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: Section 1113(c)(1) of The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2010 requires that no employee shall suffer any loss of or decrease in pay due to conversion from NSPS. Does this apply if, while on NSPS, the employee received a management direct reassignment and was compensated for their performance with base salary increases? My leadership informed me that I was not entitled to pay increases I received during my…

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 was a GS-13 and accepted a promotion in August 2006 to NH-04 under the Acquisition Demo civilian management system. NH-04 was a pay band of GS-14 through GS-15. Later on, I was put into the NSPS as a YA-03 which had the same pay band as a NH-04. The primary reason I accepted the promotion and the job was because of the chance to earn up to GS-15 Step…

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 application for federal employment was rated ineligible because my resume did not state hours worked per week at each job. I had the title, location and the month and year I started and the month and year I left the position. Can they rate me ineligible because I did NOT state hours worked per week in each position on my resume? A: What is unclear is whether the job…

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 2011, I requested accommodation of an electric stapler due to carpal tunnel syndrome and also started occupation therapy. It took five months for the agency to agree to the request and then the therapy failed since I was doing the same repetitive tasks. I now have to take off work for surgery. My question is whether I could be paid for my time off work under workmen’s compensation. A:…

For years, advocates have argued that federal-sector whistle-blowers lack meaningful protection. This is primarily because of decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit — the court that reviews Merit Systems Protection Board decisions — limiting the definition of what it means to be a whistle-blower. For example, under current law, you are not a whistle-blower if you merely point out wrongdoing to your misbehaving supervisor. Also, if your job requires you to report wrongdoing and you just do your job, you are not a whistle-blower. Thus, in both of these examples, an employee who reports wrongdoing…

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 true that federal agencies give 15-minute grace periods to employees? Also, is it considered harassment or an unlawful employment practice to have the Administrator Office (not my supervisor) harass me about my leave and alter my time and attendance records without my permission or knowledge of the situation without proof other than word of mouth or her own observations? A: With respect to your first question, there is…

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 have a grievance with my agency and my Union invoked arbitration on June 2010. After 18 months of waiting for a hearing, the agency cancelled the hearing three days before the date of the hearing. They attempted to settle, but what was offered was an insult to my intelligence. I have not communicated with my Union in any way since Nov. 2011, and today I was emailed a settlement…

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 ex-husband retired in 2011. When we got divorced in 1999 there was a court-ordered benefit that I receive 50 percent of any retirement benefits when he retired from federal service. My share should have been paid to me directly by the Office of Personnel Management. All the documentation for the court ordered benefit has been filed with OPM. When I first called, they told me that his pay 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: How is seniority determined within the federal civil service? A: “Seniority” as a concept applies mostly to what unions and management have worked out in a collective bargaining agreement. There is also some limited reduction in force applicability. But, for the most part, “seniority” in and of itself does not result in special entitlements. Bill Bransford is managing partner of Shaw Bransford & Roth PC. Disclaimer: Ask a Lawyer publishes…

Most federal employees, including all of those in the General Schedule, have a position description. Have you ever looked at yours? Does it accurately describe what you do? Does it leave out important duties or describe your work in terms less significant than what you actually do? Does it matter? Employees in the GS system are subject to a rigid and somewhat mysterious classification system that actually does rely heavily on the position description. The result of an analysis of the position description contents determines both your job series and your grade level. So, the answer to the last question…