Federal Employment Law

Which guide should I read?

If you are already familiar with federal employment law, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), then scroll down and click on the guide that is relevant to you.

For those of you who are new to this topic, or want a quick brush up on federal employment law, read this section then scroll down and read the applicable guide after you have a little more background.

Most Common Cases

So, where to start? Generally, most of my potential clients’ cases fit into two general areas. Discrimination cases and disciplinary cases.

Discrimination cases

Discrimination cases involve employees who are alleging they have been subject to discrimination at work. Typically, the claimant-employee will have to point to a protected basis they were discriminated on (e.g., sex, age, national origin, etc.) and the For these types of cases, you should reference the EEOC and discrimination section below.

Discipline cases

The second most common type of cases are discipline cases. These are cases where an employee has been suspended, typically for 14 days or more, or is potentially facing removal (termination) from the federal service. For these types of cases you should reference the MSPB and discipline section below.

Mixed Cases

This is not to say these areas of law involving the EEOC and MSPB don’t have overlap. Indeed, it is quite common for a “mixed case” to exist where an employee is claiming the discipline they are fighting, such as a removal, is a result of discrimination.  If your case is a mixed case I suggest you review both sections, but note that your case my have procedural intricacies (e.g., filing deadlines, jurisdictional issues, etc.) that you should probably consult an attorney about.

Everything Else

Now that we’ve covered the two most common areas of employment law, discrimination and discipline cases.  We can talk about the universe of other special areas of federal employment law too.  Below you will find guides on disability law and leave and pay issues.  The disability guide will be helpful if you have requested a reasonable accommodation and work and have had trouble getting one, or getting it implemented by the agency.

Leave and Pay is a broad section and covers a great deal of material, from the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). Again, there can be significant overlap in this area as well.  This is because many leave issues may be the result of a discriminatory impetus.  An example of this would be a boss who denies an employee leave because she is pregnant.

Federal Employment Law Guides

This area provides legal information for federal employees.  We have tried to separate the employment law information by category.  In your case, there may be some overlap.  For example, if you are disabled and have been discriminated against, you will want to review both the EEOC and the Disability guides below.

Additionally, further down you will see a link to federal laws and regulations that are most commonly referenced in employment law cases.

Finally, there is a link to all the federal-employment-law related articles that have been published on this website.

Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and Discipline Case

EEOC / Discrimination

Pay and Leave

Disability