U.S. OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL FILES PETITION FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION ON BEHALF OF SUSPENDED SES EMPLOYEE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 7/27/98
CONTACT: JANE MCFARLAND
(202) 653-7984      

    The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) today announced that it had filed a petition for corrective action with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) on behalf a Senior Executive Service (SES) employee, David E. Hanley, who was suspended from work for fourteen days by his employer, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The petition seeks a reversal of the suspension and an award of back pay for Hanley.

    Regulations promulgated by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) prohibit federal agencies from suspending SES employees for fourteen days or less. FAA’s violation resulted in a loss of important procedural protection for Mr. Hanley because SES employees are not entitled to a hearing before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) for disciplinary actions less severe than a 15-day suspension. By circumventing this process, FAA denied Mr. Hanley impartial third party review of whether the suspension was justified. 

    Before his suspension, Hanley notified his employer that 5 C.F.R.  752.601 (b)(1) bars agencies from taking a suspension action of fourteen days or less against a senior executive. After Hanley filed his complaint, OSC attempted to negotiate corrective action with FAA and the Department of Transportation (DOT). When those efforts failed, OSC filed its petition.

    The U.S. Office of Special Counsel provides an independent avenue to protect merit systems principles in federal employment. OSC receives, investigates, and prosecutes before the MSPB, charges concerning the commission of prohibited personnel practices, with priority given to protecting whistleblowers. In addition, the Office provides a secure channel for federal employees who possess information regarding legal violations, gross mismanagement, fraud, waste and abuse. 

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