The future ain’t what it used to be.” As we move deeper into the Presidential campaign cycle, we have to admit that Yogi Berra was onto something there. This past year saw a significant frontal attack on some of the foundational aspects of our civil service, at least in words. And 2016 and 2017 stand to be the Big Opportunity for those words to be put into law, depending in large part on who is elected as our new Supreme Leader come November. Current political players will start positioning themselves for a new (private sector?) job, political player wannabes will be betting on winners and losers in the elections, brushing up their connections with the incoming administration folks, hoping to be picked as one of the two new members at MSPB, perhaps (or perhaps not) as the new Special Counsel, and maybe a reshuffling of the three-card deck over at FLRA. Yes, the gloss on the civil service is scheduled for a do-over this year and next. But here at FELTG, we’ll continue to stay the course, providing advice and training for you wonderful ladies and gentlemen who actually do the work of government, regardless of who becomes your next benevolent overlord. You will soon have to hang new agency-head pictures in your lobby, but your go-to group for employment law training will remain the same. We might not be as eloquent as Yogi, but we’re working on it. “You can observe a lot by just watching.” Priceless
