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: In 2008, I moved from a GS-12 to an NSPS YA-2 in the Department of Defense (DoD), which, I was told, was a lateral transfer.  Now I am being told, four years after the grade conversion, that this was a “new hire” for my department and not a lateral move, so I am suddenly a GS-11 step 9. While not a loss in current pay, this greatly caps my earning…

In the sometimes mysterious and illogical world of government employee ethics, one rule that has limited but serious implications is the rule that prohibits certain senior personnel from contacting their former agencies for one year after leaving federal service if that contact is made with the intent to influence. The penalty for violating the rule is criminal prosecution. In determining whether a problem might exist, think about the intent to influence in the terms of it being permissible to meet an old friend from the old office for lunch, so long as there is no discussion about your new private-sector…

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 I choose the return day to the job after a Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) Reinstatement Order? During the Removal Proposal period, my agency forced me to return to work after two weeks of sick leave. Two hours after I returned to the office after the Removal Proposal period, the Deciding Official ordered me to go home until further notice, which lasted for more than two months. He had…

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 a less qualified non-supervisoral federal police office (acting sergeant) bump a more qualified supervisorial police officer off his shift? Don’t position descriptions mean anything? A: This is a hard question to answer without knowing more. What does your union contract say? How clear was the management direction? At least on the short form, management could override a position description. It’s not necessarily a good long-term practice, but it also…