The Vaughn Law Firm

New Disclosure Rules Challenged

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:13:00 +0000

The Senior Executives Association is asking Congress to repeal several provisions
of the recently-enacted STOCK Act that impact SES members as well as some other
senior careerists and political appointees.

One of the provisions requires those who file publicly accessible financial
disclosure forms to report within 30 days of certain financial transactions,
rather than annually. SEA said that such a requirement would be burdensome and
that those who use financial advisors or account managers might not receive notice
of the transactions in time to report it as the law requires.

The other provision requires agencies to post those disclosure forms, which are
due by May 15, online by August 31; eventually, those forms are to be put in a
central database that will be searchable by the public. Such broadened disclosure
violates the spirit of the Privacy Act, could endanger employees serving abroad who
would come under easy scrutiny by foreign interests, SEA said. Further, supervisors
"could be subject to unwarranted personal scrutiny by their subordinates, causing
tension and problems in the workplace."

The confidential disclosure forms of more than 300,000 other employees won't have to be
posted on agency sites. They are to be put in the central database when that is
operating—probably not until late next year at the earliest—but the public still won't
have access to those forms.

**** Source Article: http://www.fedweek.com/item-view.php?tbl=3&ID=4478 ****

Army Launches Developmental Program

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:00:25 +0000

Army Launches Developmental Program
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The Army is accepting applications for its new Senior Enterprise Talent Management (SETM)
program, designed to prepare civilian employees to assume positions of greater responsibility
through advanced senior-level educational and experiential learning opportunities.

The program consists of four parts: 

* The Enterprise Placement Program is open to GS-15s, or equivalent employees, who apply and
are selected as Army Enterprise Employees. Army Enterprise Employees are slated for
consideration for placement into positions across the Army that will broaden their skills and
prepare them for greater challenges.

* SETM-Temporary Duty is a short-term developmental assignment program for GS-14/15s, or
equivalent employees. Participants are temporarily assigned to work on a special command-nominated
project as part of a working group or to fill a "critical need" detail for a period not to
exceed 179 days.

* Senior Service College is open to applicants in grades GS-14/15, or equivalent employees,
who compete for allocated seats at the US Army War College or the Industrial College of the
Armed Forces. Attendance at SSC is designed to expand the participants' knowledge of the
national security mission, understanding of complex policy and operational challenges faced by
senior DoD and Army officials.

* The Defense Senior Leader Development Program is a two-year program designed to develop the
enterprise-wide perspective needed to lead organizations' programs in the joint interagency and
multinational environment. This includes attendance at another service's Senior Service College,
leadership seminars and a follow-on developmental assignment.

More information and application procedures are here: https://www.csldo.army.mil/CTMO/CTMOIndex.aspx

**** Source Article: http://www.fedweek.com/item-view.php?tbl=3&ID=4475 ****

Budget Provisions May Resurface

admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:29:15 +0000

The budget outline for the upcoming fiscal year that the House passed last week is not expected to even reach a Senate vote, but its provisions may yet be enacted as part of separate bills to come. The measure assumes a 10 percent employment cut over four years through a partial hiring freeze, continuation of the salary rate freeze for three more years and increasing employee contributions to retirement by about 6 percent of salary. The plan differs greatly from proposals made by the White House, which proposed a 0.5 percent pay raise, a net increase in jobs of about 2,400, and an increase in employee contributions toward retirement of 1.2 percent. During voting, the House rejected several alternatives: one from Democrats that assumed a raise would be paid and no changes in benefits, and one from Republicans that called for a less generous retiree COLA formula and a voucher system for FEHB premiums that would shift more costs to enrollees. Such provisions could be attached to other bills in order to produce savings to offset other costs, a strategy Congress already has pursued several times this year.

***Source Article: http://www.fedweek.com/item-view.php?tbl=6&ID=7739 ***

Threat of Discipline Found to be Reprisal

admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:09:00 +0000

On December 16, 2011, the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations (OFO) issued its decision in Malekpour v. Department of Transportation, EEOC Appeal No. 0720100016. OFO upheld the administrative judge’s finding that threatening Malekpour with discipline for refusing to mediate claims associated with his EEO complaint constituted EEO reprisal.

Malekpour was an aerospace engineer working for the Federal Aviation Administration. Malekpour had a workplace dispute with a coworker in October 2007, an issue which he amended into his preexisting EEO harassment complaint. On December 17, 2007, an agency manager approached Malekpour and asked him to attend a mediation to attempt to resolve issues relating to the October 2007 incident. Malekpour refused, stating that he did not want to resolve any issues relating to his EEO complaint at this mediation, that he did not want to jeopardize his EEO complaint by participating in the mediation, and that management was attempting to force him to attend mediation so that he might drop some of the matters related to his EEO complaint. In response, the manager yelled to Malekpour, and threatened to discipline him for refusing to attend the mediation. The mediation never occurred, and no discipline was imposed on Malekpour. Malekpour later amended this incident into his preexisting harassment complaint.

An EEOC administrative judge rejected most of Malekpour’s claims, but found that the December 2007 incident constituted retaliation against Malekpour for his protected EEO activity. As a remedy, the administrative judge ordered the agency to pay $3,000 in compensatory damages to Malekpour for emotional pain and suffering. The agency rejected the administrative judge’s decision and appealed to OFO.

On appeal, OFO affirmed the administrative judge’s decision. OFO upheld the administrative judge’s finding that Malekpour had engaged in protected EEO activity by filing a harassment complaint against the agency. OFO affirmed the finding below that management’s public humiliation of Malekpour and threats to discipline him for refusing to attend the mediation could deter a reasonable employee from protected EEO activity. Thus Malekpour had suffered a harm which could give rise to an EEO reprisal claim.

Although the agency had articulated an alleged legitimate reason for its conduct (claiming that the mediation was to resolve workplace issues and not under EEO auspices and that Malekpour was being berated to get him to attend a team-building conference), OFO found that excuse to be pretext. OFO specifically noted the testimony showing that that the manager’s threat to discipline Malekpour came after Malekpour had specifically cited concerns over not wanting to mediate his EEO claims. OFO further affirmed the amount of compensatory damages awarded by the administrative judge and affirmed the administrative judge’s findings of no discrimination for the rest of Malekpour’s claims.

***Source Article: http://www.fedweek.com/legal/showItem_legal.php?ID=7704***

Promotional Opportunities Lie Ahead

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:25:29 +0000

Mid-level federal managers may have better than usual opportunities for promotions into the SES in the years ahead, with 35 percent of SESers currently eligible to retire, 53 percent eligible to retire in three years, and 64 percent being eligible to retire within the next five years. The data, gathered by the Partnership for Public Service, showed that agencies with at least 40 percent of SESers being currently eligible include Agriculture, Education, HUD, Interior, Labor, State, VA, NRLB, NSF, SBA and SSA. About 70 percent of senior execs are in the Washington, D.C. area. It also noted that only 7 percent of senior execs are hired from outside government, 11 percent were graduates of SES candidate development programs, while the rest were hired from inside the government but not through such programs.

***Source Article: http://www.fedweek.com/showItem.php?ID=7695***

EEO Complaint Changes Planned

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:13:48 +0000

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently approved final rules to improve the federal sector complaint process. The rules were first published December 21, 2009, for a 60-day notice and comment period, and more than 35 comments were lodged with the EEOC.

Of special interest to federal employees is a provision directing agencies to notify complainants of their right to request a hearing 180 days after they file a formal complaint of discrimination (or up to 360 days if the complaint has been amended), even if the agency has not completed the mandated EEO investigation. While all complainants already enjoy the right to request a hearing 180 days after filing a formal complaint, many pro se litigants are unaware they can request a hearing even where the agency has failed to issue a timely Report of Investigation (ROI). Complainants also may not realize they have the right to request a finding in their favor, or “default judgment,” if the agency fails to issue the ROI within 180 days.

While the rule does not explicitly require the agency to notify the complainant of the possible default option, once the complainant files the hearing request, the EEOC will issue an order directing the agency to release the file, thus setting the stage for a default.

Another proposed rule is less favorable to complainants, however. The change would allow agencies up to 120 days to provide any relief ordered. The current rule requires compliance in 60 days.

The new rules will likely take effect in June or July of this year. After the closing of the agency comments period effective today, the proposed rules will be referred to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. OMB approval is expected within 90 days; the EEOC has one last opportunity afterward to consider the requested changes before finalization and publication in the Federal Register and on the EEOC’s website.

***Source Article: http://www.fedweek.com/showItem.php?ID=7694***

Higher Contributions Hit Only Future Employees, For Now

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:20:53 +0000

A newly enacted law to increase federal employee contributions toward retirement affects only employees newly hired after this year, but current employees still could be facing an increase through other action. Under a Social Security/unemployment insurance bill passed late last week, employees newly hired into the government beginning in 2013 will have to pay 2.3 percent more of salary toward the civil service portion of their FERS retirement benefit (unless they have at least five years of prior federal service on hiring). The current FERS civil service retirement contribution is 0.8 percent of salary, meaning the contribution for them will be 3.1 percent. Like current FERS employees, the new hirees also would pay the standard Social Security tax. The new law would among other things continue through the rest of this year the reduction in that tax from 6.2 to 4.2 percent of salary. That benefits federal employees who pay into Social Security through the FERS and CSRS Offset systems, but not those in standard CSRS, who don’t.

***Source Article: http://www.fedweek.com/showItem.php?ID=7675***

Veteran Hires Highest in 20 Years

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:05:58 +0000

According to a statement from OPM, in FY 2011 the federal government hired the highest percentage of veterans in over 20 years.

President Obama created the Veterans Employment Initiative to spur hiring veterans by helping federal agencies identify qualified veterans, clarify the hiring process for veterans seeking employment with the federal government, and help them adjust to the civilian work environment once they are hired.

“It’s working,” said OPM Director John Berry. “The President’s Council on Veterans Employment established and pursued aggressive goals, and for our veterans, meeting those goals means jobs that serve the American people and help sustain the growth that supports the propriety and leadership in the world. I’m proud of the Council’s success in keeping these highly trained and experienced individuals working for our nation, particularly the over one million who served in Iraq.”

According to OPM data, veteran new hires were 28.5% of total hires in FY 2011. That represents an approximately 4.5% increase over the FY 2009 total of 24% and an approximately 2.9% increase over the FY 2010 total of 25.6%.

If you or someone you love is a federal employee who needs legal representation, please contact the federal employment lawyers of the Vaughn Law Firm at 877-615-9495.

*** Source Article: http://www.fedsmith.com/article/3218/veteran-hires-highest-20-years.html ***

Postal plan: Slower delivery, 28,000 jobs lost

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:37:29 +0000

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) — The U.S. Postal Service on Monday announced a $2.1 billion cost savings proposal that would result in the end of next-day service for regular mail and the loss of about 28,000 postal worker jobs.

The financially troubled agency officially proposed the change to its regulator, changing its national standard for regular first-class mail — mail that requires a 44-cent stamp for the first ounce — to two to five days from the current one to three.

The measure is tied to a plan to slash hundreds of mail processing facilities, which would mean that 28,000 postal workers could be out of a job by the end of next year.

Officials say the move is necessary to preserve the future of the U.S. Postal Service, which is on the brink of insolvency. The changes are being proposed to address an estimated 47% drop in regular mail expected over the next 10 years.

Regular first-class mail tends to pay most of the U.S. Postal Service’s bills, according to Postal Service Network Operations Vice President David Williams.

“We can’t sit back and wait for another 6 to 10 years to make these changes,” Postmaster Patrick Donahoe said.

If the Postal Service gets its way, regular mail would no longer be delivered the next day as early as April. And most of the 250 mail processing facilities on the list would be closed next year.

Why Congress can’t save the Postal Service
Right now, consumers on average receive regular first-class mail the day after it was mailed, according to the Postal Service. After the changes, first-class letters that used to arrive the next day, would now take about two days. And letters that used to arrive within two days would take three days or more, Williams said.

“We have to make this change for the postal service to become financially viable,” Williams said.

The proposed rules are not a big surprise. The postal service asked for public comment in September on “eliminating the expectation of overnight service” for regular mail.

But the moves could have a major impact on consumers, especially those who still use the mail to pay their bills.

The Postal Service has racked up $5.1 billion in debt this year and faces a deadline to make another $5.5 billion payment to its health care retirement fund on Dec. 18.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate are working on different bills to save the postal service.

The talk of the impending cuts to service and jobs hasn’t gone over well in Congress so far.

UPS ups rates
Rep. Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, was so angry about the news of cuts he suggested in a House floor speech on Monday that “this so-called postmaster general should be fired because of a lack of any imagination or initiative,” especially when it comes to laying off postal workers.

“One hundred thousand people laid off! Oh, that’s just what we need in America today — let’s lay off 100,000 people. Great idea!” DeFazio said on the House floor, referencing a related plan by the Postal Service to shrink its work force by 120,000 jobs by 2015.

The Postal Service can’t cut jobs in those numbers unless Congress gives it the power to break union contracts.

Sen. Tom Carper called the proposed cuts to mail plants and the slowdown of regular mail “less than ideal.” But without congressional help, the Postal Service has been forced to “take matters into their own hands,” said Carper, a Delaware Democrat who runs the Senate panel that oversees the service.

House Rep. Darrell Issa, a California Republican, said the postal service has known they’ve needed to reduce mail processing operations since 1964.

“Had USPS acted earlier, savings could have almost certainly been achieved without any impact on service,” Issa said. “USPS needs to embrace comprehensive reform legislation to return to solvency.”

Cutting back on next-day delivery of regular first-class mail would help make the mail processing system more efficient, postal officials said.

Right now, the Postal Service runs mail processing equipment about six hours to six and a-half hours a day, on average, Williams said. The goal is to run the equipment 16 to 20 hours a day, Williams said.

But, the cuts are quite controversial.

As a part of the cost-savings plan, Postal Service proposed in September to cut 252 mail processing plants. Generally, they’d like to bring the number of mail processing facilities down to under 200 from the 463 that exist today.

Since that September announcement of possible closures of mailing facilities, the agency has already closed 26 that were not on the list of possible closures.

Unions have opposed any moves that degrade the quality of mail service and, as a result, lose customers. They’d like Congress to solve the agency’s cash crunch by relieving it from the burden of having to make multi-billion dollar payments to a fund for future health care retiree benefits.

The postal service and the unions are deep into negations on union contracts, which are scheduled to expire on Dec. 7. Both postal officials and unions say those contracts may include some cost-cutting measures.

***Source Article: http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/05/news/economy/postal_service/index.htm***

Postmaster General Predicts a Decade of Losses from Current Postal Reform Bills

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:00:04 +0000

In a speech delivered Nov. 21 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe encouraged Congress to step back and take a second look at postal reform legislation as currently drafted in the House and Senate.

Providing his first public commentary on postal reform packages, Donahoe argued for providing the Postal Service with a more flexible business model that would enable the Postal Service to quickly implement cost cutting measures. “Unfortunately, both bills have elements that delay tough decisions and impose greater constraints on our business model. Taken as they are, they do not come close to enabling cost reductions of $20 billion by 2015 – which they must do for the Postal Service to return to profitability.”

“If passed today, either bill would provide at best one year of profitability, and at least a decade of steep losses,” said Donahoe. “However, by taking the best of both the House and Senate approaches, Congress can provide the Postal Service with the legal framework and the business model it needs.”

The Postmaster General expressed his gratitude for the strong leadership and engagement of the Congress and the Administration in advancing reform legislation, and expressed confidence that an effective solution would be enacted. Both HR 2309 and S 1789 were introduced earlier this year to respond to an urgent liquidity crisis and to address long-term structural constraints in the Postal Service business model.

Throughout its recent fiscal crisis the Postal Service has advanced proposals that would allow it to operate more as a business would, with greater flexibility to quickly reduce costs and respond to a dynamic marketplace for mailing and shipping services.

The Postal Service is seeking changes in the law that would provide it with the authority to: determine delivery frequency; develop and price products quickly; control healthcare and retirement costs; rapidly realign mail processing, delivery and retail networks; operate under a streamlined governance model; and leverage its workforce with greater flexibility.

Within the constraints of its current business model, the Postal Service has aggressively cut costs, reducing the size of its workforce by 128,000 career employees and annual operating expenses by $12.5 billion over the past four years.

“America needs a Postal Service that can operate more like a business,” said Donahoe. “I have no doubt the Postal Service will endure as a great American institution. But to do so, we need to operate with a great business model.”

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

If you or someone you love is a federal employee who needs legal representation, please contact the federal employment lawyers of the Vaughn Law Firm at 877-615-9495.

***Source Article: http://www.fedsmith.com/article/3198/postmaster-general-predicts-decade-losses-from.html***