Millions of federal employees spanning the country take immense pride in the work they do. They believe it is important, and they apply specialized education and training toward the accomplishment of key national goals and objectives.
Working in the federal sphere can be both challenging and rewarding.
Yet, for some, it can also prove harrowing.
Here’s a scenario: You are a government employee who has worked diligently and with proven results for years in a select agency. And then you suddenly find out one day that you are being personally targeted in an internal administrative probe.
Such investigations often prove materially troublesome for those who are on the receiving end of close and unwanted scrutiny. Stress sets in. You don’t know what examiners are thinking or doing behind your back. Job regularities – expectations, projects, team interaction, promotions and so forth – are summarily jettisoned, with new uncertainties clouding everything at the workplace.
Internal investigatory probes: often unfair and punitive
Imagine how it feels to suddenly know one day that you are being investigated at work for some alleged criminal or non-criminal activity. You obviously have serious concerns.
Yet you also have legal rights. And those rights merit fullest protection during a government investigation.
Here’s why: Many government probes into alleged wrongdoing often proceed to a subsequent stage, namely, a formal disciplinary action. The outcome of such a proceeding can be highly varied and include results like the following:
- Job suspension or termination
- Demotion or unenviable transfer
- Unpaid leave
- Criminal sanctions like jail time and imposed fines
Forging a timely and proactive investigatory response
Many targeted federal workers simply assume that their sole prerogative in an administrative probe is to wait for its conclusion and then secure legal help during a follow-up disciplinary action.
There are fundamental flaws in that thinking. For starters, a preliminary investigation is far from being routinely being objective and fair-handed. In truth, many such probes proceed from already existing biases and agendas and are anything but neutral.
And here’s a second key point: Targeted individuals do not have to wait until a disciplinary notification to be proactive; rather, they are entitled to enlist proven and aggressive legal assistance at the earliest stage of an investigation.
Doing so can make a material difference in a case outcome. Indeed, acting sooner rather than later may preclude a probe from even proceeding to a second-stage disciplinary phase.
Your federal career is undoubtedly of immeasurable importance to you. When it is imperiled by a government investigation and potential disciplinary action, take purposeful action by timely reaching out to a proven employment law legal team.