Radio Free PTO: USPTO Duping Employees

According to the August 2004 "Radio Free PTO" newsletter of the Patent Office Professional Association,

"The USPTO is instructing its supervisors in ways to trick their employees into admitting unauthorized absence and phone use without informing employees of their rights under the law and their labor contract. . . . The moment that a management representative or supervisor asks if a phone call was for business or personal reasons, even if it sounds like a friendly exchange, that is the moment when you are involved in an investigatory interview and you are entitled to union representation. It's unwise to continue the interview without requesting representation first and then immediately calling the union."

The Patent Office Professional Association is the legally recognized voice of approximately 2700 examiners, classifiers, computer scientists, and other patent professionals.