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Service Members’ Rules of Engagement for Valentine’s Day
By Lisa M. Windsor It’s said that love blossoms even in times of war. For the past decade, service members have had to celebrate Valentine’s Day while wars waged in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now with U.S. forces having been withdrawn …
MSPB Empowers Fed Employees Threatened or Intimidated by Customers
By Ryan C. Green, Esq. The U.S. Merit Systems Board (MSPB) recently decided a case on the constructive suspension doctrine. The decision provides greater protections for those federal employees who have been threatened or intimidated by customers and other members …
Whistleblowers Help Government Recover $2.8B in False Claims
By Mathew D. Estes Illustrating how it pays to not let others get away with cheating the federal government, the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that whistleblowers helped it net $2.8 billion in settlements and judgments stemming from …
MLK Day: Black Employees’ Gains in the Fed Gov and the Hurdles that Remain
By John P. Mahoney Martin Luther King Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the gains Black/African Americans have made in the almost five decades since the civil rights leader made his “I have a dream” speech. In the federal …
Employment Practices, Not Just Politics, Behind Mounting Hostility on Capital Hill
By Rachelle S. Young To say Capital Hill is becoming an increasingly hostile place is now an understatement, with a new report showing a dramatic increase in harassment and discrimination claims made by legislative branch employees. The number of legislative …
Giving Gifts, Receiving Trouble: Holiday Hazards for Fed Employees
By John P. Mahoney Americans are expected to spend an estimated $465.6 billion this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. For many consumers, a chunk of the average $704 they expected to spend on gifts and seasonal merchandise …
Pricey Gifts for Superiors Land Service Members on Military’s Naughty List
By Lisa Marie Windsor ‘Tis the season for giving. Service members, however, must be very careful when giving gifts to superior officers, because when such presents are too valuable they could land subordinates on the military’s naughty list. As many …
Whistleblower Reprisals Up, 1 in 4 Fed Employees Just Take It: MSPB
By Joanna S. Friedman According to a recently released U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) study, more federal employees claim they have been subjected to or threatened with reprisal for reporting wrongdoing of management in the federal government. Further, the study illustrates …
VA Can’t Say Definitively Its Nursing Homes Have Bucked Deficiencies: GAO
By Greg T. Rinckey The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs still cannot provide assurances that patient care problems identified years ago at some of its 132 nursing homes have been resolved, according to the federal government’s watchdog agency. In a …
House Passes Bill to Extend Hostile Work Environment Protections to Service Members
By Greg T. Rinckey Service members who felt vulnerable after a federal appellate court earlier this year ruled the Uniformed Service Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) does not protect them from hostile work environments now have reason to be …
OPM and EEOC Join Forces in Effort to Close Gender Pay Gap
By Corinna A. Ferrini Nearly a half-century after the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was enacted, the federal government is still scratching its head over how to close the gender pay gap in the federal civil service. Two federal agencies, …
Whistleblowers with Security Clearance Prone to Retaliatory Indefinite Suspensions
By John P. Mahoney, Esq. The agency responsible for protecting federal whistleblowers is warning that federal employees who blow the whistle and hold security clearance are vulnerable to retaliation from managers. The agency, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), cautioned …
KIA Bracelets Receive Corps Commandant’s OK
By Greg T. Rinckey The Marine Corps has backed away from a ban against bracelets honoring fallen comrades. Service members, nevertheless, need to beware that other slight modifications to their uniforms can still get them in trouble. On Oct. 18, …
OSC Seeks Smaller Clubs to Beat Hatch Act Violators
By Neil A.G. McPhie The federal agency charged with cracking down on government employees who unlawfully mix work and politics is asking Congress to cut federal employees a break. With the 2012 presidential election a little more than a year …
Federal Commissioned Officers Score Protections Against Discrimination
By Mathew B. Tully Federal commissioned officers, who seven years ago saw their protections against discrimination severely curbed, can now go on the offensive thanks to recent decision from the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Due to a loophole …
CAAF Bolsters Alleged Sex Assault Offenders’ Ability to Confront Accusers
By Greg T. Rinckey In a ruling that could have broad impacts on military rape cases involving married victims, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) ruled in U.S. v. Ellerbrock that a military judge violated …
Don’t Drop the Ball When Requesting FMLA Deployment-Related Leave
By Mathew B. Tully Federal employees have long had to juggle work, home and financial responsibilities, along with parting goodbye to loved ones, when family members were called to active duty in the armed forces. Soon, changes to the Family …
White House Takes On Diversity in the Government Workplace, Hiring/Appt. Discrimination Complaints Rise
By Mathew B. Tully Diversifying the federal workforce remains a work in progress. This point is evidenced by the Executive Order signed by President Barack Obama on August 18, 2011 (“EO 13583”). This EO is one of many passed by …
Misbehavior by a Sentinel Charge Does Not Apply to Stoners: Navy-Marine Court
By Greg T. Rinckey Congress and the president have an “I told you so” coming their way after a Marine lance corporal avoided conviction for misbehaving as a sentinel despite the fact he bought and smoked hashish while on guard …
Security Clearance Adjudicators Giveth in 2010, and Taketh Away
By Christopher Graham Highlighting how people must fight harder to obtain or retain security clearances, a new report shows that the ranks of federal employees and contractors with various levels of clearances only marginally increased or decreased in the 2010 …
MSPB: Perceived Whistleblowers Can Be Protected from Retaliation
By Ryan C. Green Perception can mean protection. That is the message the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) sent when it decided to give a former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs employee whistleblower protections as she attempted to reenter …
1st Cir: Employer $tuck with State and Fed Damages for Discriminating Against Guard Member
By Mathew B. Tully A federal appellate court shot down a Massachusetts sprinkler company’s attempt to curtail the amount of damages a service member could recover from it not only for violations to Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act …
Armed Forces Med Examiner Records High Positive Test Rates for Spice
By Lisa M. Windsor Six months into the federal government’s blitz on designer drugs, the military is making inroads in detecting synthetic marijuana users within its ranks. Citing statistics from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, Air Force Times reported …
2nd Cir. Decision Marks Big Win for Reservists with Commission-Based Jobs
By Mathew B. Tully A federal appellate court has handed a huge legal rights bonus to service members who leave commission-based jobs to actively serve in the military. The court found Wachovia Securities LLC violated an Air Force reservist’s rights …
Perceived Prohibited Personnel Practices Hits 18-Year Low, Problems Persist
By Joanna S. Friedman A new U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) study finds that federal employees’ perception of the occurrence of prohibited personnel practices (PPP) is at an 18-year low. While it is nice to see employees believe PPPs …
Exam Cheating Sinks Conn. Submariners
By Greg T. Rinckey A new front has emerged in the military’s fight against exam cheaters. This time it involves a Navy submarine, and there are indications the cheating might not be an isolated incident, according to an Associated Press …
USCAAF: Government Cannot Be Coy When Charging Adultery
By Lise M. Windsor In a significant win for service members’ due process rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (USCAAF) on Aug. 8 set aside a Marine drill instructor’s adultery conviction and sentence because the specification …
Military Confronts Rampant Alcohol Abuse
By Greg T. Rinckey More Service Members in Need of Counseling, Effective Legal Representation Military leaders are stepping up efforts to address service members’ alcohol abuse problems, which have spread throughout the armed forces during years of exposure to stressful …
MSPB Orders Army to Return Whistleblower to Former Position in Ingram
By Matthew D. Estes The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) recently found that the Department of the Army illegally retaliated against an employee who blew the whistle on potential ethical violations and security risks posed by a planned medical …
Army Goes After Bad Apples Amid Troop Withdrawals From Iraq/Afghanistan
By Greg T. Rinckey Army soldiers who have managed to avoid getting kicked out of the military despite their illegal drug use or other misconduct will be falling into the crosshairs of commanders whose priorities are being reshuffled as the …
Fed Employees Have a Right to Respond to Rumors Behind Removal Actions
By Neil A.G. McPhie Rumors have a way of spreading around federal offices like wildfire. Often they provide titillating or shocking bits of information about management decisions and co-workers’ personal affairs. Sometimes federal employees can even find themselves losing their …
Study Reveals Nearly 100% Job Security Rate for Fed Employees
By Neil A.G. McPhie Termination Actions Still Need to Be Aggressively Challenged A new study shows federal employees enjoyed a 99.43 percent job security rate in the 2010 fiscal year and suggests some of them are more likely to die …
Army Prohibits Use of Prescription Drugs 6 Months after Exp. Date
By Greg T. Rinckey Soldiers need to start paying closer attention to the dispense date on their prescription drugs. Their military careers could be in jeopardy if they use prescription pills more than six months after the dispense date and …
OSC Sees Dramatic Increase in Fed Whistleblower Disclosures in FY2010
By John P. Mahoney In a sign that federal employees are becoming more sensitive to the nation’s need to rout government waste, fraud, and abuse, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) reported a 33 percent increase in federal whistleblower …
Law Prohibits Public Employers from Laying Off Service Members on Active Duty
By Mathew B. Tully New York public employees who took leave to serve their country have less reason to worry about losing their civilian employment due to the consolidation, abolishment, displacement or demotion of their positions under legislation (A.1428-B) Gov. …
Path Least Taken No More: More Sex Assault Cases Take Court-Martial Route
By J.E. Yancey Ellis Earlier this year, 17 active duty and veteran service members sued top Pentagon officials for allegedly failing to adequately address sexual assault in the military. The plaintiffs in the case – including 15 women and two …
Coast Guard Convictions Highlight Aggressive Crackdown on Hazing
By Greg T. Rinckey The courts-martial of seven Coast Guardsmen convicted of hazing other sailors are highlighting how the armed forces are demonstrating little restraint in their effort to aggressively enforce a zero-tolerance policy against the brutal and demeaning practice. …
Study Examines Impacts of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma on Vets
By Greg T. Rinckey A new study sheds light on the impact of a lethal cancer on veterans. The study covers Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) and its effect on veterans, particularly Caucasians in their early 70s. The study illustrates the …
Ask the Lawyer: “Little White Lies” Not Worth the Risk of an Article 107
By Mathew B. Tully Q: How much trouble would I get into for telling a lie, or stretching the truth, on a military form? A: In the military, even what some might consider innocuous “little white lies” can stain your …
2nd Cir. OKs Termination Notice Given to Iraq Vet 3 Days into Reemployment
By Mathew B. Tully In a ruling that could embolden employers eager to shed employees who have been repeatedly called to military service, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on May 31 said a Connecticut dental group did not violate …
USCAAF: No Smoking Gun Necessary for Desertion Conviction
By Greg T. Rinckey The nation’s highest military court has sent a clear message to service members believing they can avoid desertion convictions by telling no one of their intent to permanently stay away from the military: such smoking gun …
Court: USERRA Doesn’t Guard GIs Against Hostile Work Environments
By Mathew B. Tully For the first time, a federal appellate court has weighed in on whether the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) protects service members from hostile work environments in which their military duty is the …
Docs Obtained through FOIA Can’t Be Used for Qui Tam Actions
By Greg T. Rinckey Prospective whistleblowers intent on taking legal actions against contractors who fraudulently bill the U.S. government will have to compile evidence for their cases without documents they requested from federal agencies because of a recent ruling by …
Oregon Grocer Fails to Check Out USERRA, Ordered to Pay Vets’
By Mathew B. Tully In yet another instance of veterans’ rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act being grossly violated, Oregon’s Department of Justice and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs recently announced that the Fred Meyer supermarket …
Former Lesbian West Point Cadet Provides Cautionary Tale for DADT Repeal
By Greg T. Rinckey By having her readmission application to West Point rejected, a lesbian cadet who resigned from the academy last year is providing a poignant reminder that the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy remains in effect. …
Consumer Debt Shrinking, Federal Employees’ Security Clearance Remains at Risk
By John P. Mahoney The nation’s debt crisis continues to subside in 2011. Last February, not only did foreclosure filings nationwide fall to a 36-month-low but Americans’ credit card debt also shrank for the 29th time in the past 30 …
IRS Whistleblower Law Finally Pays Off and Pays Out $4.5M
By Matthew D. Estes Better late than never. The IRS has cut its first check under a 4-year-old whistleblower program that targets major tax cheats. According to a recent Associated Press report, the IRS has sent a $3.24 million check …
4th Circuit: Keep Qui Tam Complaints Temporarily Sealed
By John P. Mahoney A divided federal appellate court has ruled to preserve provisions in the False Claims Act that require whistleblowers’ complaints to be temporarily sealed and that have helped the federal government vastly increase the amount of funds …
U.S. Special Counsel Looks Bullish on Hatch Act Violations in 2011
By Joanna S. Friedman With government workers coming under intense public scrutiny and the presidential campaign season expected to heat up this summer, federal employees need to be careful about engaging in political activities. The U.S. Office of Special Council …
BRAC Presents Job Opportunities for Workers with Security Clearance
By Christopher Graham With the U.S. Department of Defense consolidating several organizations and relocating them to Fort George G. Meade in Maryland as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, many job seekers could miss out on …
DoD Conducts First Major Post-9/11 Survey of Guard and Reserve Employers
By Mathew B. Tully For the first time since the nation entered sustained military operations nearly a decade ago, the U.S. Department of Defense this month began its first large-scale, nationwide survey of the employers of Guard and Reserve members. …
Supreme Court Sides with Reservist in Job Discrimination Suit, Bolsters USERRA
By Mathew B. Tully The nation’s highest court on Tuesday armed reservists with a shield to protect them against co-workers who are bitter over service members’ military obligations and try to undermine their civilian employment. In a decision that bolsters …
Report: Whistleblowers Are in the Rough at SBA
By John P. Mahoney It’s starting to look like the Small Business Administration has a BIG problem on its hands. Federal News Radio 1500 AM in Washington D.C. earlier this month aired an investigative series titled Discouraged and Disrespected at …
Park Police Chief Case Shows Complexities Whistleblowers Face in Talking to the Press
By Greg T. Rinckey Almost seven years after a U.S. Park Police chief lost her job after talking to a Washington Post reporter about her agency’s dire need for additional resources, the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board last month ruled …
Labor Day Serves as Reminder of Federal Employment Leave Rights
For many families, Labor Day marks the end of summer, the start of college football, and an extra day off of work. First established in 1882 in the aftermath of the deadly Pullman Strike, Labor Day originally served as a …
Supreme Court to Hear Employment Rights Case
By Matthew D. Estes The Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in the case of Staub v. Proctor Hospital, No. 09-400. For over a decade, Vincent Staub worked as an angiography technologist at Proctor Hospital in …
Key Component of Arizona Immigration Law on Hold as Debate Over States Rights Ensues
By John P. Mahoney In what has been one of the most debated questions in American political history, the question over state and federal authority is still at the forefront of American political discourse, some 222 years after the ratification …
Report Says Number of Federal Employees With Targeted Disabilities Holding Steady
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has recently released its annual report on the federal work force for fiscal year 2009. The report assesses the state of equal employment opportunity throughout the federal work force. The reported cited the fact …
Growing National Security Apparatus Highlights Potential Roadblocks to Obtaining and Keeping a Security Clearance
By John P. Mahoney A recent Washington Post article detailed what it cites as a top secret national intelligence infrastructure that has been steadily growing since September 11th, 2001. The Post highlights the fact that some 854,000 people hold top …
Legal Ethics: Judicial Pay Raises
Recently, a New York State justice ordered a pay increase for the state’s judges. Everyone deserves a raise if they have quality work to back it up, however, when the person issuing the raise is also a recipient, is this …
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Neil McPhie – Ask the Lawyer
By Neil A.G. McPhie Q: What do you do if you accuse an agency of racial discrimination and it responds with some bogus explanation? A: Agencies usually respond to allegations of discrimination made in Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints with …
Today’s Honoree is Mathew Tully
Mat founded his law firm in his kitchen in 2004. He has built it to be a multi-million dollar firm in 3 states. In March he left it all behind to serve his country. Mat is a Lt. Col. in …
Fired Reservist Sues Former Employer
A Marine Corps Reservist who just shipped out for boot camp is suing his former employer for allegedly firing him because he joined the military – but his ex-bosses at a Connecticut car dealership say it’s all a big misunderstanding. …
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Tully Rinckey PLLC “Goes Red for Women”
In an effort to raise awareness about heart disease in women, Tully Rinckey PLLC was proud to support National Wear Red Day on February 4, 2011. Employees were encouraged to wear red and donate to the American Heart Association, which …
A “Warm” Holiday Gift From Tully Rinckey PLLC
In the holiday spirit the firm donated 28 coats to homeless veterans living in a transitional shelter in Albany this morning. Photos are below of Albany County Executive Mike Breslin, Albany Housing Coalition’s Executive Director Joseph Sluszka, residents of the …
Tully Rinckey “Goes Purple”
In an effort to help Shine a Light on Domestic Violence, employees at Tully Rinckey PLLC are “going purple” for a good cause. The law firm held it’s first-ever “Go Purple” day, where employees were encouraged to wear purple and …
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Court Allows Veterans’ Suit for USERRA Violations to Proceed Despite General Motors’ Claim
A federal court has refused to dismiss an Army veteran’s lawsuit against his former employer, General Motors Company, under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, rejecting GM’s claim that the vet had waived his right to sue. In …
Mark Roth – Former AFGE General Counsel Joins Tully Rinckey PLLC
Roth and Tully Rinckey PLLC to serve as powerful ally for all unions. The longest serving general counsel in the 80-year history of the nation’s largest federal employees union has joined Tully Rinckey PLLC to build the multi-state law firm’s …
Sexual Assault Lawsuit and Documentary Highlighting Secret Problem in the Military
Rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment are the subject of an eye opening lawsuit filed by eight female service members against the Department of Defense, Marine Corp and Navy. In the complaint, the female plaintiffs accuse fellow service members of …
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National Training Program – Federally Employed Women – July 16-20, 2012
Joanna S. Friedman, Esq. will be presenting on several topics regarding EEO Rights for the Federally Employed Women’s 2012 National Training Program in Detroit, MI. Joanna will provide training on topics ranging from EEO Complaints to Employee Relations and Security …
Issues in Federal Labor Relations – May 9, 2012
Presenter: Mark D. Roth, Esq. Date: Wednesday, May 9, 2012 Time: 10:15am to 12:00pm Location: Brookings Institution Tully Rinckey PLLC’s Senior Counsel and Union Development Specialist Mark D. Roth will be speaking at the Brookings Institution. This presentation will be …
Veterans’ Employment Issues – Pennsylvania Bar – April 20, 2012
Greg T. Rinckey will be presenting a CLE at the Employment Law Institute held by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on April 20, 2012 in Philadelphia, PA. Greg’s presentation will cover USERRA rights and give an overview to employment attorneys about …
