TOPICS
TOPICS
Settle it
In November 1998, Interior Department officials fired computer specialist John Burks.
Burks appealed that decision, then in a settlement with the agency, agreed to resign from his position in exchange for a final performance appraisal, restoration of sick leave and the removal of derogatory information from his personnel file. An administrative judge dismissed the appeal because the situation was resolved in the settlement.
In 1999, Burks filed a petition for enforcement, alleging that the agency had not kept its end of the bargain and asked that the settlement be set aside, but the Merit Systems Protection Board decided he had not established a reason for setting aside the settlement and forwarded his complaint to a regional office.
An administrative judge in the regional office found that the agency had complied with two portions of the settlement agreement, but had yet to remove the derogatory information from Burks' personnel file. The judge granted Burks' petition. When Interior Department officials provided evidence showing that the personnel file had been purged, the board decided that the agency had upheld its end of the agreement and denied Burks' petition.
Burks then asked the board to reconsider its decision, and also filed a petition for judicial review with the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The board said it no longer had jurisdiction over the case because of the pending judicial review petition. The court decided to send the case back to the board for review. The board summarily denied Burks' petition for enforcement.
"Based on our review...we find that the agency is in compliance with the agreement," the board said in its decision.
John Burks v. Interior Department, Merit Systems Protection Board (Doc. # AT-075299-0226-M-1), Oct. 31, 2002
Know your rights
The Office of Special Counsel began implementing a government-wide whistleblower awareness and certification program Thursday.
The whistleblower certification program is part of a move by the Special Counsel to help agency heads better comply with the 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act, which requires them to inform employees about their rights under the law. The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is responsible for investigating federal whistleblowers' allegations of retaliation and for enforcing the Whistleblower Protection Act.
OSC's awareness program directs agencies to place posters explaining whistleblower protections and rights around the agency; include information about whistleblower rights in orientations for new hires; provide training for supervisors on the rights and protections afforded under the law; and provide a link to the Special Counsel's Web site from their own Web sites.
Agencies that meet those requirements receive a three-year certificate of compliance. The Office of Personnel Management and the Merit Systems Protection Board received certificates during a pilot phase of the certification program.
"In this time of increased focus on organization behavior and ethics, as well as a time of heightened attention to our national security, management should send out the message not only that agency employees will be protected against retaliation when they come forward to raise concerns, but that they are affirmatively encouraged to do so," said Elaine Kaplan, head of the Office of Special Counsel.
The Office of Special Counsel is offering three orientation sessions to agencies in early December.
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