Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: I am a division chief and my employees requested a desk audit to determine if their grade levels were appropriate. After the third party auditor determined their grades were correct, I provided a rebuttal, as I believed the auditor did not have all of the facts. My employees are moving forward with EEO complaints. My office director had been identifying HR as rejecting the grade increases but the HR person…
Monthly Archives: May, 2011
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: As part of my duties I am expected to telework on occasion during off duty hours. I am permitted to telework when OPM grants “unscheduled telework” status and was approved by my director. However, my executive director denied my request, and I am classified as a non-bargaining unit employee. What are my options? A: Non bargaining unit employees can use the administrative grievance procedure to raise issues such as those…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: My local human resources officer denied my LQA when I transitioned from a contractor to a federal employee after it was offered and promised to me. Should I have an attorney look over my case? A: Living quarters allowance or LQA entitlement is based on Department of State regulation and generally designed to enhance the recruitment of U.S. citizens to work overseas. Whether you qualify depends on whether you meet…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: Are federal employees allowed to file class action lawsuits against the federal government or individual lawmakers for recent proposed legislation at the federal employee’s expense? A: Anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason. The real question is whether the lawsuit will survive a motion to dismiss. Most likely, a lawsuit such as you describe would be promptly thrown out. Bill Bransford is managing partner of Shaw, Bransford & Roth,…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: I am representing my mother in an EEO complaint. As her representative, can I request copies of the documentation she submitted to her supervisor regarding her medical leave? A: Your mother is entitled to information the government maintains in a file with her name on it. She can designate you as her representative to receive that information. It is unclear to me that you have received that status as her…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: Can any GS lower grade level supervise a GS-12 supervisor? Where, in OPM regulations, does it say non-supervisory personnel can supervise a supervisor? A: I don’t know the specific situation well enough to comment specifically. However, there is nothing in OPM regulations that prohibits an agency from temporarily designating someone in a nonsupervisory position as a supervisor. I have also seen rare situations where a lower graded employee is designated…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: Is it legal for one federal employee to get a temporary promotion over another if the individual who received the promotion does not have as much experience and has never been in the acting GS-15 position, while the other employee has? A: Yes. There is a merit promotion plan at your agency that governs this. The selected does not have to be the most experienced employee. The merit system envisions…
The Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, affords rights and protections regarding individuals’ information that is maintained by the government. It is important to federal employees because it allows them to see and challenge job-related information held by their employer. In some ways, the Privacy Act is a protection against defamation of a federal employee’s good name. The government — or a supervisory official acting within the scope of his employment — cannot be directly sued for libel or slander. But, under the Privacy Act, a federal employee can seek to have a materially erroneous record corrected and can seek…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: An agency filed a suit and on FLSA overtime pay for hundreds of miscoded employees that should have been coded as non-exempt. Only dues paying union members received monies from the settlement. Is there any recourse for non-union members? A: There is a principle labor law called “the duty of fair representation. The union is obligated to adequately represent both dues paying and non-dues paying members. You may be able…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: My supervisor wants to reassign his executive assistant to another position, and reassign another staff member to perform the duties of his executive assistant. The executive assistant is not aware of the reassignment and the other staff member does not want to be reassigned. Can management reassign her without her consent? What recourse does she have? A: She can file a grievance. In the meantime, she will have to follow…