Sometimes, a federal government employee will find himself or herself in the unfortunate situation of receiving a proposed disciplinary action. For most tenured civil service employees, no discipline affecting the employee’s pay may be issued without first providing the employee with notice of a proposed disciplinary action and an opportunity to respond to the proposal.
The law firm of Bonney, Allenberg & O’Reilly regularly represents individuals in replying to proposed disciplinary actions. If you are issued a proposed disciplinary action and would like to consult with an attorney, you should schedule a legal consultation immediately, as most proposed disciplinary actions set out a very short reply period.
Most proposed disciplinary actions also provide information about who to contact to request an extension for purposes of replying to the proposal, and who to contact to request documentation relied upon in proposing disciplinary action. Employees faced with proposed disciplinary actions should always request all of the materials being relied upon in the disciplinary proceeding, although if you are represented by counsel, this is something to discuss with your attorney. In order to be able to fully reply to the proposal, you should have access to all of the information being used against you. While this may seem like common sense, all too often, employees do not exercise the full extent of their rights, and either do not reply at all to the proposal, or do not request to review the materials being relied upon for the proposed disciplinary action.
Just because a certain type of disciplinary action is proposed does not necessarily mean that particular disciplinary action will be imposed. The employee’s right to reply is a very important component of the disciplinary process in federal employment. It should be taken very seriously both by the employee replying to the proposed discipline and by the deciding official who will ultimately make a decision as to what, if any, disciplinary action will be imposed.
A decision on the proposed disciplinary action is typically issued in writing and mailed, e-mailed, or hand-delivered directly to the employee. If the decision being issued upholds the charge and imposes disciplinary action, the decision letter should provide notice to the employee of his or her appeal and/or grievance rights.
Every case is different, and for most people in their probationary periods, the employing Agency is not usually required to issue a proposal and offer the employee the opportunity to respond. Additionally, the Agency’s requirements tend to be different for Non-Appropriated Fund (NAF) employees, whose employment status does not normally entitle them to an appeal before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) in the event they are faced with a major adverse action.
If you have received a proposed disciplinary action and would like to discuss your situation with an attorney, please call the law firm of Bonney, Allenberg, & O’Reilly, P.C. to set up an initial consultation with one of our attorneys.
