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 current GS-14 Supervisory IT Specialist and recently served as the acting Section Chief (GS-15) for 180 days when my boss left our branch for another position. My Branch Chief says I am not entitled to a temporary raise for the vacant position due to a lack of funding. Am I entitled to a temporary promotion for the period that I acted in the vacant position role? They…

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: Another administrative officer in my agency has far less responsibilities than I have and is a GS-11/12. I am a GS-09. We perform essentially the same functions but my responsibilities are considerably more complex and expansive. My supervisor and his supervisor submitted an upgrade request but our in-house classifier said that my position should remain a 9. What steps can I take to challenge this? A: You can file a…

A common personnel practice when dealing with a problem employee is to offer the employee the chance to resign with a “clean record” before the disciplinary process starts. An employee who receives such a warning, even a warning after the formal process begins, may decide it is better to resign rather than having a removal on the record. This is not always the best idea. There are significant differences in the coding that goes on Standard Form 50 (SF-50), Notification of Personnel Action, based on your job status and your point in the disciplinary process. If you know you are…

Contrary to popular opinion, federal employees can be fired and often are. Sometimes the process is a nudge out the door so the employee receives the message and acts on it before formal action is taken. There are no statistics on how often this happens, but it is probably more common than the traditional disciplinary actions that occur. Other times the message is delivered more subtly. For example, a supervisor used to dealing directly with superiors and then with a clear chain of command to subordinates suddenly finds the higher-ups bypassing him and going directly to the subordinates without informing him.…

Administrative leave, unlike sick leave and annual leave, is not specifically mentioned in statute or regulations governing federal employee benefits. It comes from two sources: Administrative leave that is excused absence because of a natural disaster or other temporary and short-term need to be away from the workplace. Administrative leave that applies to a specific federal employee who has come under scrutiny because of misconduct or some issue related to a security clearance. If government offices shut down because of snow or an event like Hurricane Sandy, employees in the affected region will be on administrative leave with some exceptions.…

Being disabled is the one protected category of illegal discrimination that any of us can join on any day and without notice. When someone becomes disabled, disability discrimination can occur in two ways. First, the agency might openly overreact to the disability and treat an employee adversely even if the disability poses no hindrance to the employee’s ability to work. The second and more common means of disability discrimination is the failure to provide a reasonable accommodation so that the disabled employee can continue to work. Since July 2007, every federal agency has been required to have a procedure for…

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 promoted from a GS-07 position to an NSPS position. Upon conversion from NSPS to GS, I was given a GS-09 position in September 2010. In October 2011, I was notified by my supervisor that I had been erroneously converted to the GS-09, and steps would be taken to revert me back to a GS-07 position. This caused me to incur a debt which has been ongoing. To date,…

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 registered dental hygienist. Civilians in my group were recently required to complete a 7-hour training. I am in direct patient care for eight hours every day and my management will not adjust my patient workload to accommodate the training. In the two months since we received notification that we had to complete the training, I have managed to find some time during training days and staff meetings,…

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 worked outside my GG-13 080 Security series (supervisory) for eight years and performed 1101 Program Management (supervisory) work during this time. I don’t have an 1101 coded position because I was told there were no billets. Our Directorate is not reorganizing and I am being asked to step down from my position with responsibilities that include supervising five civilians and program management of a 220M contract. For 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: After getting to my third level manager, I recorded him saying that if I continued up the chain of command, I would pay dearly and that he would make it happen over and over. After being sent 50 pages of information and supporting documents, the Office of Special Counsel did not want to hear the tape and rejected my case. Is there another route? A: There is not enough information…