Federal Employment and Labor Law Blog

According to a Sept. 5 report by the Government Accountability Office, the average federal agency has done little over the past 20 years to increase its use of performance data to make management decisions, or even to adopt practices to promote its use. In particular, the GAO compared a 2013 survey to the most recent (2017) survey of 24 agencies and found little change.

For the survey, managers were asked to rate, on a scale of 1 to 5, the extent to which they and others at their agency use performance data when making various decisions. Government-wide, the 2017 score was 3.39, which is statistically identical to the 2013 score of 3.41. The 2013 score, in turn, had changed little from the 2007 score.

A federal judge has overturned most of the key provisions of the three executive orders affecting federal employees that President Trump signed in late May. Among other changes, one executive order directed federal agencies to renegotiate all union contracts involving federal employees and changed what was to happen when negotiations stall. Another limited the overall length of performance improvement plans to 30 days and constrained appeals. A third restricted the "official time" available to be used for union activities.

A coalition of federal employee unions filed suit to stop the three orders in June. They argued that federal law -- Chapter 71 of the Civil Service Reform Act -- laid out how the federal sector handles labor relations. Since these rules were passed by Congress and signed into law, the president lacks the authority to change them through executive orders. Executive orders, they argued, cannot expressly conflict with federal law.

When an employee witnesses harassment, discrimination or another illegal action at work, he or she should feel comfortable reporting the behavior.

When an employee “blows the whistle” on the employer or company, the employee is protected by law. Unfortunately, some employers will take action against the employee in the form of demotion, assigning undesirable job duties or even job termination.

Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Brock Long recently issued a statement saying that FEMA's former chief component human capital officer (CHCO) had been the subject of an internal investigation before he resigned on June 18. That years-long investigation, Long said, revealed "lapses in professional responsibility" that he called "deeply disturbing."

A written summary of the investigation's findings provided to the New York Times alleged that the former CHCO had "engaged in serious misconduct and mismanagement" that had created a "'toxic workplace culture."