The Veterans Affairs Department's capacity to quickly fire employees under a 2017 law was narrowed by tens of thousands of workers due to a recent board ruling, marking the latest in a series of findings that have restricted the use of the reforms over the last several years.
Employees hired into “hybrid” Title 38 roles are not eligible for expedited dismissal under the 2017 VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, the Merit Systems Protection Board ruled last week. That includes those in health care positions such as audiologists, social workers, nurse assistants, physical therapists and others.
Those workers have historically been brought into the department under special procedures within Title 38 of the U.S. Code, but subsequently receive the protections entitled to non-health care workers under Title 5. VA in 2021 attempted to remove Tammika Richardson, a nursing assistant, for absence without leave and other issues using the hastened firing authority granted in the 2017 law. Richardson brought the case to an MSPB administrative judge, who asked the central board to weigh in on whether the law applied to hybrid employees.
VA argued Congress—which passed the measure with broad bipartisan support—intended to cover all health care staff, including those in hybrid positions. The board disagreed, suggesting lawmakers were silent on the issue to signal those workers were not meant to be included.
The accountability law, which President Trump repeatedly hailed as...
WARNING: Graphic content A woman who alleged that Jay-Z raped her when she was 13 has said she made “false accusations” and never met the U.S. rapper, according to a court filing seen Friday. The w...