Announcing Emerging Issues in Federal Employment Law II

It’s that time of year when we officially announce the agenda for our annual Emerging Issues in Federal Employment Law virtual training event. The dates are April 27-30. Over 15 sessions, our talented instructors will cover the latest on the Biden Executive Orders and relevant OPM guidance, EEO-related COVID-19 issues, Paid Parental Leave, emotional support animals at work, microaggressions and bias in the workplace, and much more. Attend one session, or attend them all. Earn CLE and HRCI credits. Have fun while you learn. Early bird discounts are available.

As we contemplate a return to the physical classroom, we want to know what you think of virtual training, and what your agencies are saying about future travel. If you don’t mind participating in a brief 5-question anonymous survey on SurveyMonkey, it will help us plan the future with you in mind.

This month’s newsletter covers an important new decision undoing 40 years of PIPs precedent, how to not handle complaints of harassment, guidance for working with unions, and much more.

Take care,

Deborah J. Hopkins, FELTG President

Say Goodbye to 40 Years of Case Precedent: Agencies Must Justify PIPs

For the past 20+ years, we have taught a principle in performance cases that has been around since the beginning of the Civil Service Reform Act: An a...

EEOC Decision Details Everything a Manager Should NOT Do

When I started writing this article, I was planning to make the headline something about not being an ostrich. This seemed like a somewhat amusing way...

The Good News? ‘He Left the Job Because He Just Couldn’t Take the Union Any Longer’

I overheard an agency employee quote the headline above when explaining why a supervisor left his job for another position. The supervisor couldn’t ...

When is a Judge Not a Judge?

Perhaps you’ve heard of this issue. In 2018, the US Supreme Court caused a bit of a civil service uproar when it held that a certain group of admini...

Tips from the Other Side: It All Starts With a Good Faith Effort

This month, we continue our discussion of religious accommodations. In January, we looked at what an agency needs to do to establish that providing a ...

What Do You Charge When Someone Buys Marijuana on Duty, in Uniform?

One of the topics we spend an entire day discussing during FELTG’s MSPB Law Week (next offered virtually March 29 – April 2) is disciplinary charg...

Director of EEO Oh No! When HR Practitioners Fail to Perform Part II

This month, I’m going to focus on how an agency might deal with the situation described in last month’s column....

A Future of Dramatic Workplace Change is in the Cards

A few years back, I read that a Topps 1973 Mike Schmidt rookie baseball card in mint condition could fetch $10,000. Like me, my Schmidt rookie card di...