Employee integrity cases investigated by the IG’s office at the EPA cover a range of personal and professional allegations, although some of them did not prove to be valid, a report by that office on a recent six-month period shows.
It said, for example, that one SES official resigned during an investigation into an alleged romantic relationship with a subordinate employee, although it found no violation in another case involving alleged misuse of official position regarding a contractor who had done work at an SES official’s home.
Cases in which allegations were confirmed, it said, involved:
Alteration of position descriptions to match the resumes of intended selectees, resulting in corrective action, training and a letter of reprimand;
Engaging in outside activities while on agency time and equipment, resulting in a warning letter;
Failing to disclose a personal relationship with the owner of a company that had contracts over which the employee had official review and oversight responsibilities, resulting in a three-day suspension;
Unapproved telework, discrepancies in time and attendance records, and the use of a government computer for personal purposes, resulting in a two-week suspension; and
Providing candidates for employment and promotion an unfair advantage and improperly authorizing awards, resulting in the employee’s resignation.