In April 2021, Department of Labor Unemployment Adjudicators and NAPE members Mary Pat Bloom, Melissa Love, and George Green were involuntarily transferred from one work unit to another by the Department of Labor. The transfer changed the work unit they reported to and the type of work they performed. None of our members volunteered for the transfer, and the transfer was not temporary as DOL stated it would be for an indefinite amount of time.
Our NAPE contract provides a process that must be followed when agencies require employees to permanently transfer work units. Agencies must first ask for volunteers to transfer, and if there aren’t enough volunteers, assign transfers based on seniority, with the least senior employees being assigned first. The Department of Labor did not follow the contractual procedure and argued that the transfer language did not apply because the transfer was not permanent.
Mary Pat, Melissa, and George reached out to NAPE and a grievance was soon filed. The grievance argued that the agency did not follow the contractually mandated transfer procedures and the transfer was not temporary. A Hearing Officer determined that since the transfer did not have a specified end date, it must be considered permanent and the agency violated the transfer procedure in the contract by not soliciting volunteers and not assigning the least senior employees. Mary Pat, Melissa, and George were returned back to their original work unit.
If you are involuntarily transferred at work, contact us right away to ensure that all contractual requirements are being met. Mary Pat, Melissa, and George were returned to their original unit because of the rights guaranteed to them under their union contract!
