Sex and the VA Therapist
A Veterans Affairs exercise therapist at the VA medical center in Memphis lost his court appeal seeking to overturn his firing for engaging in a prohibited relationship with a patient.
Author: Susan McGuire Smith
Federal Circuit Sides With Disabled Vets on Excepted Service Positions
The Federal Circuit of Appeals has concluded that the OPM regulation on excepted service positions violates the law. It is “at odds with the statutory protections Congress guaranteed these [30% or more disabled] veterans.”
Taking Leave, Making A Movie, and Filing Appeals
A federal employee argued that her resignation was involuntary and therefore an adverse action. The case went back to court a second time after the employee, who had been working on a movie set with her husband while supposedly caring for him in his dying days, appealed the denial from MSPB.
Work Now, Grieve Later–Or Pay the Consequences
A federal employee with a record of disciplinary actions refused to obey an order from a supervisor. An administrative judge ordered reinstatement but the MSPB disagreed and upheld the removal. The case then went to federal court for a final decision.
Threat To Kill Supervisor Leads to Firing of Whistleblowing Controller
An air traffic controller became angry in a meeting and threatened to kill one of his supervisors with whom he had a history of conflict. The MSPB upheld the removal.
Those Pesky Background Checks Can Lead to Removal
Can an employee fired during a probationary period file an appeal with the MSPB if she is fired as a result of information uncovered during a background check? The MSPB said “no” and this case involving an IRS employee went to federal court.
Brandishing Gun to Students Leads to Removal–and Then to Federal Court
After boarding a school bus over the driver’s objections to confront students who hit him with an object from the bus, and then brandishing a gun for the students to see, a training tech at an Air Force base was fired. He went to federal court to try to get his job back.
Preferential Treatment of Contractors Based on Race Rejected by Appeals Court
When the Air Force awarded a contract to a business owned by an Asian-American under a “set aside” for businesses owned by minorities, a lawsuit was filed. An appeals court has remanded the case as Congress did not have a “strong basis in evidence” to conclude that “race-conscious remedial measures were necessary.
Did I Mention Those Prior Disciplinary Actions?
A federal employee did not mention a previous job “due to an oversight” although, while in the previous job, he apparently received counseling letters, reprimands, suspensions and put on a temporary probationary status. He was fired by an agency and appealed where his case went into federal court for resolution.
“Flirtatious” Behavior and a Last Chance Agreement Lead to Removal
An employee of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs signed a “last chance” agreement and waived his appeal rights in order to be reinstated as a federal employee with the agency after having been charged with using government computers for sending “obscene material.” The agency invoked the agreement several months later and fired him and another federal employee case headed to the courts.
