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Topic: Working for the USPTO (Read 369253 times) |
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current_examiner
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Re: Working for the USPTO
« Reply #965 on: May 22nd, 2007, 9:10pm » |
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It's crazy. Why would they not just fire her? I mean, why prosecute?
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Isaac
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Re: Working for the USPTO
« Reply #966 on: May 23rd, 2007, 6:40am » |
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on May 22nd, 2007, 7:44pm, gsfo wrote:| Why is anybody barred from working voluntary unpaid overtime? Is that a result of some union vs. management backroom negotiation? |
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It isn't a union thing as much as a general labor law thing. For non-exempt employees, the law doesn't allow taking advantage of the employee by assigning too much work and then having the employee work for free to get the job done rather than being evaluated as inefficient. I'm sure the policy is the result of someone suing Uncle Sam.
The PTO handles that problem by making voluntary overtime for the equivalent of non-exempt employees illegal and then just getting rid of those who cannot complete the required work fast enough. Examiners at GS-7 and below sign a statement every bi-week indicating that they know of the policy. Presumably working involuntary overtime can get a GS-7 fired, but I don't know of such cases. I have heard of examiners being verbally corrected about the policy.
I imagine that some GS-5 and GS-7s take the risk of getting caught working too many hours rather than the facing the sure bet of getting fired for low productivity while on probation.
Also, most examiners are at least at GS-9 by the end of the probationary period. At that point they can work as much voluntary overtime as they want.
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Isaac
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willi173
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Re: Working for the USPTO
« Reply #967 on: May 23rd, 2007, 9:17am » |
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A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from USPTO stating that I was being considered for a start date of mid-June. As instructed by the email, I forwarded official copies of my transcripts to HR. Since then I've heard nothing from the office. Does this mean that I'm likely not to get the job, or is government bureaucracy exceedingly slow, and I may yet get an offer?
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ExaminerJr
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Re: Working for the USPTO
« Reply #968 on: May 23rd, 2007, 12:41pm » |
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on May 23rd, 2007, 9:17am, willi173 wrote:| A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from USPTO stating that I was being considered for a start date of mid-June. As instructed by the email, I forwarded official copies of my transcripts to HR. Since then I've heard nothing from the office. Does this mean that I'm likely not to get the job, or is government bureaucracy exceedingly slow, and I may yet get an offer? |
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Did the email say "this is not an official offer letter" while sounding an awful lot like an offer? If so, that probably means HR will get to you within the next few weeks and give you a call. In my case, I received a non-official offer from a PTO representative, followed by an email similar to the one you received. I was told that after my HSPD form and PIV form were faxed, I would receive a call from HR. Took a couple of weeks to hear from HR.
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amazed
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Re: Working for the USPTO
« Reply #969 on: May 24th, 2007, 9:05pm » |
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I"m amazed by the above article and that the pto would try to send its former employees to prison for minor violations of the rules. I hope that management knows that this reflects pretty badly on the institution. This is the worst kind of press you can imagine. Maybe it scares some examiners into being more diligent about their time accounting... but it probably keeps a lot more people from ever considering working at the patent office.
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