Read summaries of court cases and decisions that impact federal employees and retirees.
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 See how the court reacts in Schumacher v. Office of Personnel Management (CAFC No. 2014-3110 (nonprecedential), 9/15/14).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.
The Supreme Court has issued a decision siding with a TSA air marshal who was fired by the agency for revealing to a reporter an operational agency decision canceling certain air marshall missions in the middle of a heightened high jacking alert.
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.
The author cites a recent court decision in which the court ruled that email is not a viable means of certifying that an employee received a notice of FMLA certification. He says this sets a troubling precedent and describes the problems he believes the case will present for federal managers.
