The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld a Merit Systems Protection Board ruling that under certain circumstances an agency must file a disability retirement application for an employee who is facing an adverse action because of a disabling condition. The case involved an employee who allegedly had a delusional condition. But they must wait until the Office of Personnel Management publishes implementing regs. The Office of Personnel Management will conduct seven workshops designed to guide federal employees interested in moving into the executive corps. Attendance is free.
Registration is required.
OPM will need the name, agency, commercial telephone number and location of the desired session. Following a developing trend in other circuits, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, recently ruled in a sex discrimination trial under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that gender bias on the part of a subordinate manager was relevant when the ultimate decisionmaker was not insulated from the subordinate manager's influence. The court held that since the subordinate manager was an integral part of the decisionmaking process that led to the employee's discharge, his discriminatory motive would have infected any decisions over whether to fire the employee. This was true even though other factual evidence existed which may have justified the termination. Federal managers should be prepared to defend personnel actions.