Ask the Lawyer received the following paraphrased question from a reader on a legal matter that may be of interest to the entire audience. Q: Good evening, I am an SSA employee. I have been on medical leave and exhausted all my annual leave and sick time. My manager has informed me they have no choice but to charge me absent without leave (AWOL). I will submit medical documentation to continue my leave without pay (LWOP), but my question is: Should I go to work on even without my doctors authorization? I have a pending immediate disability retirement claim at the reconsideration level and a SSA…
Any manager who has ever gone to the agency’s human resources office to get help with a problem employee has heard the question, “Where’s your documentation?” Documentation is just as important for a manager who has been or who might be accused of discrimination in an equal employment opportunity case, but there’s a twist. In the EEO arena, the manager is in a reactive mode. There are times and methods and uses of documenting in an EEO case that can significantly decrease the likelihood that a manager will be found guilty of discrimination. The fundamental difference between taking a disciplinary…
In 2010, the Ask the Lawyer column will be written by Bill Bransford, managing partner of Shaw, Bransford & Roth, P.C. For more information on Bill or the law firm, please visit http://www.shawbransford.com/. Archived columns written by Greg Rinckey will still be available on this blog in the section below.
Throwing an office holiday party can be a welcome time to boost employee morale, but be mindful of the legal pitfalls that can lurk in the holiday cheer. From the punch bowl to the dance floor, liabilities exist for you as a federal supervisor, even if the event is held outside the workplace and the workday. Take precautions to prevent harassment at your party. Work with your agency’s human resources department to ensure that all employees are well versed in your agency’s anti-harassment policies before the party occurs. The key for you as a supervisor is to know that your…
Part of your job as a supervisor is to enforce sick leave policies and procedures. And sometimes, that means taking steps to ensure your employees don’t not to abuse this benefit. So here’s what you need to know. Full-time federal employees accrue sick leave at the rate of four hours per pay period — or 13 days annually. Federal employees can carry over unused sick leave from year to year and there is no limit on how much an employee can accumulate. An employee can take sick leave when he is ill or injured; to care for an injured or ill…
As a federal manager, you are on the front line in protecting your agency against equal employment opportunity complaints under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. To prevent discrimination in the workplace, you must understand what qualifies as an act of discrimination or harassment. The category causes the most confusion is discrimination based on national origin. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, national origin discrimination occurs when equal employment opportunities are denied to an individual based on the country where he or she was born or from which his or her ancestors came. More specifically, EEOC prohibits discrimination…
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission since 1999 has required agencies to offer alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to employees as a means to resolve both formal and informal EEO complaints. But ADR techniques are an option for nearly all types of workplace disputes. Agencies can use ADR in place of more formal litigation to resolve disputes. Authorized under the 1996 Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, ADR consists of a number of dispute-solving programs generally involving a neutral third party to help the conflicting parties find a mutually agreeable solution. The most commonly used form of ADR is mediation. Generally, a trained mediator…
Many federal managers are responsible for managing a workforce that consists of both federal employees and contractors. When this happens, federal managers typically have questions about just how much management authority they have over their contracted employees. When issues arise in the workplace, it can cause concern about the federal manager’s jurisdiction in managing the complaint — especially when it comes to employment discrimination complaints lodged by a contracted employee against a member of the federal workforce. The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) rules and regulations applicable to the federal workforce do not usually transfer to contracted employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity…
Getting a security clearance is not easy. The application process includes an extensive background investigation into the applicant’s personal life. One reason your clearance can be denied is drug involvement. If there are mitigating factors, however, you might still be able to obtain clearance. Under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, any person who is an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance, as defined in the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, may not be granted access to classified information. If your application is denied, you will be issued a notice that outlines the reasons for the decision and…
One of the most difficult decisions you make as a manager is to fire an employee. First, understand that the terms “termination” and “removal” do not mean the same thing. Removal is when an employee is separated as a result of adverse action procedures, because of problems such as poor performance, misconduct or the loss of a security clearance. Removals also extend to cases involving special circumstances, such as furlough or medical inability. Termination is attached to decisions involving probationary or trial-period employees, temporarily appointed employees, and employees removed due to background investigation determinations of negative suitability. Employees who are removed have appeal…