Federal employees are on the verge of major changes to their options for challenging agencies’ adverse personnel actions, such as reductions in force.
The Trump administration has issued three recent proposals, all aiming to transfer more authority to the Office of Personnel Management. Combined, the proposed changes would put OPM in charge of deciding on cases where federal employees appeal an agency’s RIF decision, probationary firing or suitability action.
Currently, the Merit Systems Protection Board is the deciding entity for employee appeals in all three categories. The independent agency was created as part of the Civil Service Reform Act, a 1978 law that replaced the former Civil Service Commission with three separate entities for setting personnel policies, adjudicating employee appeals and overseeing labor-management relations. Those agencies are OPM, MSPB and the Federal Labor Relations Authority, respectively.
Officials at the Partnership for Public Service said OPM’s new proposed transfer of authority will create a conflict of interest, erode due process, and remove transparency from what happens to career federal employees in appeal proceedings. The non-partisan organization, which advocates for improvements to federal government operations, also raised concerns that OPM does not have the capacity or independence to effectively adjudicate employees’ disputes.
Jenny Mattingley, the Partnership’s vice president for public policy and stakeholder engagement,...
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