atkinson
Daily Agenda
Monday
Basic EEOC, Nuts & Bolts: The Basics – Statutory authority and jurisdiction of EEOC, an overview of the theories of discrimination, overview of EEO process, amended and consolidated complaints; timeliness issues in the wake of the Supreme Court decisions in Morgan and Ledbetter.
Tuesday
Contractor Complaints; Intentional Discrimination and Reprisal Cases: Contractor complaints; intentional discrimination analysis and cases; selection & promotion cases; a focus on national origin and religious discrimination cases; reprisal analysis and cases.
Wednesday
Accommodating Individuals with Disabilities: The Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, defining individuals with a disability, major life activities and substantial limitation; essential job functions, the interactive process, types of reasonable accommodation; the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) regulations.
Thursday
Current Trends in EEO Law: a Focus on Harassment: The latest on what’s happening in EEO, hostile environment harassment, gender stereotyping, same-sex harassment sexual orientation and transgender discrimination, non-EEO harassment; settlement.
Friday
Mixed Cases; Damages & Remedies: Mixed cases; overview of Equitable Remedies: back pay, front pay, reinstatement; non-pecuniary and pecuniary damages, past and future damages, damages offsets, the duty to mitigate damages, collateral sources and pre-existing conditions, multiple causations of harm, the eggshell complainant.
Pricing
Most people attend the full training week, but you may opt out of any days you don’t plan to attend.
Early Bird Tuition (register by September 3):
- 5 days = $2170
- 4 days = $1780
- 3 days = $1370
- 2 days = $970
- 1 day = $530
Standard Tuition (register September 4 – September 20):
- 5 days = $2270
- 4 days = $1880
- 3 days = $1470
- 2 days = $1070
- 1 day = $630
Metro, Parking, Directions
Metro: The International Student House (1825 R Street NW) is located in convenient proximity to the Red Line. Exit Metro at the Dupont Circle station and proceed to the Q Street/North exit. Head north (you will come off the escalator facing north; if you use the elevator take a left after exiting) on Connecticut Avenue to R Street NW (approximately one block). Turn right onto R Street NW. Cross 19th Street NW and the International Student House will be on the left side of the street approximately halfway down the block. If you reach the Bikeshare dock, you’ve gone too far. Approximate walk time: 7-10 minutes.
Parking: Street parking is metered and is limited to two hours, unless you have a Washington, DC, Zone 2 parking pass. The closest parking garage is at 11 Dupont Circle, approximately two blocks from the International Student House (1825 R Street NW). Approximate walk time: 5 -7 minutes.
From the Carlyle Hotel: After exiting the Carlyle Hotel, turn left. At the first intersection, R Street NW, turn right. Proceed approximately one block. The International Student House (1825 R Street NW) will be on your right, just past the Bikeshare dock. Approximate walk time: 4-6 minutes.
Cancellation and No-show Policy for Registered Participants: Cancellations made after the cancel date on the registration form will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. Pre-paid training using the “Pay Now” option will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses. No-shows will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses.