MELISSA HATFIELD
Associate General Counsel (Labor Relations)
As the Associate General Counsel (Labor Relations), Melissa Hatfield is responsible
for the Labor Relations program at GPO that involves 12 unions. Hatfield serves as
GPO’s principal contact with the Federal Labor Relations Authority and the in
Federal Services Impasses Panel. She advises management and is responsible for
the negotiation of all labor-management agreements and grievance procedures. She
is also responsible for establishing working relationships with representatives of
GPO’s bargaining units, including the AFGE/PCJC and the Joint Council of Unions.
Biography
Ms. Hatfield has more than a decade of experience of working with legal, labor
relations and human resources issues in both the Federal Government and private
sector. She came to GPO in 2013 from the Department of Education where she
served as the Director of Workforce Relations and was responsible for advising
senior management on employee and labor relations matters, managing the
retirement program, and implementing new programs for benefits, telework, and
performance management. Hatfield also held management positions in employee
and labor relations at the Department of Transportation and the Environmental
Protection Agency.
Prior to working for the Federal Government, Hatfield worked in the private sector
in Human Resources and at the National Treasury Employees Union where she
served as the lead negotiator representing many Federal agencies. She received a
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master of Science in Labor and
Industrial Relations from West Virginia University. She earned her law degree from
Wake Forest University School of Law, and is a licensed attorney. She is the great,
great, great granddaughter of the Judge Valentine “Wall” Hatfield, of the famous
West Virginia Hatfield family