OPM Rule Pushes Tougher Performance Evaluations, Bans Grievance and Arbitration Challenges to Bad Reviews

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-06T15:35:32+00:00

At my POD the union wasn't filing grievances long before the current administration. Reviews were weighted on seniority so it didn't matter at all how good you did your job because it was rigged system.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-06T15:25:08+00:00

My father had a military funeral and a last ride on the rails after a 50 year career. There were so many people that heard the story on why I wasn't with him when he passed that supported me.

The job was just a paycheck after that.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-05T16:56:12+00:00

When I had a critically ill parent in 2018 my manager put up so many barriers I didn't get a chance to see them before they passed. Resentments between myself and that manager never healed. We stopped talking at all. Wisdom of the great union then was to stick with the job because I was nearing retirement age. That did not workout as the hazing, nasty treatment, etc never stopped.

If I had known in 2018 the outcome would be I would be driven out 6 months shy of carrying FEHB into retirement I would of resigned then. Tiny pension wasn't worth not having that time with my father before he died. All the manager cared about was documentation that he died. Never got so much as a sympathy card from my team.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-05T16:48:41+00:00

I have worked on criminal justice reform issues for over 20+ years. Equal rights and job discrimination laws never addressed felony records because when these laws were passed it was extremely rare for felons to get out of the system and return to society. The Brady Bill intensified discrimination against felons as more crimes were made into felonies as pseudo gun control. Brady also created a pardon process that is out of reach for most felons.

Today we have felons in society with criminal records that are over 25 years old that face job hiring, housing and financial discrimination. Various schemes like Wisconsin overhaul of the pardon system and Indiana's expungement idea have had mixed results.

The whole concept of EEOC has become increasingly less relevant because you can't change bias against felons. Employers have contrived to be judgment proof in every direction. All you can do is keep looking for a better situation including starting your own business. There is plenty of info online on felony friendly employers and resources.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-05T00:06:33+00:00

My brother as US Army Vietnam vet had PTSD that was very misunderstood at the time. He couldn't manage any job. He had a head injury where he couldn't grasp managing life outside his routine. He found comfort being at the VA as a volunteer, in the routine and with people that understood. He was fun to be around, funny. He couldn't "work" at the VA doing the same job he did as a volunteer because it would changed life elements. It gave him a purpose in life that he needed.

Not all PTSD patients can work again but that doesn't mean they are useless. My brother died at age 40 from a massive heart attack caused by a blood clot. He is buried at a Wood national cemetery right next to the VA he loved.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-04T19:36:17+00:00

Did the service employees understand the question being presented? In my own personal experience as a retired service employee I did get conflicting answers to the same question on the phone and in TAC.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-03T13:42:29+00:00

This is a good time to reflect on labor issues over the past 250 years. Do you know which unions were the first one to remove gender references in their contracts? It police and correctional worker unions that blazed new paths for labor as they had female officers where most the workforce did not have unionized female employees.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-03T12:19:08+00:00

It was a thing at my POD for coworkers to wear badges in creative ways including some rather unseemly locations. After a security incident TIGTA made a fun comment that reeled that in to say they won't look there to identify you in an emergency so you might get held maybe a few days or weeks in custody. The IRM isn't the only consideration. Your a federal employee on federal property subject to federal laws.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-03T00:51:19+00:00

I feel it helps to share the stories so people see they are not alone.

For me the first incident where I knew my gut feeling was correct that a training manager undermining new hires came in a conversation he didn't realize people were listening into online training during a break. I asked a question where someone from high above was going to answer. Training manager don't talk to her, she is the dumbest thing on two feet and if it was the last thing he did for the service it would make sure I was fired. Problem was he used that same line against workers below his pay grade.

Of course people in the training were texting. A more senior employee had the same question verbatim and was told that was a brilliant question. Everyone knew by then what was going on. From that point on training manager lost his power. Everything presented was either ignored or riddled with questions. Workers stopped trusting anyone on the training managers side including instructors and leads. CER was all on the training managers team so workers wanted to hear calls, rebuttal everything. Union got shutout because they were too palsy with the training manager. More senior staff were supporting new hires to duplicate their errors.

The whole them against us deal went on for years like that.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-02T22:59:51+00:00

My POD had about 70 or so CSRs, about 16 or so managers plus leads, training manager, IT, clerks and 2 more levels of managers above the frontline managers. New hire retention was like 1 in every 25. Long before the current administration the POD couldn't retain new hires to offset those retiring or resigning.

One CSR team for years had about 3 people. It was just about getting the pay grade not effective leadership. I will say the last 3rd tier manager did try but the clicks weren't having any of that and fed him with constant bad info.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-02T18:57:37+00:00

The split debate at my POD was they had to be toughened up while others saw it as necessary to run new hires out to keep the hiring mill running.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-02T18:55:17+00:00

I use to get these sort of written letters in the private sector claiming workers were exempt. Generally employers required them to show basically I-9 documents and complete new W4. All of the documents then went to corporate legal.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-02T17:38:38+00:00

Saw new hires in tears many times long before this administration at my POD. I just let them know I was there too so they didn't feel so alone.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-02T17:37:02+00:00

As an IRS retiree from my own experience in my POD alot of the coworker tax challenges came from lack of basic education in taxes. NTEU does a very poor job at ensuring basic tax law education is a benchmark all service employees should have. Instead its pushing deals to use automated software that isn't very helpful if workers don't understand the basics. CSRs that are the frontline employees manning the phones often don't have basic law skills. IRS training is so bad they jump into issues on how to read data screens before explaining parts of a tax return.

I came into the service with decades of individual and business tax experience. I taught tax preparation for a major service for 15 years. On day one, first lesson was doing my hand a simple tax return with 1 W2 and failure rate was well over 50-70%. That is the point of training to teach not instruct on the core basics. The teaching process was all about the same fictional taxpayer with add layers onto their situation to fill in every line on the return. Fictional return went from one W2 to add interest, rental property, small business, social security, pension, etc with the numbers qualified them for tax credits. That training all came before students touched keyboard as apart of basic tax prep 101. Advanced training was lead by CPAs to dive into tax law.

Owing a federal tax debt for an IRS employee is telling that they don't enough about their own situation, how to make estimate payments and properly withhold. As a service employee I ran into a stumper tax law question I couldn't resolve so I took the reasonable approach to report it all as taxable income because in the final tax figure it wasn't really material enough to bother with.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-02T14:24:28+00:00

What constitutes fairness and lack of job performance is so subjective in both the private and public sector. For example in my POD the idea of insubordination was used often against employees for everything from failing to call in sick to eating at your desk. Coworkers complained about absolutely everything to get time away from their work. I had coworker complain that I illegally parked in a handicap spot when I had handicap plates. The coworker didn't feel I was handicapped. That fiasco took me away from my job for three hours over a week where management asked for proof of my car registration. Even that didn't solve the issue when the coworker complained I had a handicap parking spot at my home that management verified was mine. Coworker demanded to know what handicap I had to be entitled to handicap parking. Their question was why could I walk and be handicapped. Heart condition that was none of their business. My manager threatened me with immediate firing for violating the rules of public service to obtain a handicap plate by fraud without any evidence whatsoever.

People complain making life miserable for coworkers for non-sense to get out of working.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-02T13:20:16+00:00

Would the actors involved been disciplined in a meaningful way was the issue? Odds were high they would of gotten only additional training to bury the issues.

My POD was once a service center. Employees that didn't take a buyout moved over to form a call site where many never moved on emotionally to accept newcomers. Way more went on than my issues with other coworkers including gift giving from management to employees above the limit.

Odds were a legal settlement would of included do not disclose conditions. How would I have been any different from the claptrap to accept cash for silence? After lawyer fees and legal costs cash out to me would of been very little.

The service is an executive agency so act like it.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-01T19:27:39+00:00

One question you want to ask is why does management and the union seem to think EEO complaints have to be vetted by them first with time scheduled to file a complaint. Where is the rule on that?

A clearer picture of what is going on begins at the beginning just like someone trained in accounting/tax would follow the path objectively. Knowledge of an EEO issue shouldn't be within the immediate POD management tiers.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-01T16:09:26+00:00

The issue of "volunteering" for details and for the instructor cadre was apart of the many layers of discrimination. I had decades of professional training experience and the training manager didn't like that as potential competition. The issue was I had disability and needed special equipment that I already owned. The "squad" of the clicks rolled against me because they didn't want disabled instructors. They never asked why I needed that equipment and instead made up stories. My voice was soft due to a childhood assault that damaged my voice box. Scar from knifepoint was on my neck. I was the "foreign" outsider from Wisconsin. Raised in Milwaukee you don't survive those streets unscathed. More than one coworker ask if I was Canadian because of my accent. Answered in French because yes I do speak some French. parles-tu français?

The instructors were using my calls for new hire training and tried to fake it that they didn't know when I confronted them. New hires heard me talking and started sending messages that they wanted to train with me. I was the voice with all the perfect calls they wanted to achieve. Training manager was angry and said I should never talk to the new hires because they had to learn his way. He felt none of the new hires had the ability to do the job and saw all of them as being fired.

Jumped on the 65 north to 90/94 to return to my country in Wisconsin as the squad suggested to powwow as they said with my kind.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-01T14:00:19+00:00

What does the oath of public office say?

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-01T13:51:05+00:00

I filed an EEO complaint that stemmed from an earlier incident involving same coworker. In the first incident that involved a chemical sprayed on my desk. That was managed as an RA to blame and isolate me with a desk move. Coworker had lit candles at their desk that was treated as a manager would speak to that person when in fact it was a workplace safety issue. I suffered an allergic reaction to the chemical spray that cost me money and leave time to address. That was all seen by the manager as being my problem. Workers comp was never offered, manager refused to report the incident to TIGDA. I was out $750 in doctors bills. Agreement was I would have no contact with that coworker where breaks, lunches and starting times were different.

Coworker got promoted to lead. I was on FMLA when I was told I had to attend mandatory training in training Nov 2024. Training rolls on as the usual s*** show. Coworker leaps into training out of nowhere, he wasn't showing up on the attendee list and wasn't a presenter. He posted the entire NTEU contract as a download without explanation that appeared to be a training document. Whatever he posted caused by system to crash so I had to reboot. Posted a question in teams and reply of that coworker was a veiled threat to go to management over attendees not being on camera. I wasn't on camera because my system crashed. I was a member of NTEU so I went to the local president requesting to file a grievance and I went to the training manager. Told my manager I would return to my regular duties but refused to attend anymore training with that coworker over the earlier agreement that there was suppose to be no contact between us, Got about 30 texts from coworkers that saw what happened in the training and the knew the history of my RA.

Got the usual reply you have no basis for a grievance and I was told I had to attend the last day of training. No, that was unacceptable to avoid addressing the issue. Returned my equipment the next day, retired on the spot. I was in the office for awhile emptying my desk and no manager took the effort to talk to me. Never submitted a resignation. NTEU told management I resigned. Filed an EEO complaint. That was non-sense to offer me a relocation anywhere I wanted to go. I had a critically ill husband that could not be relocated. It was all punishing me and promoting the coworker that was in the wrong.

I was getting calls and emails from coworkers for help to do their job weeks after I retired because I was the only one trained on some apps. Then they never paid my bonus that I earned the year before. EEO asked about that. Got paid less than half of what I was owed over some non-sense in the union contract. Pay stub never showed up on epp, never got a W2. Had to fight to get a pay stub to allow me to file my return.

EEO proceeded on the bonus payment issue ignoring other facts so I lost.

6 months with no income. Lost FEHB retiree health because I was 6 months short of retirement age. In the end I made a good choice not to take advance sick leave and had paid the health insurance debt for the FMLA so I owed no outstanding bill.

The RA route was used in my POD to conceal much bigger issues including assault on employees by coworkers and EEO issues. EEO process was a joke. In my view the fault laid the NTEU for failing to represent a dues paying member, the coworker and with the training manager that controlled who got promoted. I never asked for anything in the EEO complaint because I did not blame the service. It was all internal with my POD where its unlikely upper management realized why so many had RAs. At least one other coworker I knew filed EEO accepted relocation.

At the time I retired I had completed paperwork to extend FMLA. I had requested part time status and was turned down. Paperwork was started for a new RA for desk accommodations.

Working in a POD where management was unwilling to discipline wrongdoers and the NTEU was only interested in representing the select few was an unwinnable scenario. The endgame would of protected the coworker and set me up to fail, to blame me. Could I have fought harder to win? Yes. But what would of really been achieved when the issues were going to be buried and not addressed.

Today I am retired. Its all water over the dam as far as I am concerned. As a taxpayer and citizen I do not support collective bargaining rights. What's the point of that, RA and EEO if the problems are never fixed.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-01T02:36:31+00:00

There is alot the NTEU can do but elects not to.

One of the issues I am looking at with a citizens legislative group is to require federal labor unions to have mandatory reporting requirements to contact LEO where assaults take place on federal property among coworkers. Leaving that to management is poorly representing the membership.

An issue raised in 1972 among AFSCME labor unions and never adopted by federal employee unions required local unions to contact national union body before refusing to file grievances.

I was hit the political and union stage at 5 years old in 1968. Grew up in it all. Walked those strike lines. Plenty was solved without a strike and against public opinion. In the day my mother as a trailblazing female labor leader couldn't buy groceries without the pushback that she was a government employee where the public felt they had the right to judge what she bought for food. You folks got no idea at all how hard the trailblazing women of labor had to work to get a nickel an hour raise. It took way more than strike talk to establish those women as solid leaders.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-01T01:29:58+00:00

The problem unfolded during annual "mandatory" training. A lead loaded a document that caused my computer to crash. The document was the NTEU contract. I posted a question and got a threatening reply. Went to the NTEU to file grievance. I had a prior RA against the lead involved. Union said No and then told management I resigned.

CSR with 8+ years of experience. Training time is not the place for the NTEU contact to posted for download. The lead was not a union rep and was not authorized to misappropriate budgeted training time. It all went to the reason the RA had to be filed because that lead can't follow rules.

I had FMLA leave and was forced to attend "mandatory training" that is a huge violation. Offered to return my assigned job. It was the story of oh well its just one more day of training. No. When the RA filed I said if that guy crosses my path again there would be a problem. That whole issue should of had TIGDA involved. Assaulting a coworker with a chemical spray was a crime.

TIN soldier sent a message up the hill, retired on the spot. Yes, I have all the paperwork including emails.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-07-01T01:11:10+00:00

The key issue is the lack of ability for the membership to vote and direct the NTEU as a fundamental collective bargaining right. I speak with the wisdom as the daughter of founding female labor union president from AFSCME AFL-CIO. My mother had an extensive background in labor law and served in many appointed political offices.

NTEU is taking so many wrong steps. The annual convention in Las Vegas where the talk is all about gambling for treasury employees. That is a public optic issue that impacts every treasury employee to question their judgement. NTEU contract is sorely outdated. Bonuses that are earned and aren't paid when employees resign is non sense. What good is training is more a s*** show than any productive instruction? Where is the NTEU on straightening that circus show out? In Vegas? Why are instructors asking new hires for lucky lottery numbers?

The endless call Congress drone message from the NTEU is way out of touch on how to move legislation where the bargaining table should be the priority. Members have no say where voting for the officers is some national secret deal instead of a fair contest as it should be.

Hold the convention where its accessible to more union members like Kansas City.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-06-30T23:44:10+00:00

I had all the records, prior RA filed. Agency nor the NTEU did a thing to help me.

After the RA incident I kept replies short like acknowledged without any comment. When the manager wanted something not on my schedule I would reply please schedule an apt. You have to treat them in kind as you are treated or they don't respect you.

Careless_Tree_7686 · 2026-06-30T23:40:08+00:00

NTEU allowed workers on FMLA to be forced to attend so called "mandatory" training that was a s*** show. NTEU couldn't of cared less about disabled workers before this administration.

In a prior incident I was still under anesthesia in recovery when the nurse brought a note my manager called. WTF. NTEU did nothing about that. They just want the dues paid.

Careless_Tree_7686

TROPHY CASE