Board Denies Army Appeal of Whistleblower Reprisal Holding
A former Army Diagnostic Radiologic Technologist was removed from her position on April 5, 2012, based on 25 specifications of Conduct Unbecoming a Federal Civilian Employee.
Army Settles Whistleblower Reprisal Case after OSC Investigation
After a U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) investigation, the Army recently settled a whistleblower retaliation claim filed by an Army civilian infection control analyst at Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
FLRA Denies Agency Exceptions to Arbitrator Award Cancelling Subjective Performance Elements
An Office of Personnel Management senior accountant, through her Union, grieved her annual performance rating of “exceeds fully successful” both overall and in two critical elements of her performance plan.
Board Rules No Immediate Attorney Fees Award after Agreeing to Reopen Prior Opinion
In 2012, the Merit Systems Protection Board joined two adverse action appeals concerning an employee’s placement on enforced leave and sustained an MSPB administrative judge’s reversal of the enforced leave periods.
MSPB Finds Interim Suspension of Access to Classified Info Doesn’t Trigger Process
On August 13, 2013, Department of Defense (DoD) suspended an Operations Research Analyst’s access to classified information pending a final security determination by the DoD Central Adjudication Facility (CAF) concerning whether to revoke the employee’s security clearance.
Federal Circuit Holds Administrative Law Judges May be Removed Based on Productivity Statistics
Mark Shapiro began working for the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) as an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) in the New York Hearing Office in 1997. Beginning in 1998, the SSA informed Mr. Shapiro that his performance was lacking.
D.C. District Court Vacates VA Secretary Decision on Bargaining for Overtime Procedures
In November 2012, the Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center in Amarillo, Texas mandated overtime for all Title 38 registered nurses after suffering through a staffing shortage that saw the number of registered nurses drop twenty-four percent.
OSC Releases Annual Report to Congress
In the Office of Special Counsel’s Annual Report to Congress, submitted to Senate President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner last week, Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner detailed the burgeoning number of complaints and cases received by OSC in fiscal year 2014.
Federal Circuit Reverses MSPB Decision on Forced Reassignment
A National Park Service Superintendent at Sitka National Historical Park was removed from her position after she refused a management-directed reassignment to a different position.
Fifth Circuit: Protection Not Available for Disclosures of Purely Private Wrongdoing
An International Examiner at the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) received a proposed removal on September 2010 and was removed in November 2010. In 2013, the employee filed an individual right of action (“IRA”) appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board (“MSPB”), citing his Office of Special Counsel (“OSC”) complaint claiming that he had been retaliated against after making protected whistleblower disclosures to his supervisor and the Commissioner of the IRS in February 2010 regarding an alleged $500 million tax fraud perpetrated by ExxonMobil.
Refusing Order to Violate Rule or Regulation is Not Protected Whistleblower Activity
Refusing to comply with an order that would require a federal employee to violate an agency rule or regulation is not protected whistleblower activity, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) recently held.
GAO Declines Reconsideration of Disposable Utensil Purchase Ban
In 2013, the Department of Commerce informed the National Weather Service Employee Organization (“NWSEO” or “union”) that it would no longer provide eating utensils to workers due to a lack of funds, despite a September 2009 memorandum of understanding pledging the purchase of said utensils.
Federal Circuit Differentiates Between 2 Types of Reprisal
A Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation employee filed a Step 1 grievance with the Agency after being issued a Letter of Warning regarding comments he allegedly made that potentially violated the agency’s anti-harassment policy.