Does the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) require agencies to credit military service in computing time-in-grade requirements for a military veteran who is already on the agency’s civilian payroll? See how the appeals court has answered this in a precedential decision.
A federal retiree acknowledged receiving the notice from Office of Personnel Management about the strict deadline for appealing an annuity decision, but said he should have received an extension because he put it aside and forgot about it. See how the court reacts in Schumacher v. Office of Personnel Management (CAFC No. 2014-3110 (nonprecedential), 9/15/14).
This case shows how trying to hide misconduct can end up compounding an employee’s woes.
A twenty-year employee of the Postal Service was fired stemming from misuse of the government-issued credit card. See how he made out when he took his case to court.
Illegal partisan activities triggered an Office of Special Counsel investigation and eventually led to this postal employee’s removal.
A Vietnam veteran takes on the Army to try to win a Purple Heart stemming from his combat service. See how he fared.
A retired federal employee missed the deadline to elect a survivor annuity for her new husband. She took her case to the appeals court when OPM turned her down. See if she fared any better with the court.
Applying progressive discipline, the IRS ended up firing an employee who dragged his feet every year resulting in late payment of his federal taxes.
Score this recent published decision by the Federal Circuit as a big and clear win for the fired Customs and Border Agent and his legal team. He could not convince the agency, the Administrative Law Judge, or the Merit Systems Protection Board. But that does not matter because he definitely convinced the court that he had been too harshly treated.
There are plenty of ways to mess up a divorce decree so that a surviving ex-spouse cannot claim a survivor annuity. This recent case is yet another example of what not to do.
