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.Agency Investigation Reveals Supervisor’s Improper Sexual Conduct with His Subordinate
By Deborah J. Hopkins, April 22, 2024 Have you ever thought about this: Allegations of workplace harassment are allegations of employee misconduct. It’s one of the first things we discuss during Conducting Effective Harassment Investigations (next offered April 30-May...
And Now a Word With … EEOC Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal
By Dan Gephart, April 1, 2024 The most recent addition to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has vast experience in DEIA issues, including co-authoring the Oscar ceremony-famous “Inclusion Rider” (more on that later). When Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal agreed...
When an Employee Pulls Out a Knife During a PIP Meeting…
By Deborah J. Hopkins, March 19, 2024 For over two decades, we at FELTG have preached the delicacy and strategy required when charging an appellant with misconduct that requires proof of intent. A recent case shows us how problematic this 6-letter word (i-n-t-e-n-t)...
And Now a Word With … Lindsay Laferriere of the Partnership for Public Service
By Dan Gephart, March 4, 2023 Never read the comments. This is my rule. I strongly believe in it. And yet, I broke the rule once again a few weeks ago. I can’t recall what story I was reading, although it’s a good bet it was about one of Philadelphia’s dysfunctional...
Valentine’s Day Advances Should Not Be in the Cards
By Frank Ferreri, February 12, 2024 In December, we ran a cautionary piece on the Title VII perils of taking season’s greetings a bit too far. This month's holiday raises additional Title VII concerns, albeit for different reasons. The following cases from Federal...
Does Fed Circuit Case Signal End of Singh Comparator Analysis?
By Deborah J. Hopkins, January 29, 2024 A FELTG reader recently asked whether a newly issued Federal Circuit decision overturned MSPB’s comparator analysis set out in Singh v. USPS, 2022 MSPB 15 (May 31, 2022). For those unfamiliar with the long and tumultuous history...
And Now a Word With … FCA Chairman/CEO Vincent Logan
By Dan Gephart, January 23, 2024 It’s been said many times -- and then many more times: For DEIA efforts to be successful, organizations need support from top leadership. For how that looks in the Federal sector, one needs only to see what’s happening with the Farm...
Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Teleworker AWOL When He Failed to Report to Office
By Deborah Hopkins, January 8, 2024 Numerous return-to-the-workplace mandates have been implemented at varying levels over the past year. At FELTG, we’ve received questions about an agency’s authority to require an employee to report to the office -- and what to do if...
Does it Matter if a Dog is a Service Animal or Emotional Support Animal?
By Deborah J. Hopkins, January 2, 2024 Philadelphia baseball fans may recall a few months ago when a man attempted to bring his emotional support alligator to a Phillies game. The animal was denied entrance. We’ve written about service animals and emotional support...
Year in Review: Top FELTG Newsletter Stories of 2023
By Dan Gephart, December 12, 2023 FELTG Nation, welcome to another year-end News Flash, where we reveal the two most popular FELTG newsletter stories (based on the number of reads and forwards) for each month of 2023. This is our fifth year in this format, which...