A Charging Manual
By: Fowler & Vitaro
Price: $300.00
Edition: 15th/2023
Sku: 23MSCP
ISBN: 978-1-956013-18-4
Availability: IN-STOCK
Samples: Table of Contents ------- Text Sample

Nothing is more important than the agency charge.
It is the driving force in an adverse action.
Appellant’s don’t win—agencies lose by mischarging.
MSPB Charges and Penalties: A Charging Manual is the bible on adverse action charges, charge drafting, proof requirements and elements, defenses to each charge, and penalties. This fourteenth edition offers in a quick, easy-to-master way, all charges, rules, applicable law, nuances, and tips to win. Part I is a close cousin to a military charging manual, listing virtually all charges, their nuances, elements and proof requirements, the prominent cases won and lost on each charge, as well as the pros and cons, pitfalls, and defenses on each charge. Part II details how to select and draft charges and how to avoid charging errors, including tips on how to use easy-to-prove charges. Part III covers the Douglas factors, penalty deference, how to make a penalty showing, and how to avoid penalty missteps. Both Parts II and III offer extensive discussion on providing clear notice, distinguishing between constitutional and statutory violations, as well as tips on avoiding common due process traps. A key feature of these two parts: each chapter provides at its start and conclusion Quick-Guides in bullet form containing the essentials and need-to-know nuances in that chapter. These comprehensive checklists are a must-know for counsel (agency and private), union representatives, and HR personnel. Part IV "How to Do It (In Real Time)" illustrates how to apply the tips and techniques explained throughout the book. Part V covers AJ initial decisions, many of which show trends of what’s happening right now in real time. And finally, Part VI details affirmative defenses usually invited by certain charges.
Major topics include:
Part One—The Agency Charge
The Basics, The Essentials—Adverse Actions
Charges and Proof Requirements
Part Two—Framing or Writing the Charge
Cause—The Official, CSRA Charge
"Specific Reasons"; Specific Rules
Charges—The Kinds of Charges, Their Parts, Their Rules
The Specific Label Charge
Generic, Narrative Charges
The Conjunctive Charge
Charge Interpretation
Merger, Multiplicity of Charges, and Administrative Double Jeopardy
Notice; Due Process
Key Charges and Their Alternatives
Special, Unique, Often Job-Ending Charges—Security-Related Issues; Conditions of Employment, Inability to Perform, Illegal Drug Use
The Indefinite Suspension Charge
Power Charging—Charging Down, Proving Up; Charging in the Alternative
Selecting, Drafting the Charge; Working With Proposing, Deciding Officials
Part Three—The Penalty
Penalty Basics and Fundamentals
Penalty Review and Deference
The Douglas Factors By the Numbers
Tricks of the Trade—Selling/Attacking the Penalty; Dealing With Deciding Officials
Part Four—How to Do It (In Real Time)
How to Do It: Mastering the Basics, Applying the Fundamentals
How to Do It: A Closer, "Post-Grad" Look at the Nuances
Part Five—Initial Decisions
What’s Current and Happening in Real Time
Part Six—Charges and Affirmative Defenses
Charges and Affirmative Defenses
Available as a softcover book and/or a PDF file with many useful features delivered on a CD-ROM, USB Flash Drive, or download. Hyperlinks allow the reader to move quickly between the Table of Contents and Index entries and the corresponding portions of the text. Internal hyperlinks serve as a cross-reference feature within the text. Major cases are linked to internet cites so that the entire case can be viewed.
