“Serving those who serve in government”
Your supervisor says an investigator wants to speak with you about a complaint at work. You want to explain what happened, but you do not know whether the agency thinks you broke a rule. You worry that something you say might lead to discipline or even cost you your...
If you are a federal employee who recently faced discipline that felt unjust, disproportionate or simply wrong — your fight just got harder. The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), the very body designed to protect you from arbitrary agency actions, has...
Federal employees dedicate their careers to public service, often working long hours with unwavering commitment to their agencies' missions. When that dedication is met with sudden criticism and manufactured performance problems, the betrayal cuts deep. If you...
Recovering from a workplace injury should give you time to focus on healing, not leave you worrying about unpaid medical bills or lost income. Yet many federal employees find themselves waiting on the Department of Labor (DOL) to approve the medical care their doctor...
Reporting suspected wrongdoing can put you in a difficult position when a negative personnel action follows. You may wonder whether the action resulted from a legitimate workplace decision or from your decision to speak up. Federal whistleblower law provides a way to...
The details you record after making a harassment complaint can matter just as much as the complaint itself. Keeping organized records may help you show how the situation developed over time, especially if problems continue or your treatment at work changes. If you...
There are situations where a federal employee will resign because they feel they have no real choice. When an agency’s actions effectively force a resignation, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) may treat that resignation as an appealable adverse action through...
When workplace harassment at a federal agency did not stop after you reported it, that silence can feel deafening. It can make you feel that you have no other option. But that’s far from the truth. When an agency fails to protect you, the federal system still lays out...
Whistleblower retaliation in federal agencies is not always obvious. It can show up as a pattern of small, plausibly deniable actions that slowly damage your reputation, performance record and career trajectory. Because these tactics can look like ordinary management...
When a federal agency takes disciplinary action, the key question often becomes whether the evidence supports the allegations. In some cases, records, communications and witness accounts may point to a very different picture. Here are some types of evidence that may...