Board of Veterans Appeals (Attorney Advisor)

[Anonymous]

It is also being reported that they intend to relocate over a third of federal employees to other states and implement mass layoffs through reduction in force authorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is also being reported that they intend to relocate over a third of federal employees to other states and implement mass layoffs through reduction in force authorities.

Good. Start with VA. Our agency has over 400,000 employees. We desperately need a 50% reduction in force to our headcount.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With all of the law schools in the DC area, the Board will not have a problem hiring attorneys to replace those who refuse to come to Washington.

Yes, there are several law schools in the D.C. region. However, most people don’t go to law school with the desire to review thousands of pages of medical records per week and copy and paste boilerplate language into three decision templates every week. The Board does not have the best reputation as an employer, and the lack of prestige won’t help the Board attract candidates.

The Board has always had a lot of attorneys from George Mason, William and Mary, Maryland, and American University law schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is also being reported that they intend to relocate over a third of federal employees to other states and implement mass layoffs through reduction in force authorities.

Good. Start with VA. Our agency has over 400,000 employees. We desperately need a 50% reduction in force to our headcount.

Because we service 9 million+ Vets on a variety of issues. What's wrong with you? Nurses cannot handle 20:1 patient ratios.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is also being reported that they intend to relocate over a third of federal employees to other states and implement mass layoffs through reduction in force authorities.

Good. Start with VA. Our agency has over 400,000 employees. We desperately need a 50% reduction in force to our headcount.

If they want to cut you, I will gladly support that decision. You seem like an awful person anyways.

[Anonymous]

The president cannot force people back to work under the guise to force people to quit. It would result in lawsuits not just from the union but the employees themselves who should hold until they are fired & they should then seek (or before) a solid employment attorney to get an excellent payout while also preparing to show our faces to the media to show the public how cruel and disruptive the policy is. **Do not let them force you to quit!** That’s what they want. Force them to fire you & then get paid and contact your local media & representatives. & make sure you’re loud about how this will actually hurt veterans! They want you to be scared & believe your in a hopeless position. You’re not!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The president cannot force people back to work under the guise to force people to quit. It would result in lawsuits not just from the union but the employees themselves who should hold until they are fired & they should then seek (or before) a solid employment attorney to get an excellent payout while also preparing to show our faces to the media to show the public how cruel and disruptive the policy is. **Do not let them force you to quit!** That’s what they want. Force them to fire you & then get paid and contact your local media & representatives. & make sure you’re loud about how this will actually hurt veterans! They want you to be scared & believe your in a hopeless position. You’re not!

Other government agencies have forced employees to come back since the Covid emergency ended. They can call you back if they want. Certainly, people can sue. The question is who is going to finance that endeavor. Keep in mind that litigating a case at MSPB costs about $100k in attorney fees. So, employment attorneys who deal with the federal government are very pricey.

The union may bring a grievance, but in order to succeed they need to show a violation of the bargaining agreement.

[Anonymous]

BVA attorneys can represent themselves if cost becomes an issue. Violation of the contract will occur when VA forces people in without bargaining over implementation first. Further violations will occur if they bring people back without providing them with adequate space and resources to safely perform the work.

[Anonymous]

Given the fact they have publicly said the reason they’re doing this is to be cruel (not a legitimate reason), we have contracts, including through the union & the telework agreements of which we relied, and the investment we made into our benefits and our families, it’ll be lucrative for an employment attorney & worth it for the employee. Like the previous poster said, force them to fire you, and use the local media & call your reps. Have your family & friends do it too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BVA attorneys can represent themselves if cost becomes an issue. Violation of the contract will occur when VA forces people in without bargaining over implementation first. Further violations will occur if they bring people back without providing them with adequate space and resources to safely perform the work.

We hear you and great points but not everyone can afford to move back to DC. Some of us have families who are integrated into other communities, mortgages, helping people in our communities, the expense of moving and having to do all of these things over just because some billionaires want to punish civil servants to be cruel is just peak let them eat cake. Also, how about congress report to work. They get so much benefits from the tax payer even enriching themselves on insider trading just to be cruel. It’s time we take a stand!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given the fact they have publicly said the reason they’re doing this is to be cruel (not a legitimate reason), we have contracts, including through the union & the telework agreements of which we relied, and the investment we made into our benefits and our families, it’ll be lucrative for an employment attorney & worth it for the employee. Like the previous poster said, force them to fire you, and use the local media & call your reps. Have your family & friends do it too.

I am not so sure it is newsworthy. The problem is who is going to feel sorry for a bunch of Board attorneys making 80-150k a year? The answer is "no one" because the general public hates attorneys.

Before the Board has remote work, the Board allowed work at home with presence in the office one or two days per pay period. I would think this might be a compromise between full time in the DC office and remote work.

[Anonymous]

They specified they want everyone in the office five days per week. No remote or telework. Possibly no alternate work schedules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They specified they want everyone in the office five days per week. No remote or telework. Possibly no alternate work schedules.

Well that's rough. I hope employees would get sufficient time to decide whether to relocate if it comes to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They specified they want everyone in the office five days per week. No remote or telework. Possibly no alternate work schedules.

Which will result in increased salaries (due to DC area locality pay), increased costs due to space requirements (buildings, leases, services, increased cost for staffing for security, increased overhead (electricity, equipment, water, etc), and decreased work efficiency (because people don't work at work, they talk). Overall, it will fail miserably.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They specified they want everyone in the office five days per week. No remote or telework. Possibly no alternate work schedules.

Which will result in increased salaries (due to DC area locality pay), increased costs due to space requirements (buildings, leases, services, increased cost for staffing for security, increased overhead (electricity, equipment, water, etc), and decreased work efficiency (because people don't work at work, they talk). Overall, it will fail miserably.

The increased expenses can be offset by increasing the quota at the Board to six cases a week.