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.
How much is your career as a federal employee worth? A Senior Border Patrol Agent was fired for shoplifting about $96 worth of goods.
The Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has run out of patience with a frequent litigant. In a case involving the Social Security Administration, the court revoked this plaintiff’s privilege of filing without paying filing fees and dismissed his 44 pending cases.
An employee at the Department of Education said she could not afford a legal filing fee of $250. She avoided the filing fee based on her representation of not having any substantial assets. The judge was unhappy when, according to the court, she underestimated her assets by more than $562,000. Case dismissed.
A male applicant selected for a job at the Library of Congress had his job offer rescinded when he told the agency he would be starting the new job as a woman.
A federal engineer was going to be fired after giving false information. The agency agreed to let him retire. He then lied on his retirement application and was indicted. OPM terminated his retirement annuity as he did not meet the age requirement. A court finds the settlement agreement could not prohibit the agency from reporting misconduct to the appropriate authority for prosecution and he does not have a case.
The author looks at the legality of some of the media’s questions regarding Governor Sarah Palin and how these compare to EEOC guidance on the “Maternal Wall.”
“Drill here, drill now” has become a political hot topic as gas prices have been soaring. One argument against drilling: The oil companies are not even drilling with existing leases. A decision from a federal appeals court finds that the government reneged on off-shore leases off the California coast and kept the companies from exploring and tapping off-shore resources. The government has been ordered to pay more than $1.1 billion to the leaseholders.
If an agency cancels an employee’s leave that had been approved, should the agency be liable for the employee’s expenses? An agency and a union agreed to such a provision but it was disapproved by by the agency as being outside the agency’s duty to bargain. A federal court has agreed with that position.
An Air Force Air Traffic Control Specialist was fired for not maintaining a certification required by the agency. A court upholds the agency’s right to set requirements, despite the former employee’s assertion that the requirement was “patently unfair.”
