Over the next couple days, I want to briefly discuss the 3 major orders you will receive from your Judge in an MSPB Hearing.

They are:

1) the Acknowledgment Order;

2) the Scheduling Order; and,

3) the Pre-Hearing Summary.

There are a few other orders, but I will only talk about the big ones right now.

1) Acknowledgment Order -You will receive this order [...]

From time to time, I will review a selection of MSPB Initial Decisions. This weekend, I reviewed 52 cases in which an Initial Decision of the MSPB was issued between June 29, 2007 and July 6, 2007.

The first noteworthy point is that the MSPB issued 52 Initial Decisions in one week. That is a lot of decisions, but it’s probably about average – maybe even a little on the low side (based purely on my periodic observations). [...]

Even after you appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), your case may be dismissed for “lack of jurisdiction”. This simply means that the MSPB does not have the authority to hear your appeal.

Here are some examples of situations where the MSPB lacks jurisdiction:

The MSPB does not have jurisdiction over employees whose positions have been specifically excluded. You can see a list of 12 government “positions” that do not have the authority to appeal adverse actions to [...]

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has proposed rules to authorize the Agency to process retirement and health and life insurance applications, notices, elections, and records under the agency’s Retirement Systems Modernization (RSM) project.

The rules would affect how benefits are managed under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS), Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) and Retired Federal Employees Health Benefits (RFEHB) programs.Under the new rules, GSA employees would be [...]

July 2007 – A Dallas jury awarded an employee at a Subway Store $66,500 for lost wages and emotional harm and an additional $100,000 in punitive damages in a suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

The Americans with Disabilities Act, passed into law in 1990, prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with [...]

There is no greater feeling than being able to call a client and tell him he has been exonerated by a Judge. I had the opportunity to experience that feeling again on Friday. After a hearing before the MSPB, our client’s 30 day suspension for alleged misconduct was completely reversed by an initial decision of the MSPB.

Our client, a long time supervisor with the Department of Energy (NNSA), had been accused of being involved in the [...]

If either of these cases sounds like you, please contact the Attig Law Firm, PLLC:1) On behalf of a spouse who was a federal employee, you utilized your Power of Attorney, Durable Power of Attorney or Statutory Power of Attorney to elect your spouse’s right to an Alternative Form of Annuity (AFA).2) On behalf of a spouse who was a federal employee, you utilized your Power of Attorney, Durable Power of Attorney or Statutory Power of Attorney to file [...]

756 homers in a career is an amazing accomplishment, and it was amazing to see the home run (from my hotel room) and watch history in the making.

I hope – though I know he won’t – that Barry goes on to hit 856 home runs, to silence all the critics (many of whom never played the game) that think that anyone or anything besides Barry’s exceptional skill and talent is the cause of this record.

Congratulations, Barry!

This Washington Post article highlights another potential change in the federal workforce. This proposed change would require more federal managers to allow their employees to work from home.

This is going to be a tough sell to an entire generation of managers. Back in the day when I was a government attorney, I suggested the idea that we E-file our appeals to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). My boss nearly stroked out, suggesting that “the Agency” was [...]

This Washington Post article details some recent efforts in Congress to enhance leave options for Federal Employees who have a child, adopt a child or who have health conditions requiring treatment.

I encourage you to write to your Congressional representative and encourage him or her to back the Maloney-Hoyer-Davis proposal. In all likelihood, it probably won’t pass into law without a Democrat in the Oval Office – the son of George Bush and his administration seems to think that the [...]