Where Is Your ERS?

Employee Relations Specialists (ERS's) provide advice and guidance on employee and labor relations matters. ERS's service various agencies and organizational units as follows:

If Your Agency/Organization is:

Then telephone an ERS at:

APHIS, International Services

Call a Personnel Management Specialist in Riverdale, MD (301) 734-6490

APHIS Plant Protection & Quarantine

Northeastern Regional Office

Southeastern Regional Office

Central Regional Office
 

Western Regional Office

Moorestown, NJ - (609) 757-5070 

Gulfport, MS - (601) 863-1813

Brownsville, TX - (956) 504-4153, 4151, or 4152

Sacramento, CA - (916) 857-6065 

APHIS Veterinary Services

Northern Regional Office

Southeastern Region Office

Central Region Office

Western Region Office

National Veterinary Services Laboratories

Albany, NY - (518) 370-5026 

Tampa, FL - (813) 228-2952 

Arlington, TX - (817) 885-7850 

Englewood, CO - (303) 784-6201

Ames, IA - (515) 239-8571

All APHIS headquarters and organizations not identified above, and the following:

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)

Call Marketing and Regulatory Programs Human Resources, Employee & Management Relations, in Riverdale, MD on (30l) 734-4414

ERS's Help Supervisors

Some of the ways in which an ERS can help supervisors are as follows: 

1. Advise how to handle a situation involving an employee performance, conduct, or labor relations issue;

2. Assist with a decision of what alternative action or what disciplinary action may be appropriate;

3. Locate and interpret pertinent regulations;

4. Help determine if a regulation was properly communicated to an employee;

5. Help determine if a rule was violated by an employee, and whether it was enforced with discipline in the past;

6. Explain how to counsel and document properly;

7. If necessary, conduct further factfinding or an investigation;

8. Advise on alternatives to traditional discipline;

9. If official disciplinary action is warranted, assist in defining an appropriate penalty for the offense(s); 

10. Write official disciplinary letters for the supervisor's signature (based on input from the supervisor);

11. Explain pertinent employee's rights and the regulations therein;

12. Advise and assist with grievances; and

13. Defend disciplinary actions taken by the Agency that go before a third party (i.e., arbitration or the Merit Systems Protection Board). 

ERS's Help Employees

Some of the ways in which an Employee Relations Specialist (ERS) can help employees are as follows: 

1. Answer questions on employee or labor relations matters;

2. Locate and interpret pertinent regulations;

3. Explain employee's rights and the regulations therein;

4. Explain the disciplinary/adverse action process;

5. Explain the administrative or negotiated grievance process;

6. If the employee alleges discrimination, provide the telephone number of the Civil Rights Enforcement and Compliance (CREC) office, or the name of an Equal Employment Opportunity counselor; or

7. Explain applicable regulations pertaining to bargaining unit employees (i.e., Weingarten right).