Defending Against Proposed Discipline:

As a federal employee, you are guaranteed, in most cases, certain procedural rights before a disciplinary action can be taken against you. A federal agency's disciplinary process generally permits you to advanced notice; a right to present a written reply and/or an oral reply; typically a minimum time frame of seven days to respond to the charges with your reply; and a period of thirty days before the disciplinary action can be implemented.

If you believe that you have been wrongly accused, or if you believe the proposed penalty is too harsh, you should address the issue through your reply in a professional manner. Your efforts at the reply stage can help to avoid costly litigation needed to overturn the discipline.
 

Defending Against Performance Based Actions:

The arrival of an unacceptable performance rating can signal the beginning of a long road toward a performance-based action. The poor evaluation is often followed up with a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Failure to succeed in your PIP, through not demonstrating successful performance, can mean the end of your career. The agency cannot take an unacceptable performance action against you, however, until it has warned you and given you a chance to improve. During this period, the agency is required to provide you not only with encouragement but also with assistance and training. The agency's expectations for you during the PIP must be explicit. Although you will have the right to correct the performance deficiency, you should not await the completion of the PIP to consult an attorney. Although the PIP is non-grievable unless it is implemented because of some unlawful purpose, i.e. discrimination or retaliation, you should consult an attorney to ensure you are making the proper efforts to survive the PIP.Failure to survive the PIP, i.e. obtain a successful rating, can mean one of two things - removal or demotion. Your job is too precious to ignore this serious weapon that is often wielded recklessly by agencies. Removal may be proper at the end of the PIP when the agency decides that your performance in one or more critical elements is unacceptable. If you have been placed on a PIP, make sure your rights are protected during the PIP. Our attorneys have represented clients in removal actions throughout the country.
 
 
Grievance Representation:

For bargaining unit employees, generally, your unions will take the lead to present a grievance of an agency action adverse to you. However, if the union is unable or unwilling to assist in internal grievance matters, we can assist you. When the matter that is properly the subject of a grievance is also properly the subject of a discrimination complaint, your election to file a grievance may preclude you from filing an EEOC complaint. Our attorneys can assist you and consult you in making a proper election of forums to hear your complaint, assist in settlement negotiations, and  represent you throughout grievance procedures.
 
 
Appeals to the Merit Systems Protection Board:

The Merit Systems Protection Board (the Board) is an independent administrative agency that functions as the court system for federal employees who have been disciplined. The Board was created to ensure that all Federal Government agencies follow federal merit systems practices.

Generally, the Board has the authority to hear discipline cases involving suspensions of fifteen days or greater, demotions, denials of within-grade increases, denials of disability retirement applications, and other disciplinary actions up to and including removal. If discipline has been imposed, knowledge of the unique laws and rules governing the federal sector is essential to properly present an Appeal to the Board and litigate the matter through a hearing.
 
 
Discrimination Complaints Before the EEOC and U.S. District Court:

Our attorneys represent federal employees through the EEO process, beginning in the informal counseling stage, during the investigative process, throughout the Administrative Hearing process, in the United States District Courts, and, ultimately, in appeals to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and United States Appeals Courts. We have successfully litigated discrimination cases throughout the country.

If you have been discriminated against on the basis of your age, race, religion, gender, national origin, an actual or perceived disability, or some other recognized basis, you must preserve your rights in a timely manner. You may need to act quickly, usually within forty-five days of a discriminatory event, to timely initiate EEO counseling so that you can properly assert an EEO complaint. Agencies are notorious for dismissing otherwise legitimate claims due to the fact that the complaint was not filed in a timely manner. We are available to assist you in any stage of the process from EEO counseling, to the formal Complaint, to the hearing and/or trial stage.

Discrimination on the Basis of Disability:

The Americans with Disability Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in all employment practices. An individual with a disability under the ADA is a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. Major life activities are activities that an average person can perform with little or no difficulty such as walking, breathing, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning, and working. An employer is required to make a reasonable accommodation to a qualified individual with a disability unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business. An employer also cannot treat someone differently, i.e. discriminate, because of that person's disability.

If you believe that you are a qualified individual with a disability and that you have been discriminated against based upon your disability, our attorneys possess the experience necessary to ensure that your rights are no longer violated. Please contact our office so that we may assist you. 
  
Complaints to the Office of Special Counsel:

The Office of Special Counsel is an independent Federal Agency with the authority to address, among other matters, complaints of prohibited personnel practices. A prohibited personnel practice, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 2302, is a personnel action taken for a prohibited reason. Prohibited actions include:

* Discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, race, or religion;
* Discrimination on the basis of individual conduct unrelated to workrequirements, suitability, or fitness;
* Use of a recommendation for personnel action when the recommendation is not based on personal knowledge or an evaluation of job-related factors;
* Coercion to participate in political activity and/or reprisal for the individual's refusal to engage in the political activity;
* Obstruction of or deception with respect to an individual's right to compete for employment;
* Improvement or impairment of an individual's employment prospects by inducing another to withdraw from competition for a position;
* Improvement or impairment of an individual's employment prospects by granting an advantage or preference unauthorized by law, rule, or
regulation;
* Nepotism;
* Reprisal against whistleblowers, as defined by statute;
* Reprisal against individuals who exercise appeal rights, testify for or assist others in covered appeals, cooperate with or disclose information to an Inspector General or to the Special Counsel, or refuse to obey an order that would require the individual to violate a law;
* Actions that violate rules or regulations implementing or concerning merit system principles identified in 5 U.S.C. 2301.

If you believe you have been the victim of one of the above prohibited personnel practices, you may have a right to file a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel. Potential avenues to redress being the victim of a prohibited personnel practice include, in the simplest form, a letter from your attorney insisting that the practice cease and desist. In the
alternative, grievances or complaints to OSC may be the recommended course of action. Our attorneys can assist you in determining the appropriate course of action and assist in presenting your claims to the OSC for investigation and prosecution.

i. Reprisal Against Whistleblowers:

A whistleblower is an employee who exposes government abuse, fraud, mismanagement, and waste. Reprisal is an action that is designed to punish an employee for exercising his or her rights or designed to deter an employee from exercising those rights. Although the law prohibits an employing agency from retaliating against an employee who makes these protected disclosures, often the law is ignored and employees are subjected to retaliatory acts ranging from minor personnel decisions to removal.

The firm works with employees to properly channel complaints through the Office of Special Counsel, to request stays of transfers, suspensions, or removals, and to represent you in the investigative process and Individual Right of Action Appeals to the Merit Systems Protection Board.

ii. Whistleblower Retaliation Complaints and Individual Rights of Action Appeals:

An Individual Right of Action (IRA) is a statutorily defined right to an appeal made directly to the Merit Systems Protection Board and is availableto employees who have previously filed whistleblower complaints with the Office of Special Counsel. If the personnel action taken against you is not within the Board's regular appellate jurisdiction, you must first seek corrective action from the Office of Special Counsel before you can appeal to the Board. The process is sometimes overwhelming and confusing.
 
Disability Retirement and Other Retirement Issues:

You qualify for disability retirement if you have been employed for at least five years or eighteen months, depending on your retirement system, and have a medical condition that prevents you from effectively performing at your current grade or pay level. Even if your medical condition pre-dated your employment, you may still be eligible for disability retirement if you became disabled as a result of the disease's progression. You can apply to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for disability retirement at any time before separation from service occurs and up to one year after separation.

We can assist you in this application process, in obtaining doctors' reports and compiling your medical records for submission to OPM. If OPM's initial decision is a denial of your application, you must first complete the internal OPM appeal procedure. This procedure includes submitting a request for reconsideration along with any additional evidence of disability. If OPM's final decision is another denial, then you have the right to file an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board.

Our attorneys have represented hundreds of clients before the MSPB. Our experience can assist you in obtaining the benefits you deserve.
 
Other Retirement Issues:

Involuntary retirement is treated as a removal. If your work environment was so intolerable that you felt your only choice was to retire, then you may be the victim of this adverse action, known as a constructive discharge. The Merit Systems Protection Board has held that to establish that a retirement was involuntary due to duress or coercion, the employee must show that one side involuntarily accepted the terms of another, the circumstances permitted no other alternative, and the circumstances were the result of coercive acts of the opposite party.

An example of an action that may constitute an appealable constructive action is an unwarranted accusation of misconduct that could lead to removal. Moreover, actions taken by the agency that result in intolerable working conditions, including a retaliatory forced reassignment or transfer for an improper purpose, may result in and create an appealable action.

If you feel as though you were, or are being, forced to retire and you believe that your work environment was, or is, so intolerable that a reasonable person in your position would feel compelled to retire as well, then you may have a case against your agency, and may be able to regain your job.
 
Security Clearance Issues & Suitability Issues:

For Law Enforcement Officers and various other federal employees, a security clearance is a prerequisite to employment. If your security clearance issuspended or revoked, your employment will most likely be impacted and you may even be terminated. Additionally, every federal employee must go through a suitability determination and background check. In the event of an adverse suitability or security clearance finding, you will need assistance in guiding you through the agency's internal processes for contesting and appealing adverse security clearance rulings and suitability determinations. You cannot afford to take lightly the internal processes because the security clearance revocation is generally not appealable on the merits to any outside administrative or judicial forum. The determination of your right to a security clearance is generally limited solely to the agency's internal procedures. Adverse suitability rulings can be processed through the Merit Systems Protection Board.