Our Attorneys Can Help You Navigate the Difficult Process of Disciplinary and Adverse Actions
The Jeffrey Law Group, PLLC, provides counseling and assistance to Federal and Postal Service employees through all stages and aspects of the disciplinary and/or adverse action process. Specifically, our attorneys provide:
- Initial consultation and assistance in preparing employees’ responses to proposed disciplinary and/or adverse actions;
- Written responses to proposed disciplinary and/or adverse actions;
- Representation of employees at oral replies to proposed disciplinary and/or adverse actions; and,
- Appeals of adverse decisions, i.e., effectuated discipline or adverse action, to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) or other applicable adjudicative agencies (e.g., the Foreign Service Grievance Board; the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Disciplinary Appeals Board; the Transportation Security Administration, Disciplinary Review Board; the Government Accountability Office, Personnel Appeals Board; et al.)
Let the Jeffrey Law Group, PLLC, The Federal Employee’s Law Firm® help you through this process. Contact us today at 202.312.7100 for a free initial telephone consultation. For more information regarding Disciplinary and Adverse Actions, please visit our blog posts.
Disciplinary and Adverse Actions
The majority of Federal employees have a constitutionally recognized property right in their continued employment with the Federal Government. See generally Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532 (1985); Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564 (1972).Specifically, many of the applicable federal statutory employment schemes plainly create property interests in continued employment. See generally 5 U.S.C. § 7513(a); 38 U.S.C. § 7461. When a Federal employee has a constitutionally recognized property right in their continued employment, the Federal Government cannot deprive him or her of this property without due process. See Loudermill, 470 U.S. at 538. The U.S. Supreme Court has stated:
The essential requirements of due process … are notice and an opportunity to respond. The opportunity to present reasons, either in person or in writing, why proposed action should not be taken is a fundamental due process requirement…. The tenured employee is entitled to oral or written notice of the charges against him, an explanation of the employer’s evidence, and an opportunity to present his side of the story. . .
See Loudermill, 470 U.S. at 546.
For example, under Chapter 75, of Title 5 of the United States Code, a tenured Federal employee has the statutory right to: (1) at least 30 days advance written notice stating the specific reasons for the proposed adverse action; (2) a reasonable amount of time, but not less than 7 days, to answer orally and in writing and to furnish affidavits and other documentary evidence in support of the answer; (3) be represented by an attorney or other representative; and, (4) a written decision and the specific reasons therefore at the earliest practicable date. See 5 U.S.C. § 7513(b); see also Stone v. FDIC, 179 F.3d 1368 (Fed. Cir. 1999).
This constitutional right to make a written and oral response to a proposed disciplinary and/or adverse action is the employee’s opportunity to convince the Agency’s designated deciding official not to effectuate that proposal. If there is a problem with the Agency charge or penalty, or anything else for that matter, this is the time to correct that problem. In fact, the Agency is under a duty to make reasonable inquiries into the exonerating facts, which the employee brings to its attention, before affecting the proposed removal. See generally Steger v. Defense Investigative Serv., 19 MSPR 462 (1984), 717 F.2d 1402 (D.C. Cir. 1983) (per curiam) (holding that failure to investigate will result in finding that agency should have known it would not prevail, and thus infer liability).
Contact the Jeffrey Law Group, PLLC, The Federal Employee’s Law Firm® today at 202.312.7100 for an initial consultation. For more information regarding Disciplinary and Adverse Actions, please visit our blog posts.