Q: I work at the Pentagon. There are many signs that say something along the lines of “all those entering the building consent to be searched.” What are the limits of that? This morning, Pentagon police with surgical gloves were conducting pat down searches of random people. While I don’t mind walking through a metal detector, I do have an issue with someone laying hands on me. A: The majority of the time, entry screening at the Pentagon will consist of less invasive methods: walking through a metal detector or having hand-carried items searched, for example. However, at times when…

Q: What do you do when a contractor creates a hostile work environment for a federal employee? Should the federal employee file a complaint with the contractor’s company? A: As a federal employee, it is the federal government which has an obligation to keep you free from a hostile work environment. If you wish to file a complaint, you should file any complaint you have with your agency’s EEO office. The contractor’s company also may take action on its own, for example by distinguishing your complaint and subsequently  transferring or firing the employee. This response is written by Michael S.…

Q: I was divorced in 1995 after my retirement from the U.S. Customs Service and ordered to leave my ex-spouse as beneficiary of my survivor benefits but that the court would retain jurisdiction to revisit after my remarriage. My ex has remarried, but I do not know when. I have remarried and I am seeking a way in which I may make my current spouse beneficiary to the survivor benefits. Is the original order valid with OPM? If so, how many I seek modification allowing me to choose my beneficiary? A: If the original order has been approved by OPM…

If you follow decisions from the Merit Systems Protection Board, you may have seen that, last year, the board issued three decisions in the case of Mary A. Miller v. Department of the Interior. This case involved the removal of a national park superintendent in Alaska who did not work under a mobility agreement, and who declined a geographic reassignment and was subsequently terminated from her employment for her refusal. In each of the three board decisions, it reversed the agency action finding that the agency failed to carry its burden of proof that the reassignment was for a bona…

Q: If someone has retired from federal service and they are convicted of a crime, will they lose their pension? Do they have to inform the Office of Personnel Management of the fact that they were convicted of a crime. A: If you are no longer federally employed or maintaining a security clearance, you are generally not obligated to inform OPM of a post-retirement conviction. Being convicted of a crime almost never jeopardizes a federal pension – the rare exception to this rule for federal civil servants is the list of crimes codified at 5 U.S.C § 8312. Those charges almost…

Q: Can I resign (not retire) and withdraw all my CSRS retirement funds? A: It depends. Prior to October 1, 1994, federal employees entering retirement could receive a payment equal to the value of the contributions they made to the retirement program over their careers as a single, tax-free lump sum payment, with annuity payments then reduced. But now, this “lump-sun option” exists only for federal employees who have conditions resulting in a life expectancy of less than two years and who are not taking disability retirement. This response is written by James P. Garay Heelan, associate attorney of Shaw Bransford…

Q: I am a federal government employee with over twenty years of exceptional performance in the Department of Defense. I was verbally attacked by my supervisor. He got in my face while I was sitting down and he began yelling and pointing his finger in my face. When I reported the incident to higher leadership, it was ignored. They even attempted to remove me from the work space I have occupied for many years. It wasn’t until I filed an EEO complaint regarding the abusive hostile work environment that they moved my supervisor from the office we shared. However, my…

Q: I have a question regarding the adverse action v. protected activity time period. Is the protected activity only the filing of the formal EEO complaint or can it be activities after, such as mediation, prehearing, etc.?  A: I assume that you are referring to the inference of retaliation than can be created by the issuance of an adverse employment action (e.g. a proposed removal action or bad performance appraisal) to an employee shortly after that employee engaged in protected EEO activity. While the EEOC has not identified many discrete “protected activities,” the federal courts have acknowledged “protected activity” to…

Q: Can my agency ask me for information about how I am related to someone when I put in for sick leave to care for that person? A: Yes. When a federal employee requests sick leave to care for a family member, the employer agency may require the employee to document his or her relationship with that family member. But practically, this requirement is not very limiting, as the definition of “family member” in this context is broad and includes even “any individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family…

Q: For the first time in my 26 year career, I am facing a dismissal for misconduct from my agency. Rather than resigning without a job prospect in sight, I am trying to see if I can retire. I am 50 with 26 years of service in the FERS system. Is it possible to retire in response to a proposed removal, or do I have to be offered retirement through a buyout? A: No, while there are special exceptions for federal employees who have spent their careers in particular types of positions, 5 U.S.C. § 8336(d)(2) generally requires federal employees…