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.Expect More Religious Advocacy, Accommodation Requests
By Dan Gephart, October 2, 2023 During Pride Month this year, a group of employees at a tech firm were frustrated by what they deemed was their employer’s “overt” LGBTQ advocacy. The employees, members of a faith-based employee resource group, considered a walkout....
‘Consensual’ Relationships and Sexual Harassment in Wake of MSU Investigation
By Deborah J. Hopkins, September 18, 2023 About 10 days ago, news broke that Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker allegedly sexually harassed Brenda Tracy, a rape survivor whom he brought in to provide training for his players on the meaning of affirmative...
Reasonable Accommodation Requests: Have You ID’d the Essential Job Functions?
By Dan Gephart, August 29, 2023 An agency should not make a decision on a reasonable accommodation request until it determines whether the employee is “qualified,” and that step can’t be completed until the agency has identified the essential functions of the job at...
Are Complaints About Requests for Reasonable Accommodation Time-Barred After 45 Days?
By Deborah J. Hopkins, August 21, 2023 If you’re at all familiar with EEO complaints, you’re likely aware that in the Federal sector, a complainant must make contact with an EEO counselor within 45 days of the alleged event of discrimination. 29 C.F.R. §...
The Marijuana Conundrum: Illegal Federally, But Legal in Many States
By Deborah J. Hopkins, August 7, 2023 If this happened in your agency, what would you do? A District Manager, who is a member of the Career Executive Service, went to a cannabis dispensary with several of her subordinate employees while attending a leadership meeting...
In Case You Need Another Reason to NOT Issue a Letter of Counseling
By Deborah J. Hopkins, July 24, 2023 FELTG readers who’ve been around a while know how many times we have preached against using letters of counseling, caution, warning, and the like. If an agency wants to counsel, caution, or warn an employee, that is absolutely...
And Now a Word With … New FELTG Instructor Susan Schneider
By Dan Gephart, July 5, 2023 On July 26, we debut a FELTG virtual training program aptly titled No Need for Fear: A Guide to Navigating EEO Challenges for Supervisors and Advisors. This course will be taught by FELTG President Deborah J. Hopkins and FELTG’s newest...
And Now a Word With … OFO Director Carlton Hadden
By Dan Gephart, June 5, 2023 It can be quite easily argued that Carlton Hadden is the face of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Federal business. Hadden joined the EEOC in 1987 and was named the director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s...
Supporting the Deciding Official – Even if You Disagree With the Penalty
By Deborah J. Hopkins, May 22, 2023 A recently issued non-precedential MSPB case caught my attention: an appeal involving a proposed removal that the Deciding Official (DO) mitigated to a demotion. In most cases, if a DO mitigates a proposed removal, it’s because the...
Avoid Sanctions Before the EEOC
By FELTG Staff, May 8, 2023 One of the most dreaded circumstances in practice before the EEOC is for a party to be sanctioned. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, a sanction is “a penalty or punishment provided as a means of enforcing obedience to a law.” EEOC...