The number of prohibited personnel practice complaints the Office of Special Counsel referred for investigation in fiscal 2005 dropped for the third year in a row, to 198 — or 11 percent of the 1,774 cases it closed, according to the agency’s report to Congress for fiscal 2005.
The number of favorable actions taken on those cases declined to 45, or 2.5 percent of closed cases, down from 80, or 3.8 percent in fiscal 2004, and 115, or 6.6 percent in fiscal 2003.
OSC, which GAO in 2004 cited for an inability to reduce its growing case backlog, has been attempting to draw it down, but only managed to reduce it by 3 cases in fiscal 2005 to 521, after getting rid of a substantial number of cases the prior fiscal year.
The rate at which PPP cases were processed dropped in fiscal 2005. In its report, OSC explained that cases processed in less than 240 days dropped to 67.5 percent in fiscal 2005 from 86 percent in fiscal 2004 because it closed a number of cases in its backlog that had been open for over a year. Majority leaders of the House Government Reform Committee issued a letter at the time saying they had looked into the case reductions and were satisfied that none had been merely tossed.
OSC referred 19 whistleblower cases for investigation and reporting to agencies out of 473 it processed in fiscal 2005, one more case than was referred in fiscal 2004 out of 1,154 cases processed that year.
The watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said the 2005 statistics showed “dismal” performance, and added to controversy surrounding the office.
The OPM inspector general is investigating whether special counsel Scott Bloch violated personnel practices for allegedly purging the office of dissenters when he took over in 2003.
PEER and a number of other groups alleged that investigators selected for mandatory transfer after Bloch took over had questioned OSC management strategy or Bloch’s practices.
OSC responded with a press release in January 2004 saying the decision was made to decentralize the headquarters office and enhance field operations.