FELTG News Flash
Sometimes, the news can't wait until our next FELTG Newsletter is published! Check out the latest news, case decisions and developments in the world of federal employment law below.Lessons Reinforced: DOs Can Be Heavily Involved Early in Discipline Situations
By William Wiley, November 7, 2022 As the new Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) members plow through the 3,000-plus pending PFRs, we keep an eye out for any new principles of law being developed by the issuance of precedential decisions. However, it is just as...
How Do You Feel About This 2-1 MSPB Decision?
By Deborah Hopkins, October 24, 2022 FELTG Nation, we have our first 2022 MSPB decision with a dissent! Let’s take a look. The appellant was a GS-14 Security Specialist at DTRA. One morning, he put food from the cafeteria’s self-serve breakfast buffet in a container,...
And Now a Word With … Former EEOC Commissioner Christine Griffin
By Dan Gephart, September 26, 2022 When Christine Griffin (photo, right) started her tenure as a commissioner at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2005, she had a long list of things she wanted to work on. Despite her previous work with the Boston...
WIGI Documentation Can Justify a PIP Under Santos
By Deborah J. Hopkins, September 19, 2022 I don’t know about you, but I am still loving the fact that we have a fully functioning MSPB again. While you might be tempted to skip over the non-precedential (NP) cases, you should rethink that because we have found several...
Mistakes to Avoid When Removing or Demoting the Poor Performer
By William Wiley, August 30, 2022 Sometimes an MSPB decision that identifies itself as nonprecedential is still an important decision. That’s especially true in times like these when we have three relatively new members of the Board who are being called on to...
Q&A About the Douglas Factors Under the New MSPB
By William Wiley and Deborah J. Hopkins, August 22, 2022 In a recent MSPB case law update (the next one is October 20, if you’re interested), we discussed the Douglas factors and the new comparator analysis the Board laid out in Singh v. USPS, 2022 MSPB 15 (May 31,...
And Now a Word With … MSPB Acting Chair Cathy Harris
By Dan Gephart, August 8, 2022 For five-plus years, we at FELTG and others have referred to the then-growing backlog of cases at the Merit Systems Protection Board with dread. So the enthusiasm with which MSPB Acting Chair Cathy Harris is approaching her new position,...
Affirmative Defenses: This One is for the Self-proclaimed MSPB Nerds
By Deborah Hopkins, July 25, 2022 Did you happen to catch the latest precedent-altering MSPB decision related to affirmative defenses? This one’s a little weedy, but interesting nonetheless, especially to MSPB nerds like myself. The appellant, a custodial laborer for...
And Now a Word With … J. Bruce Stewart About Diversity & Inclusion
By Dan Gephart, July 12, 2022 As Federal agencies work to implement the President’s Executive Orders on diversity and inclusion, navigate requirements to offer relevant training, and seek to hire chief diversity officers, I can’t help but think of one person in...
Don’t Ignore the Reasonable Accommodation Framework: Basic Mistakes Can Cost Dearly
By Deborah Hopkins, June 27, 2022 The reasonable accommodation process is an entitlement that every Federal employee has a right to pursue, regardless of the job. A recent EEO case, which originated back in 2010, caught my attention. The case involved 10 complainants...