Win the War But Not the Battle
A Customs employee took his removal to arbitration and got it mitigated to a reprimand. The arbitrator refused, however, to grant attorney fees and the appeals court has now upheld that refusal.
Court Cases
Read summaries of court cases and decisions that impact federal employees and retirees.
2013: An Interesting Year for Federal Cases
Since the FLRA was inoperative for most of 2013, the most significant cases the MPSB and the Federal Courts.
Two Wives, One Husband: Who Gets the Survivor’s Annuity?
One can almost detect the appeals court’s exasperation with the Merit Systems Protection Board and the Office of Personnel Management as it sorts out this tangled mess involving one deceased Forest Service employee, two surviving spouses, lengthy state court litigation, and an effort by OPM to make one of the women reimburse annuity payments she received erroneously-even though she had already paid them over to the other spouse.
EEOC Meets English Common Law
The author analyzes a recent case involving the EEOC which is being hailed as an important decision against what he calls “over-zealous prosecution by government entities.” He says it is evidence that adoption of a legal system under which the losing party pays the other party’s legal fees would be beneficial.
MSPB Orders USPS to Reinstate Green Beret Removed in 2000
A decision from the MSPB may result in an award of as much as two million dollars in back pay, benefits, attorney fees, and retirement enhancements.
A Resignation Is a Resignation
An employee scored a big settlement with the IRS but tried unsuccessfully to challenge the agreement’s requirement that she resign by a date certain. Her play to set the resignation aside as involuntary did not get far.
Hot News for 2014: D.C. Circuit Slams FLRA Appropriate Arrangements Decisions
In a January 3, 2014 decision, the Federal Circuit stated: “As explained in this opinion, by adopting two inconsistent interpretations of the same statutory language, the Authority has acted arbitrarily and capriciously”. This deals the FLRA, only back in operation since mid-December, a stinging rebuke on arguably its most extensive political tool, the determination as to what is or isn’t an “appropriate arrangement.”
Bigamy Gets an ICE Employee Fired
An enforcement officer found himself in hot water when caught being married to two women at the same time and allowing a third woman and her child to use his federal health benefits plan as his wife and stepdaughter. See how the arbitrator and the appeals court ruled.
You Snooze, You Lose
Another divorced spouse fails to dot the I’s and cross the t’s and finds herself without a survivor’s annuity from her ex’s federal pension.
Take This Job and…
A letter carrier got a little too bullish in dealing with unpleasant working conditions at the agency and now finds he is out of a job. Read how.
