A customized program for human resource personnel, management representatives and corporate counsel on the latest developments in public sector employment and labor law.

• Public Sector Employment
• Title VII and the Public Sector
• Due Process Requirements in the Public Sector
• ADA, FMLA, and Workers Compensation
• Suing the Government
• Public Sector Labor Relations
• Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector
• Administrative Processing of EEO Complaints

This is a basic course in employment and labor law in the public sector, using the Federal public sector as a model. It covers the key subjects you need to function effectively in the public sector workplace.

This course is designed for those who work or will work in the human resources field. First, it is a primer for newcomers to public sector employment and labor law. Second, it provides a comprehensive overview for specialists who have been working in one area of employment law and would benefit from a broader perspective of the field. Third, it is an update for veterans who are looking for an effective refresher.

A participative teaching and learning methodology is a key to this program. Course participants will interact with the instructors and each other through case studies, practical exercises, and group discussion. Although learning objectives have been prescribed for the program, course participants will have an opportunity to analyze, question and refine those objectives through a realistic assessment of workplace incidents and how the laws and rules are applied.

Public sector employment law is unique in its origins and development. It both parallels private sector employment law and diverges from it in many ways. The instructors for this course have extensive experience in this unique discipline and in the most effective teaching methodologies to ensure understanding.

PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT

Legal Framework of Civil Service

Employee Discipline

• Predecisional procedural rights
• Proof requirements in misconduct actions
• Special disciplinary situations

Performance-Based Actions

• Actions for unacceptable performance
• Other performance based actions - within grade increases

Administrative and Judicial Review

• Wrongful termination or suspension
• Due process requirements

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Statutory Framework

• Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973 & Americans with Disabilities Act
• Equal Pay Act
• Civil Rights Act of 1991

Equal Employment Opportunity Substantive Analysis

• Disparate treatment
• Mixed motive discrimination cases
• Disparate impact
• Retaliation and reprisal
• Handicap (disability) discrimination
  • Reasonable accommodation
  • Employer defenses
• Sexual harassment

Administrative Processing of EEO Complaints

• Informal stage
• Formal stage
  • Investigation
  • Hearing
• EEO remedies

SUING THE GOVERNMENT

• Federal Tort Claims Act
• Bivens Actions
• Section 1983 Actions

PUBLIC SECTOR LABOR RELATIONS

Introduction

The Labor Movement

• Railway Labor Act
• Wagner Act
• Federal Labor Relations Statute

Basic Terminology

• Employees
• Bargaining unit
• Exclusive representative
• Collective bargaining agreement
• Unfair labor practice
• Grievance

THE REPRESENTATION PROCESS

Appropriate Bargaining Unit

• Statutory criteria
• Determining appropriate bargaining unit
• Mandatory exclusions

Union Organizing Campaign

• Elections
• Non-employee access on the installation
• Employee's right to solicit union membership on the installation

Representation Proceeding Petitions

• Elections or eligibility for dues allotment
• Clarification or amendment
• Consolidation

Exclusive Recognition

NEGOTIATING AGREEMENT

• Traditional and interest-based bargaining
• Negotiable and non-negotiable subject
• Impasse procedures

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES

• Procedures
• Management unfair labor practices
  • Unilateral changes to conditions of employment
  • Weingarten investigations/formal discussions
  • Information requests
• Union unfair labor practices
  • Failure to represent
• Alternative dispute resolution
• Grievance/arbitration

The Course Faculty

Joel Alvarey, Associate General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, Department of Homeland Security, where he provides advice and counsel on personnel and labor matters. He has represented the INS and the U.S. Army before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Office of the Special Counsel. He recently served as a member of the management negotiation team during the negotiations of a collective bargaining agreement. Mr. Alvarey is also an adjunct professor for Troy State University, teaching government contracts and administrative law for its graduate course in Public Administration. He retired from the U.S. Army as a Colonel. Assignments while in that organization included defense counsel; prosecutor; Staff Judge Advocate, 1st Armored Division; and instructor at the Army Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, Virginia. He received his Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, and received his J.D. from Fordham Law School, New York City.

Thomas F. Muther, Jr. serves as an Associate General Counsel with the Department of Homeland Security, in Washington, D.C. He currently represents the agency in Merit System Protection Board hearings, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hearings, labor arbitrations, ULPs, and contract negotiations. Mr. Muther advises management on compliance with the Federal Sector Labor Management Relations Statute and implementation of collective bargaining agreements. Mr. Muther received the 1998 Commissioner's New Attorney of the Year Award for his prosecution of criminal aliens while working for the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Miami, FL. Mr. Muther is an adjunct professor of private and federal sector employment law at Woodbury College in Montpelier, Vermont, as well as adjunct professor of immigration law in Vermont Law School in South Royalton, Vermont. Mr. Muther graduated with his dual degree in law and international studies from the University of Denver College of Law and Graduate School for International Studies. Mr. Muther received his BA in History and Anthropology from the University of Florida.