Author Shaw Bransford & Roth

Shaw Bransford & Roth

Shaw Bransford & Roth provides legal representation on a wide range of employment and federal employment law issues. For more information visit us at: http://www.shawbransford.com

Q: I am CSRS, FAA, 55, and fully eligible to retire. If there were to be a memo proposing disciplinary action (something serious like an adverse action as a huge suspension or removal), is there anything that prevents me from just retiring at that time? Or can my retirement papers be denied and I get fired? I have no disciplinary past. A: A proposal to suspend or remove a federal employee is just that: a proposal. The agency is required to grant the employee a reasonable amount of time to respond, both in writing and orally, to the proposal, and…

Q: In November 2013, I sent my local US Representative a Privacy Act Release and with a letter, I asked him to send to OPM for a letter regarding my retirement.  I did not receive a response to that letter.  I subsequently sent him additional letters to send OPM.  In these letters to OPM, I specifically stated for them to send all correspondences to me regarding my retirement.  I had been trying to get OPM to issue decisions on the type of retirement and other annuity issues.  I know once you received a decision from OPM you only have 30…

Q: Are disciplinary actions, such as letters of warning, carried over once you are converted to permanent status from a term status position? Or are you afforded a clean slate? A: Letters of warning (and letters of counseling) are not considered disciplinary actions.  That being said, the purpose of a letter of warning is to inform employees of what the agency’s rules and policies are on a given matter, and to inform the employee that if the rules are violated in the future, an actual disciplinary action could be taken.  In the future, if you are accused of violating the…

Q: Can a federal employee plead the 5th rather than say “I didn’t do it” or “I don’t know” in an interview with the Office of the Inspector General or management? A: In an interview, you can state that you do not remember, or that you do not know the answer to the question whenever that answer would be truthful, but it must be the truth. Regarding your question about when you have a right to remain silent pursuant to the Fifth Amendment, the Fifth Amendment states that:  “No Person . . . shall be compelled in any criminal case to be…

Q: I’ve been waiting three weeks for a Department of Defense (“DoD”) DOS Security Clearance/Secret. Is this a normal amount of time? A: Three weeks is not an unusual length of time for a Department of Defense (“DoD”) security clearance adjudication. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (“IRTPA”) of 2004 required the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (“ODNI”) to annually report on the processing times for security clearances through February 2011. As part of its IRTPA Annual Report for 2010, the final and most recent ODNI issued under IRTPA, ODNI reported the average initiation, investigation, and adjudication processing…

Q: My supervisor asked me for a doctor’s note that includes the time I arrived at the doctor’s office and the time I departed the doctor’s office on the day of my scheduled appointment. Am I required to provide this information? A: Office of Personnel Management regulations on sick leave permit agencies to require employees to submit administratively acceptable evidence. Generally, an employee’s self-certification can serve as administratively acceptable evidence. But, agencies can require a doctor’s note or other medical evidence for absences in excess of three days or after placement on a leave restriction letter. Employees should consult their…