Federal employee workplace disputes are coming under more scrutiny from a top committee Republican who argues that agencies have an “excessive reliance” on reaching case settlements rather than pursuing litigation.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) is raising concerns over what he described as high numbers of “sue-and-settle” cases involving federal employees. He suggested that if agencies litigated more cases, they would likely win more often.
Comer’s letter, sent this week to the Office of Personnel Management, cited Merit Systems Protection Board data from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2015 that showed during that time, 68% of federal employee cases reached settlements. And out of cases that were litigated, more than 80% of agency adverse action decisions were upheld.
“Agencies are frequently and inexplicably settling cases with taxpayer dollars that they would otherwise win,” Comer wrote in the letter, addressed to OPM Director Scott Kupor. “This raises the question of whether cases are being settled despite a high likelihood of government success on the merits, and, if so, whether systemic incentives are driving outcomes that prioritize short-term expediency over long-term accountability and savings for taxpayers.”
Comer argued that settlements incur costs to taxpayers, limit accountability for federal employees, reduce transparency into misconduct and prevent the development of precedential decisions. He added that a tendency toward...
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