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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