Federal Employment and Labor Law Blog

It’s natural and understandable for the news to cover major crises, and many of them deeply affect our lives and our workplaces. However, once those crises abate and you go back to your normal routine, will you find yourself secretly immersed in yet another crisis?

As suggested by a survey from the Society for Human Resource Management, an HR thinktank, toxic workplace cultures present a looming crisis. They squander hundreds of billions of dollars and harm millions of workers. And as an employee of the federal government, the nation’s largest employer, you may recognize many of the problems the survey highlights.

The federal government is a massive, multi-trillion-dollar machine. It impacts nearly every aspect of life within the United State—and even across the globe. But at the ground level, it’s made up of people.

People like you are responsible for managing, overseeing and implementing all the policies the government funds. And the good work you do helps to ensure tax dollars serve their purpose. So, when you see others taking actions that put lives at risk or threaten to waste hundreds of thousands of dollars, do you have an obligation to report those wrongdoings?

If you work long enough in the federal government, you’re going to work under an administration with which you disagree. That’s to be expected. The nation’s moods often swing back and forth, and our elections give the nation a lever for change.

What you shouldn’t expect, though, is for an administration to remove career employees simply because they do not share the prevailing political views. Yet, recent reports suggest the current administration may be taking such actions, purging employees it brands “disloyal.”

As a federal employee, you have the right to challenge unfair disciplinary actions. This is important because agencies don’t always follow the law. They may sometimes act in ways that are arbitrary, biased or politically motivated. But challenging these bad decisions is rarely easy.

In fact, recent trends have shown that fewer employees are winning their challenges. At the same time, Government Executive has reported a significant decrease in settlements. These are discouraging trends, but they shouldn’t prompt you to give up. Instead, they should remind you how important it is for you to take the process seriously.