By Kimberly H. Berry, www.berrylegal.com We represent federal employees in Office of Personnel Management (OPM) disability retirement filings and appeals.  Federal employees, in both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) are eligible for disability retirement should the need arise. In order to be eligible for this type of retirement, CSRS employees generally must have completed five (5) years of federal service and FERS employees must have completed 18 months of creditable service. Basis of Disability Retirement for Federal Empl ..read more

By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com We represent and advise federal employees in the filing of Office of Special Counsel (OSC) complaints against their federal agencies and federal supervisors involved in such complaints. A number of issues can arise when an OSC complaint is contemplated that should be considered by a federal employee before proceeding. This article is a short summary of the OSC complaint process. What Does the OSC Investigate? The OSC principally investigates 2 types of cases brought by federal employees: (1) complaints involving prohibited personnel practices by fede ..read more

By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com It is important that federal employees faced with a performance improvement plan (PIP) consult an attorney as soon as possible. The longer that a federal employee goes forward in the performance improvement process, without legal representation, the more difficult it may be for an attorney to assist that individual later in the process. When federal employees fall below expected standards, they may be placed on a PIP. A PIP usually begins following a poor performance rating. Performance Improvement Plans The use of a Performance Improvement ..read more

By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com Our law firm represents federal employees in proposed disciplinary cases. This article discusses the response process for federal employees when they received a proposed disciplinary or adverse action. Types of Proposed Disciplinary and Adverse Actions Most proposed disciplinary or adverse actions for federal employees are of two types: (1) proposed suspensions or demotions; and (2) proposed removals. Depending on the type of proposed disciplinary action, a federal employee can have varying legal defenses. Click to the next page to see a descript ..read more

By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com Federal employee use of government computers and workplace internet is fairly common at federal agencies. As a result, there are many times when federal employees get into disciplinary trouble involving their use of workplace computers or the internet. It is generally advised that federal employees avoid using federal agency computers and/or workplace internet, even where permitted, wherever possible. Many future problems can be avoided by taking this approach. The most frequent problems that arise for federal employees in this area involve: (1 ..read more

By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com This is an article regarding the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) mediation process for federal employees. Our law firm represents federal employees in discrimination, harassment, retaliation and sexual harassment cases before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and in individual federal agency EEO offices. Many retaliation, discrimination or sexual harassment cases that are filed through the EEO process go through mediation, but each has slightly different processes and procedures depending on the federal agency involved. This articl ..read more

By Melissa L. Watkins, Esq., www.berrylegal.com If you are a federal employee and believe that you are regularly asked to perform duties that are outside the scope of your grade, job series and title, there is a path to address such an issue. The procedure is referred to as a “desk audit” or a classification appeal. A desk audit is simply a process where the duties and position of a federal employee are evaluated to determine whether the employee’s position should be upgraded in terms of grade, pay level, title or classification series.  Prior to a Desk Audit – Ensuring Accuracy of Positi ..read more

By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has just issued new proposed regulations to rescind many of the prior Administration’s federal employee rule changes. The changes by OPM were those put into motion earlier this year when the President revoked Executive Order 13839 by signing Executive Order 14003. The President, in Executive Order 14003, directed OPM to suspend, revise, or rescind actions implementing Executive Order 13839. OPM’s new rules will likely be fully implemented as soon as the short comment period is over.  Th ..read more

By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com One of the more common issues that arise in the context of security clearance investigations for federal employees is the issue of illegal drug usage and/or inappropriate prescription drug usage for federal employees. This issue is regulated by Adjudicative Guideline H for those federal employees holding or seeking a security clearance. This article discusses the issues that many individuals face with respect to drug usage and their security clearance. Illegal drug use and abuse can be a major factor in maintaining or obtaining a security clearan ..read more

By John V. Berry, Esq., www.berrylegal.com There are two parts to a federal employee’s disciplinary case: (1) whether the federal employee committed the offense charged; and (2) if they committed the offense, what should the penalty be? One of the most significant issues in defending a federal employee in disciplinary cases involves arguing for mitigation of the penalty in a disciplinary case.  Arguing for mitigation generally means that we argue for the application of the Douglas Factors in attempting to mitigate (or reduce) disciplinary penalties issued in a case. The Douglas factors, i ..read more