The Office of Special Counsel has announced that it filed a
petition for corrective action with the Merit Systems Protection
Board against the Department of Homeland Security for what it
described as granting unauthorized preference during competition
for promotions to a border patrol agent, for assigning him duties
outside his position of record as well as authorizing
administratively uncontrollable overtime pay.
The employee has been assigned exclusively to IT work outside of
his position of record as a border patrol agent since 1990 when
he was unofficially detailed from his GS-9 position to set up
telecom and computer equipment at local headquarters, according
to the complaint.
However, OSC said that after 14 years of continuous work in the
technology field, the employee’s official position — now allegedly
GS-13 supervisory BPA — has remained unchanged and he has continued
to receive law enforcement pay and benefits, including AUO premium
pay dating back to 1994.
