The Senate has refused to take up under special fast-track rules a bill (S-1082) to speed up the disciplinary process at VA and remove some appeal rights for employees there, although the measure may return after being revised.
The bill would give VA employees only seven days, rather than the unusual 30, to file an appeal at the MSPB, the hearing officer there would have to make a final decision within 45 days or the agency would win by default, and there would be no right to appeal beyond the hearing officer level. There would be some additional protections for employees who contend they are being retaliated against for whistleblowing.
The bill further would extend the standard probationary period for senior executives at the department to 180 days, with longer periods at the VA’s discretion.
The measure is similar to one the House passed in July that the White House threatened to veto, and is a followup to a law enacted last year imposing similar requirements only on SES members there. The bills are widely considered a potential precedent for applying the same changes government-wide.
Democrats objected to considering the bill under rules that essentially allow only for an up or down vote without amendments out of concern that employees’ due process rights would be too severely eroded. They favor an alternative (S-1856) that would strengthen management’s authority to address dangerous situations in the workplace, adds whistleblower protections, limits the use of administrative leave in disciplinary situations and adds new restrictions on movement between VA and contractors.
