For decades, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 has provided broad protection for disabled federal employees when they request a reasonable accommodation, however, religious accommodation protection, not so much. Practically the EEOC and Courts would apply a different stricter burden for disability accommodation on the Agency called “undue hardship,” and a much lighter standard on the Agency to show harm...
Continue ReadingPines Federal attorney Eric Pines will demonstrate his toughness in the hockey arena in May when he plays in the Rofeh Cholim Cancer Society (RCCS) Hockey Classic to raise money for cancer research. Contributing to cancer research is a central part of our firm’s commitment to community service. We encourage you to help us support RCCS in its mission...
Continue ReadingOn behalf of Pines Federal, I would like to take a moment to remember a friend and colleague, Mr. Robert R. McGill, who passed away earlier this month due to an unexpected illness. He was a pioneer in representing OPM disability retirement applications. When I first began working on applications 15 years ago, Mr. McGill was one of the...
Continue ReadingIn November 2022, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a new final rule that rescinded several labor regulations implemented by former President Donald Trump’s administration. The new rules represent a big victory for federal employees across the country. Thanks to this new rule, federal employees can once again negotiate clean record agreements with federal agencies. Our federal employment lawyers...
Continue ReadingAttorney Eric Pines Discusses the Process of Personalizing the Customer’s Experience on the Win Win Podcast Houston, TX [October 4th, 2022] — In early October, founding attorney Eric Pines appeared on the Win Win Podcast, a show for the entrepreneurial community that discusses several business management topics. For this 30-minute episode, Eric talks about what it’s like to have unique deliverables for...
Continue ReadingPines Federal helps AFGE Local 4060 settle grievance with FEMA: the Class Action Implementation Group (CAIG) will distribute the $16,500,000 settlement to eligible employees – past and present. In March of 2018, American Federation of Government Employees 4060 (AFGE 4060) filed a grievance against Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on behalf of federal union employees. According to the grievance,...
Continue ReadingFederal employees got some good news recently. On December 22, President Biden issued an executive order effectively confirming a pay raise for government workers. What is the Federal Employee Pay Raise for 2022? As of January 1, 2022, all General Schedule (GS) employees will see their pay increased by 2.2 percent. While Congress does have the authority to halt...
Continue ReadingPines Federal finished as a 2021 Best of Georgia winner in the Employment & Labor Law Firms category. Pines Federal was recently named among the winners of the 2021 Best of Georgia campaign. Pines Federal finished as a Best of Georgia winner in the Employment & Labor Law Firms category. Each year since the inception of the Best of...
Continue ReadingA federal judge in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims recently granted final approval of a $160 million settlement for unpaid overtime on behalf of nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants employed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 3,200 class members alleged they were forced to work unpaid overtime hours to update patients’ electronic health records and monitor and...
Continue ReadingOn July 29, 2021, the Biden administration announced all federal workers—including service members of the United States military—will be required to show proof of being vaccinated against COVID-19 or otherwise submit to regular testing and wear a mask, as the delta variant has recently caused a significant rise in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths – especially among the unvaccinated. Additionally, the White House required all employees to...
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