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.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...
Some of These Non-precedential Cases Seem Awfully Precedential to Me
By Deborah Hopkins, June 13, 2022 The MSPB is operating on all levels once again, now that the third and final nominee, Cathy Harris, was sworn in at the beginning of the month. There have, as of this writing, only been 15 precedential decisions issued by the new...
And Now a Word With …. MSPB Member Tristan Leavitt
By Dan Gephart, June 6, 2022 When And Now a Word With … last talked with Tristan Leavitt, the word “corona” evoked visions of a weak mass-produced beer not a virus that would eventually take the lives of more than a million Americans. And the Merit Systems Protection...
How to Lose a Cook Case – Excessive Absence Removal Requirements Under the New MSPB
By Deborah Hopkins, May 31, 2022 When an employee is too ill to come to work on a regular basis, it puts the agency in a difficult position: wanting to work with the employee and grant leave in hopes they will eventually recover, but also needing someone to complete...
The New Board Offers a Lesson on Conduct Unbecoming
By Deborah Hopkins, May 9, 2022 As new cases start coming out of the MSPB after its 5-year wait for a quorum, cases containing lessons with broad applicability to Federal agencies are still few and far between. But a recent decision, involving an appellant’s removal...
Ask FELTG: If an employee with a disability can perform his job at the worksite, why would telework as a reasonable accommodation be necessary?
It wouldn’t be necessary, though the agency could still choose to grant telework as the accommodation if it wanted to. EEOC guidance suggests that the employee’s preference on accommodation should be considered, but ultimately the agency gets to choose the...
And Now a Word With … OPM Director Kiran Ahuja
By Dan Gephart, April 25, 2022 A key milestone in the Biden Administration’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility efforts passed by quietly last month, as the deadline passed for agencies to submit their DEIA strategy plans to the Office of Personnel...