DoD Sketches Policy on Mandatory Removal Offenses

Among the changes planned in Defense Department personnel policies under the NSPS is the establishment of certain employee offenses for which firing generally will be required—the so-called “mandatory removal offenses.” The concept was one of the more controversial provisions during the process of finalizing the rules, and despite union requests in that process for specifics on what offenses would be covered, the final rules do not define them precisely but instead said they would apply to offenses that have a “direct and substantial adverse impact on the department’s national security mission.” DoD did agree, though, to suggestions regarding how extensively the offenses will be communicated to employees before the policy goes into effect, including a promise that the offenses will be announced in the Federal Register and through internal agency communications.