For years, the Department of Veterans Affairs has been accused of routinely retaliating against whistleblowers. The problems prompted President Trump to issue an executive order last year creating the VA's Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection last...
Month: April 2018
OMB director defends proposed pay freeze as a strategic decision
President Trump's 2019 budget proposal included a pay freeze for federal workers during the federal fiscal year and slow the pace of step increases. It also documented the administration's intention to rely on "pay for performance" to determine federal workers'...
Feeling pressure to retire? It may be age discrimination.
Age discrimination is an issue that can affect any workplace.Although there are many forms of age discrimination, one example is widespread and quite shocking: Employers pressuring older employees to retire.The conduct may be subtle or more straightforward. The...
Federal employees may face long waits for EEOC decisions
Last year, the average time a federal employee waited for a resolution of an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint was 543 days. The reasons include a large backlog, a shortage of funding, perhaps a lack of leadership -- and the #MeToo movement, which has...
TCJA changes federal workers’ reimbursement for job relocation
There is an apparently unforeseen consequence of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that affects federal employees who have been reassigned. Under previous law, when federal employees relocated for their jobs they could deduct certain travel and moving expenses. Those...
US Rep apologizes for failing to protect employees from threats
U.S. Representative Elizabeth Esty (D - Conn.) has apologized for her failure to protect female staffers who claim to have been threatened and harassed by her former chief of staff. She has also abrogated a nondisclosure agreement signed as part of his...