[E-trademarks] [External Sender] Another wrinkle to the "buyout"--does the administration have the ability to pay the workers who resign?

Don Stout dstout at patlawyers.com
Wed Jan 29 23:58:18 UTC 2025 

Laura:

I’m not sure why we are obligated to show how much we care for and support federal employees any more than private employees who live with the uncertainty of future employment in the business world every day.  Cleaning house in the extremely inefficient federal bureaucracy is long overdue, particularly in view of the fact that we continue to run a deficit upwards of $1.5 trillion annually.  No one is guaranteed permanent employment at a location of their choice forever.  The abuse of locality pay provisions by remote workers who live in low-cost areas needs special attention.

I’m also not sure what you mean by a funding issue.  There is a reason the offer only extends to the end of the current fiscal year, so no additional funding is necessary over what is already allocated for these federal jobs.  There is nothing unlawful about ordering federal employees who are not covered by separate remote work agreements to return to their offices.  Who is and who is not covered by the order will get sorted out.  Probably most USPTO remote workers will get to continue being remote, so our “friends and colleagues” in the USPTO will be able to continue putting out the same shoddy work product we complain about on these list serves every day.

I worked in the USPTO on the patent side for eight years, the last four as a primary examiner.  Good examination, in both divisions of the USPTO, is a collaborative process, and it would benefit the quality of examination greatly were there be at least a partial return to office-based examination.  Younger examiners simply do not get the training and tutelage that they should be getting to be quality examiners.  When remote work became an option in the 90’s, there were core days where everyone needed to be in the office.  In view of the current shortage of office space, those days would probably need to rotate, but in the long run the USPTO would be a much more effective agency with a partial return to office examination.  Unfortunately, the outgoing administration made that a near impossibility by ensuring that new labor agreements were signed during the transition period, once again prioritizing the unionized federal employees over the USPTO customers and the public.  So there will continue to be plenty of complaint traffic on these list serves for years to come, sadly.


Best Regards,

Don Stout

Stout, Uxa & Buyan, LLP
23172 Plaza Pointe Drive, Suite 110
Laguna Hills, CA  92653
949-450-1750
949-450-1764 fax
Email: dstout at patlawyers.com

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This message and/or attachment(s) contains information which may be confidential and privileged.  Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive for the addressee), you may not use, copy, or disclose to anyone the message or any information contained in the message.  If you have received the message in error, please advise the sender by reply email.  Thank you.





From: Laura Geyer <lgeyer at ndgallilaw.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2025 3:36 PM
To: For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>
Cc: Don Stout <dstout at patlawyers.com>
Subject: RE: [E-trademarks] [External Sender] Another wrinkle to the "buyout"--does the administration have the ability to pay the workers who resign?

Don:

It’s a sham because there is no evidence that the executive had the authority to make this offer, nor that there is funding allocated for such an offer, nor is this how that works.

Your reference to this being something private companies do is inapposite. This is not a private company, and there are rules and ways and means.

I think we need to be clear how much we support and care for our friends and neighbors and colleagues in the federal government. They’ve been put through an industrial washing machine in the last week and a half with nobody knowing what’s happening next. And this has been against a backdrop of demonizing government employees for months (well, years, actually).

So again, the people in charge have NO idea how any of this works and until they have the full message from the courts, nobody should accept anything or take any employment impacting action without further clarity. Nothing that has happened in the last few days is in any way encouraging that this situation is improving.

And that’s the expert advice I’m hearing.

Oh, and in case it helps, if any of your kids are in college or college bound, you should have received a note today or last night that for the moment, the announcement that all grants and loan programs are suspended (which is now stayed anyway) does not apply currently to the Direct Loan or Pell grant programs. A lot of kids were looking at possibly having to leave college, so this is good news. It did say that in the future all of these programs will be run past the test of whether they are compatible with the administration’s philosophy.

Hope that helps!

Laura Talley Geyer | Of Counsel

ND Galli Law LLC
1200 G Street, N.W., Ste 800
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 599-9019 (direct)
https://ndgallilaw.com/laura-geyer/
https://ndgallilaw.com/

From: E-trademarks <e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com>> On Behalf Of Don Stout via E-trademarks
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2025 6:18 PM
To: For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>>
Cc: Don Stout <dstout at patlawyers.com<mailto:dstout at patlawyers.com>>
Subject: Re: [E-trademarks] [External Sender] Another wrinkle to the "buyout"--does the administration have the ability to pay the workers who resign?

EXTERNAL EMAIL
How is it a “sham”?  The offer, as I understand it, is to guarantee an employee’s job until the end of the fiscal year, and the employee who accepts the offer does not have to comply with the “return to work” order.  If an employee’s remote working arrangement is protected by collective bargaining or some other reason particular to their agency, then they don’t need the offer.  But an employee who lives 1,000 miles from their work site, assuming that they would never have to return to work, can accept the offer and have eight months to find a different situation.

Many private employees are facing the same dilemma, and they aren’t getting a guaranteed 8 months to look for a new opportunity.


Best Regards,

Don Stout

Stout, Uxa & Buyan, LLP
23172 Plaza Pointe Drive, Suite 110
Laguna Hills, CA  92653
949-450-1750
949-450-1764 fax
Email: dstout at patlawyers.com<mailto:dstout at patlawyers.com>

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
This message and/or attachment(s) contains information which may be confidential and privileged.  Unless you are the addressee (or authorized to receive for the addressee), you may not use, copy, or disclose to anyone the message or any information contained in the message.  If you have received the message in error, please advise the sender by reply email.  Thank you.




From: E-trademarks <e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com>> On Behalf Of Nancy Prager via E-trademarks
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2025 3:10 PM
To: For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>>
Cc: Nancy Prager <nancyprager at yahoo.com<mailto:nancyprager at yahoo.com>>
Subject: Re: [E-trademarks] [External Sender] Another wrinkle to the "buyout"--does the administration have the ability to pay the workers who resign?

It's all a sham.
On Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 06:05:54 PM EST, Ronni Jillions via E-trademarks <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>> wrote:



This is from someone in the PTO examining corps: The offer was not to put people on administrative leave.  If they resign, they still have to work until the end of the FY.  If they don’t, they can be fired.  No lump sum payout or package was offered.



Ronni





Ms. Ronni S. Jillions

Admitted to practice in Washington DC and

before the United States Patent and Trademark Office

Partner

_____________________________________________

FisherBroyles, LLP

direct: +1.202.628.5217

cell: +1.703.856.2226

ronni.jillions at fisherbroyles.com<mailto:ronni.jillions at fisherbroyles.com>



www.fisherbroyles.com<http://www.fisherbroyles.com/>



The information contained in this e-mail message is only for the personal and confidential use of the intended recipient(s). If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail, and delete the original message.



We will never use email to notify you of a change to any bank account details we have already provided to you. If you receive any email purporting to come from this firm which seeks to do this, then please contact us immediately by telephone and do not act on it or reply to it.  We cannot accept responsibility for any loss if you do not follow these instructions.





From: E-trademarks <e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com>>On Behalf Of Kevin Grierson via E-trademarks
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2025 6:01 PM
To: For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>>
Cc: Kevin Grierson <kgrierson at cm.law<mailto:kgrierson at cm.law>>
Subject: [External Sender][E-trademarks] Another wrinkle to the "buyout"--does the administration have the ability to pay the workers who resign?



Sen. Kaine on the Senate floor claimed "The President has no authority to make that offer. There's no budget line item to pay people who are not showing up for work...If you accept that offer and resign, he'll stiff you..."



Obviously there’s politics at play here, but this does raise the question: can the administration simply put everyone on paid administrative leave if they offer their resignation?  If not, what happens to the PTO workers who resign?  Are they just out of a job (and with no “severance” pay)?



Kevin Grierson<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.culhanemeadows.com_attorney_kevin-2Dgrierson_&d=DwMGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=4dEHyuXJuTyTpG3K6gu9wTJWD_PRbf4K9kL19SkPMMyQomBI2wwgLI_RrELIZLxp&m=iX3QPJ8EQMZuZpMm3-0MEGsDEXSELlQXeG0XL-xX6PlFczTVip4eE1HkVGHiDDw2&s=g9V0ClgDohvy1_KWv-WJcH6uYvLZASZdCppCrgaK7Gc&e=>

Partner​​​​

[cid:image001.png at 01DB7264.40186C00]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cm.law_&d=DwMGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=4dEHyuXJuTyTpG3K6gu9wTJWD_PRbf4K9kL19SkPMMyQomBI2wwgLI_RrELIZLxp&m=iX3QPJ8EQMZuZpMm3-0MEGsDEXSELlQXeG0XL-xX6PlFczTVip4eE1HkVGHiDDw2&s=27Vew6TFXwY1Tc9Nf9XqahayjAOspW_EcKHt2jmqq9Q&e=>

[Mobile:]

 757-726-7799

[Fax:]

 866-521-5663

[Email:]

 kgrierson at cm.law<mailto:kgrierson at cm.law>



Please note: Culhane Meadows is now CM Law<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cm.law_cm-2Dlaw-2Dformerly-2Dculhane-2Dmeadows-2Dlaunches-2Dsecond-2Ddecade-2Dwith-2Dfresh-2Dname-2Dand-2Dmodern-2Dbrand_&d=DwMGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=4dEHyuXJuTyTpG3K6gu9wTJWD_PRbf4K9kL19SkPMMyQomBI2wwgLI_RrELIZLxp&m=iX3QPJ8EQMZuZpMm3-0MEGsDEXSELlQXeG0XL-xX6PlFczTVip4eE1HkVGHiDDw2&s=TZL0XD_eM_tCnzqQh5cPK5l8IF53RvHnPmnL2zlFWM0&e=>

Atlanta | Austin | Birmingham | Boston | Chicago | Dallas | Delaware | Denver | Houston | Minneapolis | New Jersey | New York | Philadelphia | Washington, DC <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cm.law_offices_&d=DwMGaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=4dEHyuXJuTyTpG3K6gu9wTJWD_PRbf4K9kL19SkPMMyQomBI2wwgLI_RrELIZLxp&m=iX3QPJ8EQMZuZpMm3-0MEGsDEXSELlQXeG0XL-xX6PlFczTVip4eE1HkVGHiDDw2&s=gViRmdYX4KRqS49CRGzsYDL60KeQZjcF2NzUy31fIy8&e=>

This message is for the personal and confidential use of the intended recipient(s) and may be subject to attorney-client privilege. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately. Please note that general marketing updates/legal news alerts provided by the firm or its attorneys are for informational purposes only and should not be relied on as legal advice for any specific situation. Laws can change rapidly and, therefore, you should always consult with your CM Law attorney to ensure you have the most accurate and current counsel pertaining to your situation. ​


--
E-trademarks mailing list
E-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com<mailto:E-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>
http://oppedahl-lists.com/mailman/listinfo/e-trademarks_oppedahl-lists.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://oppedahl-lists.com/pipermail/e-trademarks_oppedahl-lists.com/attachments/20250129/5548e10b/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 27976 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://oppedahl-lists.com/pipermail/e-trademarks_oppedahl-lists.com/attachments/20250129/5548e10b/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 285 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://oppedahl-lists.com/pipermail/e-trademarks_oppedahl-lists.com/attachments/20250129/5548e10b/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.png
Type: image/png
Size: 452 bytes
Desc: image003.png
URL: <http://oppedahl-lists.com/pipermail/e-trademarks_oppedahl-lists.com/attachments/20250129/5548e10b/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.png
Type: image/png
Size: 394 bytes
Desc: image004.png
URL: <http://oppedahl-lists.com/pipermail/e-trademarks_oppedahl-lists.com/attachments/20250129/5548e10b/attachment-0003.png>

More information about the E-trademarks mailing list