January 2022 Federal Employment Law Training Group Newsletter
2022 is the Year of DEIA
Welcome to the new year, FELTG Nation. I am so thrilled to announce a brand-new feature on our website that enhances the site’s accessibility. When you visit www.feltg.com, click on the accessibility icon (on the left, here) on the bottom of the screen and you’ll have the opportunity to change font size, colors, justification, focus, and more. The site will remember your selections from now on, so happy scrolling as you check out all the training, resources, and news we are offering in 2022.
With the continued Federal government emphasis on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA), we have more than just a highly-accessible website for you this year. Classes on avoiding EEO reprisal for vaccine exemption requests, EEO counselor training in the new normal, current challenges with COVID-19 and EEO, and eliminating workplace microaggressions, are just a sampling of our classes early in the new year. Our Virtual Training and Webinar pages have more.
This month, we present our annual state of the civil service, and tackle topics including performance management, leadership traits, how asymptomatic COVID-19 is NOT a disability, and more.
Take care,
Deborah J. Hopkins, FELTG President
The State of the Civil Service: 2022 Edition
By Deborah Hopkins, January 11, 2022 It's now 2022, and over the past 12 months there have been significant changes in the Federal civil service – common any time there’s a change in administration, but more so in this past year than any other year I can recall. As...
Writing Performance Narratives: It’s Time to Do Better
By Barbara Haga, January 11, 2022 For agencies that use a calendar year rating cycle, supervisors are in the throes of trying to put together performance narratives now. For some supervisors, this is the worst part of their responsibilities. Why is that? Sometimes,...
C8 Traits Provide a Road Map to Real Leadership Success
By Marcus Hill, January 11, 2022 Editor’s note: Marcus Hill presents FELTG training on leadership, EEO, supervisory challenges, and more. We’re excited to have Marcus contribute to the FELTG Newsletter. If you’re interested in having Marcus conduct training for your...
The Good News: Stop Using ‘Can’t Versus Won’t’ and Everyone Will Be Happier (Trust Me)
By Ann Boehm, January 11, 2022 Throughout almost 30 years of working in Federal personnel law, one of the mantras that bothers me the most is the one used by many personnel practitioners to decide whether an employment issue is performance or misconduct: “If the...
No, Asymptomatic COVID-19 is NOT a Disability
By Deborah Hopkins, January 11, 2022 Last month, EEOC released updated guidance on whether COVID-19 meets the definition of “disability” under the law. Which raises the question, is a person who has contracted COVID-19 a qualified individual with a disability for the...
If the EEOC Orders Training, Who Ya Gonna Call?
By Michael Rhoads, January 11, 2022 No one is perfect, and mistakes are bound to happen over the course of a career. So, what happens when a manager is found to have made a mistake related to an EEO complaint? Occasionally, the EEOC will order training for the...
2022: An Office Odyssey – The Workplace of the Future is Already Here
By Dan Gephart, January 11, 2022 Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke once said: “Trying to predict the future is a discouraging, hazardous occupation.” It’s hard to argue against the Space Odyssey series author when you read what people once predicted the...