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Q: Can my finance management affect my security clearance? A: One of the Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Eligibility for Access to Classified Information, Guideline F, is based on financial considerations. A short sale can have a negative impact on your FICO score. Thus, a short sale could be a factor in a security clearance adjudication, but does not necessarily mean you will lose your clearance. It depends on other factors, including a pattern of financial irresponsibility and avoidance of financial responsibilities. You should seek advice from an attorney and your security officer. This response is written by Maria N. Coleman,…

Q: I feel like I’m being retaliated against for my EEO complaint. What are my rights? A: When a federal employee is retaliated against by his or her supervisor for filing an EEO claim, for otherwise participating in the EEO process, or for opposing discrimination, they may have a right to file a complaint and utilize the EEO process in order to investigate, and possibly remedy, the harms suffered via a supervisor’s retaliatory acts. Although trivial annoyances are not actionable, retaliatory treatment that is reasonably likely to deter protected activity is unlawful. A federal employee has 45 days from the…

Q: Our supervisor has two family members working in our office, at least one of whom she helped to get a job here.  Last year, the three of them received nearly $5,000 in awards which is a very large percentage of our office’s award budget.  What should I do? A: It seems like your supervisor and her family members received a large portion of the available award money in your office.  This does not necessarily mean there is misconduct – I do not know how many employees are in your office, who decided how to distribute the award money, or…

Sounds like easy advice, right? When confronted by an agency investigator regarding your conduct, the natural tendency however, is to deflect, divert, downplay or deny. But doing so, almost always, will result in a more severe penalty than if you simply admitted to the conduct — in its truest and most complete form. Why is that? Because back in 1998, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decided that a federal agency may discipline an employee who lies or lacks candor to the agency regarding alleged employment-related misconduct, including falsely denying the offense, such that the agency can discipline the employee not…

Q: Does a discrimination claim need to list a reason for alleged discrimination? A: Yes, an EEO discrimination claim must list a basis for the alleged discrimination in a complaint of discrimination. The laws enforced by the EEOC (such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), Rehabilitation Act of 1973) make it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or disability. It is also illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a…

Q: I have maintained my security clearance for over 10 years. I was recently hired for a position which required a Top Secret/SCI clearance. About five years ago, I had some back pain while visiting a friend’s home. I was offered a pain reliever and I took it. I found out afterwards that the pain reliever was prescription. This only happened one time. When asked on my SF-86 clearance form if I had ever taken prescription medicine without a prescription, I was unsure of how to answer, so I said no. I disclosed what happened in my interview, though. There…

Q: Can I include prior acts of harassment in my EEO complaint alleging a hostile work environment? A: According to 29 CFR § 1614.105(a)(1), complaints of discrimination should be brought to the attention of the EEO counselor within 45 days of the date of the matter alleged to be discriminatory, or with respect to personnel actions, within 45 days of the action ‘s effective date. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that an individual alleging a hostile work environment will not be time-barred if all acts constituting the claim are part of the same unlawful practice, and at least one…

Q: About 3 months ago, I filed a records-amendment request with a VA hospital, asking them to remove certain information. Under the federal statute, the hospital was required within a certain number of days to acknowledge in writing its receipt of my request and either make the requested corrections or explain its refusal to do so and permit and permit administrative review of the refusal. The hospital’s response was grossly out of the required time frame.  Do I have cause of action for statutory damages? A: You may have a cause of action for any agency’s failure to timely respond…

With the legalization of marijuana for recreational use by the states of Colorado and Washington, and the growing number of states (and the District of Columbia) that have legalized the drug for medical purposes, there’s discussion among the federal workforce wondering how this affects them. What I typically hear is: “if it’s legal for me to smoke marijuana on vacation in Colorado, how can the federal government come after me for it?” The answer is quite simple. Since 1970, marijuana has been a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act and it remains so today. That means any…

Q: Can a federal employee preclude retirement when they reach the maximum retirement percentage in order to prevent a former spouse from receiving their court ordered annuity apportionment? A: Yes, if you keep working, then you will not be a retiree, and thus will not receive an annuity.  If you are not receiving an annuity, then your former spouse will not receive the court ordered portion of the annuity.  Unless you are in a position which has a mandatory retirement age, you can continue to work even after you “max out.”  However, you should keep in mind that court orders…

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