It is nearly impossible to find an issue, political or otherwise, on which everyone in the United States currently agrees. And that is certainly true when it comes to vaccine mandates. The current administration has issued several vaccine mandates aimed at protecting...
Federal Employment Law
Can you lose federal retirement benefits for disciplinary actions?
If you are in trouble at work as a federal employee, one of the primary concerns you might have involves your retirement benefits. If you are facing disciplinary action or termination of employment, what does that do to your retirement benefits? For any federal...
How much does a performance review matter during discipline?
As a federal employee, you have the right to respond to any proposed discipline. This right exists largely as a safeguard against workplace discrimination. It gives you the chance to point out the flaws in a manager’s argument. For example, if you suddenly find...
OPM could repeal PIP time reduction for federal employees
The only constant in laws and policies is change, and this is as true in federal employment as it is in other areas of law. As one administration takes over for another, it tries to repeal the old and bring its own in approach. Once again, the legal landscape for...
Department of Defense clarifies rules against extremist actions
The Department of Defense (DoD) recently updated its rules against extremist activities. However, some are concerned the rules don’t yet go far enough. As the Federal News Network reports, at least one Representative has expressed concerns about the lack of data...
In divisive times, federal workers may fear retaliation for political views
Our country has been through significant stress and change in the recent past – and we have emerged more divided than ever, it seems. From the pandemic to civic unrest and violence, Americans are reeling. Add to that the controversial, dangerous explosion in heated...
Unraveling the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for the federal workforce, part 2
Today we continue our post about President Joe Biden’s September 2021 Executive Order 14043 that mandates federal employees (and contractors) to become fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus by Nov. 22, 2021. As we explained in part 1, some exceptions to the...
Understanding the federal employee COVID-19 vaccine mandate, part 1
To comply with President Joe Biden’s vaccination mandate, federal employees need to sear four dates into their memories: Oct. 11, Oct. 18, Nov. 8 and Nov. 22, 2021. On Nov. 22, all federal employees (and federal contractors) must be fully vaccinated against the novel...
Injured federal employees: focus on FECA and worker benefits
Let’s talk work-related injuries and illnesses for a moment as an intro to today’s blog. And let us focus specifically upon the prolonged and unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and its ravaging effects on broad-based work realities. The blowback from the virus has been...
MSPB speaks out on employers’ documentation duties
The Merit Systems Protection Board is a federal agency with impressive scope and powers. In a nutshell, notes an authoritative legal source on employment law and workers’ rights, the MSPB is tasked with “protecting the integrity of the federal merit systems and the...
