December 2018 Federal Employment Law Training Group Newsletter
Senior Status
Radio station WTOP in DC uses a line I can relate to: “News and weather on the eights.” It seems that my life has had news and weather on the eights, as well. In 1948, I was born on Boxing Day, right after Christmas. In 1958, my parents bought their first house, where I grew up and they lived until they died. In 1968, I had my first federal job, a summer Congressional intern on Capitol Hill. In 1978, the Civil Service Reform Act was passed, the basis of my life’s work. In 1988, the great state of California foolishly awarded me a passing score on my bar exam. In 1998, I was promoted to Chief Counsel to the Chairman of MSPB. In 2008, Ernie Hadley and I converted FELTG from a tiny non-profit organization into the behemoth juggernaut of a training company that it is these days. And it is today near the end 2018. The civil service is in flux, the political tides are a changin’, and Deb Hopkins is now a better lawyer than I ever was. Time for me to take my rest. It has been a wonderful ride. Attention in the FELTG Nation! Ms. Hopkins has control of the ship. I stand relieved.
[Hopkins note: We won’t let Bill get away that easily. He has graciously agreed to continue teaching the world-famous MSPB Law Week, and we’ll see if we can convince him to occasionally make an appearance elsewhere.]
How to Save the Merit Systems? Whitaker-ize!
By William Wiley, December 18, 2018 Oh Lordy, we’re about to lose the civil service. Way back in 1883, Congress created a federal civil service based on merit instead of patronage. The protector of that merit-based civil service has evolved over time and today is...
Who Says AWOL is NBD?
By Deborah Hopkins, December 18, 2018 A couple of weeks ago, I was teaching a class to supervisors. The topic was discipline. We were discussing AWOL and how serious an act of misconduct it is to just not show up for work, and that, in some instances, a single...
Restock Your Manager Toolbox in 2019
By Dan Gephart, December 18, 2018 When my son decided to move from South Florida (a place he’d lived his whole life) to the Northeast last winter, the wife and I bought him everything he would need for the ice, snow, and bitter temperatures that he was sure to face....
Tips From the Other Side, Part 12
By Meghan Droste, December 18, 2018 One common theme in a few of my articles this year has been timeliness, such as the timely filing of formal complaints and the timely completion of investigations. One key question in all timeliness issues is: How do you calculate...
How Do You Solve a Problem Like a Breach?
By Meghan Droste, December 18, 2018 This month’s earworm comes to you from The Sound of Music. Although not a seasonally relevant film, it has been stuck in my head for weeks. That’s why when I read this month’s recent case, I thought of the song “Maria.” In the song,...
Get Off the Pot
By William Wiley, December 18, 2018 As our readers know, we strongly advocate that supervisors use the legal tools of civil service due process when confronted with an employee who is not doing his job. In our training, we describe the tools available to supervisors...