The new Full MSPB has released what appears to be a first step towards improving the protections for Federal employees who are whistleblowers.

In a recent decision, the  MSPB clarified what constitutes a personnel action in an Individual Right of Action (IRA) Appeal.  Weed v. Social Security Administration, 2010 MSPB 23 (January 28, 2010).

In that case, an applicant for Federal Employment complained that an Agency decided not to select him for a postion in reprisal for disclosures he had made in 2006 [...]

If someone told you that this was their list of medical conditions what would you think, as a layperson, of their chances for getting  federal disability retirement:

Diabetes, congestive heart failure, colorectal cancer, depression, anxiety, and sleep disorder, breathing problems due to severe obesity, unable to climb stairs, unable to walk more than 100 feet without needing to rest, no bowel control due to radiation treatment for the colorectal cancer, three heart attacks, and has been hospitalized seven times for congestive [...]

Here is a link to a great article about OPM Deputy Director Christine Griffin. Ms. Griffin is working to improve the Federal Government’s track record in hiring diverse applicants.  It appears that her focus will be on increasing diversity in Federal Government for females, Hispanics, and disabled workers.

The Federal Government is tasked, by law, with being the Model Employer for hiring and retaining and accommodating disabled employees.  However, in every year since 1994 (with one exception), the percentage of disabled [...]

OPM is proposing changes in the rules regarding maintenance of personnel files, known as Official Personnel Folders (or, OPF), for former federal employees.  Under the proposed rule change, OPM wants the OPF’s to be solely under the employing agency’s control until the worker leaves the government. Then OPM would be responsible for maintenance.  OPM also wants to change the rules to require the employing agency to be charged for requests for copies of former federal employee OPFs.

You can read more [...]

A federal employee is suing  OPM based on its denial of federal health insurance benefits.  The federal employee is a lawyer employed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. She was married in California when the state permitted same-sex marriages.

You can read more about the case on the Washington Post (Federal Diary) website.

The Attig Law Firm represents federal employees and postal workers nationwide in their disability retirement applications, disability discrimination claims, wrongful suspension and termination claims, and other [...]

There are, most definitely, more than three (3) ways that Social Security’s decision to grant a FERS federal employee or postal worker disability benefits can affect OPM‘s decision on federal disability retirement.  However, there are three significant ways that the Social Security Disability application can affect the Federal employee or USPS employee  federal disability retirement application or benefits from OPM:

1) Social Security is very, very slow in making decisions on Social Security disability applications.   OPM is slow, too, but makes decisions a [...]

One of the requirements of a postal worker or federal employees  federal disability retirement application is the supervisor statement.  In the supervisor statement, the federal employee’s supervisor certifies a number of things. One of things that the federal employee supervisor certifies in the application for federal disability retirement is that the employing federal agency is unable to accommodate the employee.

The question is often asked – how far does the Agency have to go in attempting to accommodate the Federal employee [...]

The “set-aside” rule most commonly becomes an issue in the following scenario.  Federal employees applying for  federal disability retirement through  OPM are required to apply for Social Security disability at the same time they apply to  OPM.

However, the Social Security Administration can take months or even years to issue a final ruling on entitlement to Social Security disability retirement.  When  OPM awards  federal disability retirement to a postal worker or federal employee, and that federal employee or postal worker later [...]

A recent   MSPB decision issued by the full board issued earlier this week has significant ramifications for some federal employees and postal workers who have been denied  federal disability retirement and who are currently appealing that decision to the  MSPB .

To explain the significance of the decision, a little background is necessary.  We have often mentioned in this blog and in our website, that  OPM may withdraw its decision denying  federal disability retirement while a matter is pending before [...]

A recent decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) reinforced a 2009 ruling that a Federal employee’s allegations are adequate to justify a hearing when she alleges she was forced to resign because the agency refused to accommodate her disability by allowing her to telecommute.

Generally, a federal employee’s resignation is voluntary. However, a Federal employee appealing to the  MSPB can allege that a resignation (or retirement) was involuntary. There are many basis for asserting involuntariness (misrepresentation, [...]