Federal employee organizations including several representing managers oppose a bill (S-742) advancing in the Senate that would make employees ineligible for awards for five years if they are found to have committed certain types of misconduct or a crime punishable by a year or more in prison.
The bill also would require employees to repay any awards paid in the year that the agency makes such a finding, which would be based on conclusions of the GAO or agency IG or ethics office, or commits such a crime.
“We oppose this legislation because it lacks basic fairness, due process and proportionality between wrongdoing and penalty. It is unfair because it fails to distinguish between minor infractions and criminal wrongs by employees, all of which can arise from an “adverse finding” against the underlying employee,” says a letter from the Federal-Postal Coalition.
The coalition includes about two dozen organizations representing a range of frontline, managerial and executive employees.
“Adverse findings can result in a range of penalties and personnel actions, from written warnings to terminations. Yet the legislation would impose harsh consequences – a ban on bonuses for five years – upon all employees subject to an adverse finding, regardless of their underlying conduct. Imposition of the same punishment on an employee subject to a one-day suspension, compared to an employee who has been terminated or imprisoned, is arbitrary and unfair.
“Distinct behavior should trigger punishment that reflects proportionality between the offense and the penalty. Penalizing an outstanding, high performing employee for a minor violation is entirely different from taking action against an employee who has violated the law through reckless negligence or criminal behavior,” it says.
