If you’re like most people, you know that workplace discrimination is wrong. It’s illegal, and if you’ve experienced discrimination, you might want to take action. However, few people understand what they need to prove to win their cases. The result is that too few...
Firm News
Three lessons from the reversal of an OPM employee’s removal
As a federal employee you have the right to challenge any disciplinary actions your agency takes against you. Frequently, agencies can provide enough evidence to support their decisions. Other times, employees successfully point out the flaws in an agency’s argument....
How often does the federal government fire its employees?
There are roughly 1.6 million tenured federal employees with at least two years of experience. In fiscal year 2021, agencies fired 4,040 of these employees. That amounts to roughly one-quarter of one percent of the federal government’s tenured employees. These numbers...
What are the Douglas factors?
As a federal employee, you have the right to respond to any adverse action an agency plans to take against you. There are several steps in the process at which you can respond. Ultimately, however, you want to show that you do not deserve to face discipline or that...
How should federal employees respond to proposed discipline?
Federal laws protect federal employees from unwarranted dismissals, suspensions, demotions and other adverse workplace actions. These protections exist largely to ensure that federal agencies make decisions according to merit, rather than political whims. However, you...
Election season? Time to revisit the Hatch Act!
Federal employees live between two worlds. On the one hand, you go to work every day to participate in non-partisan activities on behalf of the American public. On the other hand, you’re a part of the government. You’re more likely than your private sector peers to...
What is the Pendleton Act?
As a number of lawmakers have launched new attacks against the federal government’s civil service, some new services have turned their attention to the Pendleton Act. So, what is it? The Pendleton Act, also known as the Civil Service Act, became law in 1883. It ended...
Is it time for new labor law reforms?
The past year has been good for unions. Unions recently scored some impressive wins, as employees formed new unions at Starbucks, Amazon and Trader Joe’s. And more of the nation has started thinking positively about unions. As noted in The Conversation, unions have a...
Why is there pressure to reform the Espionage Act?
The media has focused a great deal of attention on the Espionage Act in recent weeks. This is largely due to the fact it was cited by the warrant that led to the FBI raid on Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago. But while this may be the Espionage Act’s most notable role...
Why do we keep seeing sexual harassment in the workplace?
When it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace, it sometimes seems like things never change. However, that perception is not entirely true. Instead, there are points of good news and others that aren’t so good. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...
