Which candidate would readers prefer to see as the Republican nominee for President? The last time we surveyed readers was in February and Rudy Giuliani came in first. This time, a newcomer to the race finished first. There is also a much stronger showing for a candidate who has done well in the recent debates.
TSP participants are sitting back and watching their returns grow each month. Here is a summary of the biggest winners.
An Army EEO manager was erroneously issued a travel check and told not to cash it. But she cashed it and told the agency she had not received it. The official was fired and argued on appeal that it was her first offense so she should be able to keep her federal job. The court didn’t buy the argument.
Sometimes agency policy decisions can create a strong emotional reaction from the public.
All of the baby boomers will be long retired before we have a solution to this crisis that is supposedly going to be brought about by their retirement. Perhaps agencies should be looking seriously at a career development program that can be implemented at a local level and that does not require an Act of Congress.
A fired Postal Service worker claimed discrimination based on her military service. But, as the Administrative Judge pointed out, she had not been in the military. The fired fed did not see that as a problem limiting her appeal rights but a court took a different approach.
The Dept. of Veterans Affairs has a new policy that bans employees and volunteers from being involved in a flag folding ceremony with religious overtones. The new policy has overturned a long-standing tradition, infuriated veterans, and reduced the role of religion in burial ceremonies at national cemeteries. The new policy memo is not available and was “not meant for public distribution.”
Federal law addresses the removal of a career civil service employee for treason and for unacceptable performance in detail. Discipline for other reasons isn’t so clearly spelled out. This article shows a path through the maze of Federal rules governing discipline for managers who do not do this every day.
Does an order of the Merit Systems Protection Board supersede a collective bargaining agreement? A Postal Service employee, who had been demoted and suspended, contended the agency had an obligation to put him into a position that would have violated a union agreement. The Board and a federal court ruled the agency was not required to violate the union agreement.
Performance appraisals are becoming more important to federal employees as pay for performance plans expand. What appraisal techniques work and which ones do not? Absurd performance standards can result if an agency does not pay close attention to how they are being written. Here are suggestions from an expert in the area of writing performance standards.
