As a federal civilian employee, you enjoy various rights, protections and avenues of due process. The author says there is no better time to exercise these rights and protections than when facing a disciplinary matter that could affect, or possibly end, your federal career.
A common situation involving agency misinformation can arise when a federal employee is told that he or she can withdraw his or her contributions and can later redeposit retirement contributions after departing federal service and when he or she reaches retirement age. The author explains the details of this misconception.
A retired federal employee killed his wife. Should the sons of the former federal employee receive the lump-sum payment from his annuity or should the son of the retired federal employee’s wife receive the money? The MSPB decides.
Since the Federal Labor Relations Authority was inoperative for all but the last week or two of 2013, the most significant cases for practitioners were decided by the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Federal Courts.
A decision from the MSPB may result in an award of as much as two million dollars in back pay, benefits, attorney fees, and retirement enhancements.
The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) announced two Senior Executive appointments at MSPB headquarters.
Federal Agency advocates, attorneys, HR advisors and adverse action decision makers should make a point of reading the MSPB’s new report titled Clean Record Settlement Agreements and the Law. The report identifies the pitfalls involved in making deals with employees in which the Agency agrees to expunge negative information from an employee’s record in return for a resignation.
MSPB announced on 11/8/2013 that it planned to change the way it adjudicates jurisdiction claims by altering its regulations. The Author suggests that anyone involved in appeals before the Board should read this article and respond to the Board’s request for comments by practitioners. As a part of its effort, the Board has prepared a useful chart called Elements/Issues in MSPB Appeals that is worth reading.
MSPB has published statistics on case handling for the last two years. The numbers for cases before Administrative Judges are remarkably consistent, while full Board cases appear skewed in a different direction. The author suggests advocacy would benefit from some Board studies on the basis for decisions and departure from precedent if indeed such is the case.
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued an important decision limiting review of federal agency decisions on an employee’s eligibility to hold a sensitive position even when it does not involve access to classified information.
