From the Hill

Bill Targets Senior Executives' Bonuses

A new bipartisan bill would prohibit senior executives from receiving bonuses during sequestration.

While current law requires the government to pay performance awards to eligible members of the Senior Executive Service, the Senate bill would prohibit the payment of such awards during the sequester.

In support of the legislation, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., co-sponsor of the bill, pointed to data provided by the Office of Personnel Management that showed the government spent more than $340 million on bonuses for members of the SES between 2008 and 2011.

Case Law Update

Board Reaffirms Abandonment of Three-Part Framework Formerly Used in Adverse Action Cases Based on Refusal to Accept Management-Directed Reassignments

The Merit Systems Protection Board has vacated its precedential decision of Miller v. Department of the Interior and substituted its original April 3, 2013, decision with a new decision that reaffirms its new framework for analyzing adverse action cases based on refusal to accept a management-directed reassignment.

Mary Miller was a Superintendent with a national historical park in Alaska. The Department of the Interior decided it needed a Liaison in a different region of Alaska and determined that Miller would be a good fit for the newly created position. In April 2010, Miller’s supervisor offered her a voluntary reassignment to the Liaison position, but Miller declined, citing various hardships. Miller’s supervisor then presented her with a memorandum that explained that removal procedures would commence against her if she did not accept the new position.