Bill Would Require Workers To Work In Most Cases Of Pending Discipline
The Washington Post reported the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved a bill “cutting back on use of ‘administrative leave’” or excused absence for federal employees, which is “paid time away from the workplace that doesn’t result in a loss of vacation time or other forms of leave.” The bill intends to address “one of the few federal employee issues where there is bipartisan agreement: that too many agencies put too many employees on paid time off beyond their regular leave time for too long.” A Government Accountability Office report in 2014 found in the three year period ending in September 2013, federal agencies put over 53,000 employees on administrative leave for over a month. Incredibly, 263 were on excused absence for over a year. Typically, agencies use administrative leave as part of a disciplinary process, requiring the employee to stay away from the work site. The measure that cleared the Senate panel “would generally require that an employee be given a temporary assignment, transferred or allowed to telework when the agency is conducting an investigation that could lead to discipline, or has issued a notice of planned discipline.”
What This Means For Small Business
The federal government’s dysfunctional personnel systems too often prevent agencies from taking disciplinary or termination actions against employees when they are reasonable or merited. The Senate bill reforming use of administrative leave gives agencies new tools for disciplinary situations that require workers to make their contribution when a case is pending. Small businesses win when taxpayer dollars are not wasted on employees who are not required to show up.
Additional Reading
The NFIB previously reported on potential federal personnel reforms.
Note: this article is intended to keep small business owners up on the latest news. It does not necessarily represent the policy stances of NFIB.
