Separating a Probationary Employee With Hours to Spare
The Department of Homeland Security cut it perilously close when it decided to terminate a probationary employee a few hours before his probation expired.
The Department of Homeland Security cut it perilously close when it decided to terminate a probationary employee a few hours before his probation expired.
Two former employees at a Marine Corps base in Georgia have pleaded guilty to receiving bribes resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to the United States government.
The MSPB appears to have thrown a seminal decision into doubt in second guessing a deciding official who had considered the “Douglas Factors”.
In a reversal of 30 years of precedent and, arguably the view of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the MSPB has changed its case law on an Agency’s obligations in removing employees when the employee refuses a directed reassignment. The author points out that this Board appears on a mission to limit agency discretion despite history and precedent.
The Supreme Court has broadened the circumstances under which agency can be sued under the Federal Tort Claims Act for so-called “intentional torts” committed by federal law enforcement officers, making those officers less likely to face suits against them in their personal capacity
Will a person’s behavior change when getting a written reprimand? The author analyzes the disciplinary process and offers suggestions for those who may be involved in a disciplinary situation.
In a recent case, FLRA appears to play fast and loose with the statute to retain its ability to decide whether or not a union proposal was an “Appropriate Arrangement”. While the Authority found four proposals non-negotiable, it did so apparently to retain control of such outcomes rather than address the Agency’s argument that the proposals were permissive. For practitioners, it’s worth a read.
The author says that most of the time, managers should not deny FMLA requests, but he says there are some rare instances when it is prudent to do so.
When Federal employees publicly act out, there’s generally a call for immediate action. As with most things Federal, it’s more complex than it should be. Over the last 100 years (almost exactly), Congress has passed numerous laws that complicate and make the accountability process difficult and time consuming.
The author says that the MSPB is making the process for taking disciplinary and adverse action more complicated and legalistic.