U.S. OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL OBTAINS STAY OF REMOVAL OF EMPLOYEE ALLEGING RETALIATION FOR FILING GRIEVANCE 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 8/5/99
CONTACT: JANE MCFARLAND
(202) 653-7984      

    Today, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced that on August 4, 1999, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) granted its petition to stay the termination of Mr. Joseph Perfetto from his position as a Safety Technician for the U.S. Department of Navy’s Naval Support Activity (NSA) in Naples, Italy. OSC requested the stay because its investigation revealed reasonable grounds to conclude that Mr. Perfetto’s protected activity of filing a grievance against a departmental supervisor was a significant factor in the determination to fire him. 

    Mr. Perfetto began his appointment and one-year probationary term as a NSA Safety Technician on August 8, 1998. He filed a grievance against the NSA Director of the Public Safety Department (PSD) on January 15, 1999. Almost immediately after learning of the grievance, the PSD Director met with the NSA Director of the Human Resources Office (HRO) and began steps for terminating Mr. Perfetto during his probationary period. At that time, the HRO Director advised that the grievance should be resolved before issuing the termination. 

    On February 17, 1999, the grievance was sent back to Mr. Perfetto for him to amend and resubmit it. Later that day, Mr. Perfetto was told that he was being terminated. Mr. Perfetto’s first-line supervisor, who had rated him as “outstanding in all assigned and assumed duties,” did not learn of the termination until after it was issued. 

    When Mr. Perfetto’s first-line supervisor met with the PSD Director to tell him that Mr. Perfetto was an outstanding employee and that it would be a mistake to terminate him, the PSD Director criticized the supervisor for not providing him with information concerning the grievance. He warned that the supervisor was walking “on thin ice.”

    At OSC’s request, the Department of Navy had voluntarily stayed Mr. Perfetto’s termination and placed him on administrative leave. Although the Navy was willing to continue the informal stay, the parties agreed that a formal stay should be entered because Mr. Perfetto’s probationary employment period ends on August 8, 1999. The formal stay the Board entered directs that the Navy maintain Mr. Perfetto in his position for 45 days and tolls the probationary period for the duration of the stay. During that period, the parties will attempt to achieve a voluntary resolution of the matter. After 45 days, OSC may petition the MSPB for formal corrective action. (MSPB Docket Number CB-1208-99-0062-U-1)

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