With the ever-changing case law of the Merit Systems Protection Board, it is increasingly difficult to defend the agency in an adverse action case. Both the charges and penalties levied by the agency are often under attack, and appellants are increasingly challenging the terms of agreements. This 2-day course is designed to help you win adverse action cases in litigation or forge thorough, supportable settlement agreements. Based on the case law of the Board and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the course provides comprehensive guidance on positioning to prevail before the Board.

This course is designed for human resource practitioners tasked with giving advice on discipline and adverse actions, writing proposal and decision letters, and/or representing the agency before the Board. The course focuses on formulating valid, well-reasoned charges and choosing appropriate, supportable penalties in the light of recent and well-established case law. Detailed guidance is also provided on how to write proposal and decision letters which will stand up to the increasing scrutiny of the Board.

The course covers how to conduct discovery to help support your charges and penalties, including how to formulate interrogatories, requests for admissions, and requests for documents. In addition, the course discusses keys to writing settlement agreements that comply with law, regulation, and case law and can survive challenges by the appellant.

Day 1

• Formulating Charges
  Choosing specific, general, or narrative charges
  Wording charges
  Using multiple charges
  Criminal charges
  Non-disciplinary charges
  Burdens of proof in various charges
  Writing the specifics to support a charge
  
  
• Choosing and Supporting Penalties
  Problems with penalties - a mitigating Board
  Matching the penalty to the charge
  Using multiple penalties
  Supportable penalties in specific charges
  Methods of defending the chosen penalty
  Writing specifics to support the penalty
  

Day 2

• Choosing and Supporting Penalties
• Defending Against Affirmative Defenses
  
  
• Formulating Last Chance Agreements
  Uses of last chance agreements
  Choosing the timing of the agreement
  Contents of the agreement
  Language for surviving challenges
  
  
• Forging Settlement Agreements
  Negotiating settlements
  Timing of settlements before the Board
  Contents of settlement agreements
  Defending the agency in compliance proceedings
  
  
• Conducting Discovery
  Defending your charge and penalty through discovery
  Formulating interrogatories, requests for admissions, and requests for documents
  Filing motions for discovery