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
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.
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.
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 accountability for conduct and performance, managing leave abuse, handling EEO complaints, reasonable accommodation, workplace management and leadership skills, and managing difficult employees.
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
Daily Agenda:
Monday
Uncivil Servant: Holding Employees Accountable for Conduct: Fundamentals of disciplinary actions; establishing rules of conduct; proving misconduct; selecting a defensible penalty; providing due process via agency discipline procedures; drafting disciplinary documents; alternatives to discipline.
Tuesday
Maximizing Accountability in Performance: Eliminating unnecessary barriers to addressing poor performance; analyzing your existing appraisal systems; writing clear, measurable, and enforceable performance standards; Within Grade Increases (WIGIs); eliminating unacceptable performance requirements that are not based on law/regulation; employee opportunity periods.
Wednesday
Handling Employee Leave Issues: An overview of leave types and entitlements; annual leave; sick leave; AWOL and Leave Without Pay; FMLA crash course; medical certification requirements; substitution of paid leave; handling complicated leave issues; leave abuse.
Thursday
The Supervisor’s Role in EEO: The role of EEO in the federal government; defining protected categories: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, genetic information and reprisal; documentation to help you defend against frivolous complaints; what to do if you’re a Responding Management Official in a complaint.
Friday
Effectively Managing Today’s Federal Workforce: Communicating effectively with employees; managing teleworkers; managing a multigenerational workforce; handling difficult employees; mentorship.
Supervisors who attend the full week will receive a certificate verifying participation in OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors, found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
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 8):
- 5 days = $2180
- 4 days = $1790
- 3 days = $1380
- 2 days = $980
- 1 day = $540
Standard Tuition (register July 9 – July 26):
- 5 days = $2280
- 4 days = $1890
- 3 days = $1480
- 2 days = $1080
- 1 day = $640
Registered participants will receive a copy of the textbook UnCivil Servant, fourth edition, by Wiley and Hopkins.
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.
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.
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.
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 September 3):
- 3 days = $1380
- 2 days = $980
- 1 day = $540
Standard Tuition (register September 4 – September 19):
- 3 days = $1480
- 2 days = $1080
- 1 day = $640
- Early Bird Tuition (register by September 3):
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 hotel has a limited block of rooms reserved for the event at the federal per diem rate. Please contact the hotel directly at 404-418-1212 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 will not be refunded, and will not be given credit toward another course after the cancellation date on the registration form. No-shows will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses.
Instructor
Course Description
In 2016, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death overall in the United States, killing more than 44,000 people. And 291 of those suicides took place in the workplace.
As suicide rates continue to rise, the impact is becoming more severe on the workplace. Join Shana Palmieri, LCSW for this 90-minute webinar as she discusses the behavior health disorders that lead to suicide risk, provides an overview of suicide and suicidal ideation in the United States and in the workplace, and shares real answers on what you can do and when to save an employee’s life.
Attendees will learn how to:
- Identify the signs and symptoms of suicide that indicate the need for professional intervention
- Effectively communicate to employees about suicide
- Handle a suicidal crisis in the workplace
The webinar will also include time for Q & A on these topics. This is a session you truly can’t afford to miss, so register your site today.
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (payment required by September 16)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (for payments made September 17 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, if space is available.
Instructor
Course Description
Agencies have a problem addressing unacceptable performance. How else do you explain that nearly 75 percent of non-supervisory federal employees believe supervisors fail to take the necessary steps to address poor performance?
In this 90-minute webinar, FELTG President, attorney and author Deborah Hopkins will answer the question: How does an agency take appropriate, defensible action against poor performers?
Ms. Hopkins will explain the appropriate procedures to take when initiating an Opportunity to Demonstrate Acceptable Performance and will highlight mistakes that your agency can’t afford to make, and show you how to remove a poor performer from the federal service in just 31 days.
In addition, Ms Hopkins will discuss:
- Critical time periods for the stages of performance-based actions
- How to draft and deliver performance documents
- The importance of holding employees accountable throughout the process
- Tips for managing problem employees during the notice period
- The necessary levels of proof an agency must maintain to defend a performance-based suspension or termination
Attend this FELTG seminar to learn the appropriate methods to safeguard your agency when removing poor performers, and guarantee that your actions will stand.
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (payment required by September 23)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (for payments made September 24 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, if space is available.
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.
While the near future of the Merit Systems Protection Board remains uncertain, FELTG is staying on top of the situation and will provide attendees with the most up-to-date information they need to know.
Instructors Deborah Hopkins, William Wiley, and Barbara Haga will guide you through these thorny issues. Register for any or all of the sessions.
- Session 1 – Sick Leave, Part I (October 16)
- Earning and accumulation
- Authorized uses of sick leave
- Family care sick leave – documentation and limits
- Advance sick leave
- Session 2 – Sick Leave, Part II (October 30)
- 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 – Understanding FMLA (November 13)
- 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
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per webinar per site (registration submitted by October 7)
Standard Tuition: $305 per webinar per site (registration submitted October 8 or later)
Register for all three webinars by October 7 and pay only $795.
Add a teleworker for $35 per webinar, in addition to a main site registration, if space permits.
President Trump issued three executive orders last year that had a significant impact on federal labor relations. With orders regarding official time, negotiation timeframes, and union responsibilities to pay for things they never had to pay for before, this was the biggest change to rock the world of federal labor relations in years. Three months later, a D.C. District Court Court judge enjoined several parts of the EOs, stating they were illegal. The White House then appealed.. And then this summer, that District Court ruling was overturned by an Appeals Court. The Executive Orders are no longer enjoined.
Where do things stand today? Join FELTG for FLRA Law Week and we’ll bring you up to speed on what you can, cannot and should do under these EOs.
But that’s not all. Every labor attorney, labor relations 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 — and with instructors who spent a combined 38 years working at the FLRA, there’s no other federal labor relations training that will give you this type of inside perspective. You won’t want to miss it.
The program runs 8:30 – 4:00 each day.
Instructors
Daily Agenda
Monday
Basic Management and Employee Rights: An overview of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute; the current status of Executive Orders 13836 and 13837; fundamental employee, union, and management rights; bargaining unit definition; the union organizer’s role; information requests; official time.
Tuesday
Labor Relations Meetings and Bargaining: More on official time; formal discussions; union representative rights; the collective bargaining process; the three categories of bargaining: mandatory, permissive, and prohibited.
Wednesday
Unfair Labor Practices and Negotiability: What happens when the FLRA comes knocking; the anatomy of an Unfair Labor Practice; 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; interest based bargaining as compared to hard ball bargaining,
Friday
Understanding Arbitration Issues: The 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.
Early Bird Tuition (register by October 7):
- 5 days = $2170
- 4 days = $1780
- 3 days = $1370
- 2 days = $970
- 1 day = $530
Standard Tuition (register October 8 – October 25):
- 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 will not be refunded, and will not be given credit toward another course after the cancellation date on the registration form. No-shows will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses.
Instructor
Course Description
The Douglas factors require agencies to consider alternative sanctions, but what exactly are alternatives to discipline? How do they work? Does anyone even know where to start an alternative to discipline?
FELTG instructor Ann Boehm does. In this 90-minute webinar, she will show you how how to think outside the box in certain disciplinary situations. For example, the last thing you want to do to someone who is AWOL is suspend them — they already are not coming to work. Instead, we can show you how to give a reprimand in lieu of suspension. The goal of discipline is to rehabilitate, and in certain circumstances, alternative sanctions are very effective in that regard.
Attendees will:
- Learn the legal requirements that form the foundation of disciplinary actions.
- Identify several alternatives to adverse actions.
- Understand the benefits of a reprimand in lieu of a suspension.
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (payment required by October 14)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (for payments made October 15 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, if space is available.
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.
While the near future of the Merit Systems Protection Board remains uncertain, FELTG is staying on top of the situation and will provide attendees with the most up-to-date information they need to know.
Instructors Deborah Hopkins, William Wiley, and Barbara Haga will guide you through these thorny issues. Register for any or all of the sessions.
- Session 1 – Sick Leave, Part I (October 16)
- Earning and accumulation
- Authorized uses of sick leave
- Family care sick leave – documentation and limits
- Advance sick leave
- Session 2 – Sick Leave, Part II (October 30)
- 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 – Understanding FMLA (November 13)
- 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
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per webinar per site (registration submitted by October 7)
Standard Tuition: $305 per webinar per site (registration submitted October 8 or later)
Register for all three webinars by October 7 and pay only $795.
Add a teleworker for $35 per webinar, in addition to a main site registration, if space permits.
Instructor
Course Description
Workplace violence statistics tell a harrowing story. About 17 percent of all workplace fatalities in 2016 were the result of workplace violence, according to the National Safety Council. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates that nearly 2 million workers are victims of workplace violence. And an estimated 25 percent of workplace violence goes unreported.
This topic is too important to ignore. Join FELTG for the webinar Threats of Violence in the Federal Workplace: Assessing Risk and Taking Action. This program will be instructed by Shana Palmieri, FELTG instructor and LCSW who specializes in mental health and handled the psychiatric aftermath of the Navy Yard shooting in 2013.
The session is focused on the practical issues that agencies encounter when dealing with an employee whose behavior poses a risk to workplace safety. Discussion points include:
- Warning signs that violence may be imminent, and dynamic risk and protective factors for workplace targeted violence
- Equipping Threat Management Teams to respond to threats or violent acts
- Understanding the behavioral health issues that contribute to violent behavior – and those that don’t
- Preparing for domestic or intimate partner violence and its interplay with the federal workplace
The webinar will also include time for Q & A on these topics. This is a session you truly can’t afford to miss, so register your site today.
Price
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per site (payment required by October 21)
Standard Tuition: $305 per site (for payments made October 22 or later)
Teleworkers may be added to a main site registration for $35 each, if space is available.
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.
While the near future of the Merit Systems Protection Board remains uncertain, FELTG is staying on top of the situation and will provide attendees with the most up-to-date information they need to know.
Instructors Deborah Hopkins, William Wiley, and Barbara Haga will guide you through these thorny issues. Register for any or all of the sessions.
- Session 1 – Sick Leave, Part I (October 16)
- Earning and accumulation
- Authorized uses of sick leave
- Family care sick leave – documentation and limits
- Advance sick leave
- Session 2 – Sick Leave, Part II (October 30)
- 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 – Understanding FMLA (November 13)
- 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
Early Bird Tuition: $275 per webinar per site (registration submitted by October 7)
Standard Tuition: $305 per webinar per site (registration submitted October 8 or later)
Register for all three webinars by October 7 and pay only $795.
Add a teleworker for $35 per webinar, in addition to a main site registration, if space permits.
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.
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 January 31):
- 3 days = $1370
- 2 days = $970
- 1 day = $530
Standard Tuition (register February 1 – 13):
- 3 days = $1470
- 2 days = $1070
- 1 day = $630
- Early Bird Tuition (register by January 31):
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 404-418-1212 and reference FELTG when booking, or use this link to book online: https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1569526915772&key=GRP&app=resvlink.
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 will not be refunded, and will not be given credit toward another course after the cancellation date on the registration form. No-shows will not be refunded or given credit toward future courses.
FELTG is making its webinars easier to access during the COVID-19 closures and emergency telework scheduling, to ensure that proper training is still available when the majority of employees are working at home. Contact us at 844.283.3584 or [email protected] to find out how this applies to our webinars, or how you can bring FELTG’s off-the-shelf or custom webinars directly to your agency.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm, Joe Schimansky, Katherine Atkinson, Anthony Marchese
Course Description
Those of you who supervise federal employees know it can be a frustrating calling, especially when you face so many new and challenging issues amid complex and changing laws.
Help is on the way. Register now for one, several, or all of the courses in FELTG’s comprehensive webinar training series Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions. No other training provides the depth and breadth of guidance federal supervisors need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently.
Over the course of 14 webinars, FELTG’s experienced and knowledgeable instructors provide support on everything from managing poor performance and disciplining for employee misconduct to providing reasonable accommodation and rooting out leave abuse, and much much more.
This unique series has been updated to address the most timely and important topics supervisors are facing right now. The 60-minute webinars, held every other Tuesday from 1 – 2 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide attendees with the necessary tools and best practices. Plus, you’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers from FELTG instructors – in real time.
As an added bonus, this series fulfills OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2020 dates:
March 3: The Foundations of Accountability: Performance vs. Misconduct: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 17: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the performance appraisal system; defining elements and standards; drafting standards according to legal requirements; creating the performance plan.
March 31: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance accountability in a nutshell; preparing and executing a performance demonstration period; proof and evidence standards.
April 14: Addressing Special Challenges with Performance: Permutations on performance accountability and the performance warning period; performance standards with multiple sub-components; managing teleworker performance; what do when a poor-performing employee requests reasonable accommodation.
April 28: Providing Performance Feedback That Makes a Difference: Communicating performance expectations; providing ongoing feedback; positive vs. negative framing; why you shouldn’t wait until the mid-year to discuss performance issues; what OPM says about mentorship; leader as mentor.
May 12: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
May 26: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
June 9: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 23: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 7: 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.
July 21: 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 4: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
August 18: 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 1: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Pricing
Early Bird Tuition:
- $240 per site, per session (payment required by Feb 24).
- Special series discounts available through February 24: $2,925 for the first 13 webinars or $3,150 for all 14. See registration form for details.
Standard Tuition:
- $270 per site, per session (payments made Feb. 25 or later).
Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $40 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
FELTG is making its webinars easier to access during the COVID-19 closures and emergency telework scheduling, to ensure that proper training is still available when the majority of employees are working at home. Contact us at 844.283.3584 or [email protected] to find out how this applies to our webinars, or how you can bring FELTG’s off-the-shelf or custom webinars directly to your agency.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm, Joe Schimansky, Katherine Atkinson, Anthony Marchese
Course Description
Those of you who supervise federal employees know it can be a frustrating calling, especially when you face so many new and challenging issues amid complex and changing laws.
Help is on the way. Register now for one, several, or all of the courses in FELTG’s comprehensive webinar training series Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions. No other training provides the depth and breadth of guidance federal supervisors need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently.
Over the course of 14 webinars, FELTG’s experienced and knowledgeable instructors provide support on everything from managing poor performance and disciplining for employee misconduct to providing reasonable accommodation and rooting out leave abuse, and much much more.
This unique series has been updated to address the most timely and important topics supervisors are facing right now. The 60-minute webinars, held every other Tuesday from 1 – 2 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide attendees with the necessary tools and best practices. Plus, you’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers from FELTG instructors – in real time.
As an added bonus, this series fulfills OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2020 dates:
March 3: The Foundations of Accountability: Performance vs. Misconduct: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 17: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the performance appraisal system; defining elements and standards; drafting standards according to legal requirements; creating the performance plan.
March 31: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance accountability in a nutshell; preparing and executing a performance demonstration period; proof and evidence standards.
April 14: Addressing Special Challenges with Performance: Permutations on performance accountability and the performance warning period; performance standards with multiple sub-components; managing teleworker performance; what do when a poor-performing employee requests reasonable accommodation.
April 28: Providing Performance Feedback That Makes a Difference: Communicating performance expectations; providing ongoing feedback; positive vs. negative framing; why you shouldn’t wait until the mid-year to discuss performance issues; what OPM says about mentorship; leader as mentor.
May 12: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
May 26: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
June 9: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 23: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 7: 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.
July 21: 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 4: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
August 18: 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 1: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Pricing
Early Bird Tuition:
- $240 per site, per session (payment required by Feb 24).
- Special series discounts available through February 24: $2,925 for the first 13 webinars or $3,150 for all 14. See registration form for details.
Standard Tuition:
- $270 per site, per session (payments made Feb. 25 or later).
Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $40 each, per session, on a space-available basis.
Course Description
In a matter of weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the federal workplace, the country, and the world. In this free 30-minute webinar, FELTG President and attorney at law Deborah Hopkins discusses two areas where the response to this virus has impacted the federal workplace:
- ADA and EEOC guidance on the medical impact of COVID-19 in the federal workplace
- Including medical inquiries, fitness for duty exams, and clearance to return to work
- OPM and White House guidance on agency operations during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Including telework, evacuation orders, and weather and safety leave
Instructor
Price and Registration
FREE. Registration is currently full. However, if you use the registration link below FELTG will add you to the wait list, and after the webinar’s conclusion we will email you a link so you can view the recorded presentation.
Register here. Enrollment is limited to the first 200 individuals and space is not guaranteed.
If you are one of the first 200 participants to register, you will receive a confirmation email from Zoom webinars confirming your registration and containing important access information.
FELTG is making its webinars easier to access during the COVID-19 closures and emergency telework scheduling, to ensure that proper training is still available when the majority of employees are working at home. Contact us at 844.283.3584 or [email protected] to find out how this applies to our webinars, or how you can bring FELTG’s off-the-shelf or custom webinars directly to your agency.
Instructors
Deborah Hopkins, Barbara Haga, Meghan Droste, Ann Boehm, Joe Schimansky, Katherine Atkinson, Anthony Marchese
Course Description
Those of you who supervise federal employees know it can be a frustrating calling, especially when you face so many new and challenging issues amid complex and changing laws.
Help is on the way. Register now for one, several, or all of the courses in FELTG’s comprehensive webinar training series Supervising Federal Employees: Managing Accountability and Defending Your Actions. No other training provides the depth and breadth of guidance federal supervisors need to manage the agency workplace effectively and efficiently.
Over the course of 14 webinars, FELTG’s experienced and knowledgeable instructors provide support on everything from managing poor performance and disciplining for employee misconduct to providing reasonable accommodation and rooting out leave abuse, and much much more.
This unique series has been updated to address the most timely and important topics supervisors are facing right now. The 60-minute webinars, held every other Tuesday from 1 – 2 p.m. eastern time, will expand upon legal principles to provide attendees with the necessary tools and best practices. Plus, you’ll have a chance to ask questions and get answers from FELTG instructors – in real time.
As an added bonus, this series fulfills OPM’s mandatory training requirements for new supervisors found at 5 CFR 412.202(b).
2020 dates:
March 3: The Foundations of Accountability: Performance vs. Misconduct: The distinction between performance and conduct; an overview on holding employees accountable; setting the stage for discipline and performance actions.
March 17: Writing Effective Performance Plans: Performance management; understanding the performance appraisal system; defining elements and standards; drafting standards according to legal requirements; creating the performance plan.
March 31: Preparing an Unacceptable Performance Case: Performance accountability in a nutshell; preparing and executing a performance demonstration period; proof and evidence standards.
April 14: Addressing Special Challenges with Performance: Permutations on performance accountability and the performance warning period; performance standards with multiple sub-components; managing teleworker performance; what do when a poor-performing employee requests reasonable accommodation.
April 28: Providing Performance Feedback That Makes a Difference: Communicating performance expectations; providing ongoing feedback; positive vs. negative framing; why you shouldn’t wait until the mid-year to discuss performance issues; what OPM says about mentorship; leader as mentor.
May 12: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part I: The five elements of discipline in the federal government; documentation supervisors need to succeed in a disciplinary action.
May 26: Disciplining Employees for Misconduct, Part II: Disciplinary procedures: reprimand, suspension, termination; appeals process; agency liability.
June 9: Tackling Leave Issues I: Handling the leave issues most common in the federal government: annual leave, sick leave, leave transfer.
June 23: Tackling Leave Issues II: Handling more complicated leave scenarios: FMLA, LWOP, administrative leave, AWOL.
July 7: 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.
July 21: 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 4: Disability Accommodation in 60 Minutes: Defining a disability; requests for accommodation; the interactive process; accommodations of choice; undue hardship.
August 18: 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 1: Supervising in a Unionized Environment: The right to be bargained with; forming a union; employee and union rights; ULPs.
Pricing
Early Bird Tuition:
- $240 per site, per session (payment required by Feb 24).
- Special series discounts available through February 24: $2,925 for the first 13 webinars or $3,150 for all 14. See registration form for details.
Standard Tuition:
- $270 per site, per session (payments made Feb. 25 or later).
Teleworkers may be added to a primary site registration for $40 each, per session, on a space-available basis.