Posted on 06/04/2015 4:01:04 AM PDT by markomalley
The government is taking action to curb the long-maligned practice of putting federal employees on paid leave for months — and even years — while they wait to be punished for misbehavior or cleared and allowed to return to the office.
In a memo last week, Office of Personnel Management director Katherine Archuleta told agency heads that the extensive use of administrative leave throughout government should be just the opposite: a “temporary solution,” only for problem employees who pose a danger to themselves or their colleagues.
In other words, if someone poses a threat to his own safety or the safety of others, send him home. If the situation could take a long time to resolve, like most misconduct cases, keep them on the job.
“While administrative leave may be appropriate under various circumstances, supervisors often place employees on administrative leave rather than utilizing other options that may be more appropriate,” such as a reassignment or indefinite suspension, Archuleta wrote.
“Administrative leave is not an entitlement, and agencies are not required to grant it.”
The new policy comes after The Washington Post reported that during a three-year period that ended last fall, more than 57,000 federal employees were sent home for a month or longer, some for longer stretches that hit a year or more. The tab for these workers reached more than $700 million in salary alone, according to data from the Government Accountability Office.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Having an infinite supply of money means you never have to be the bad guy and fire somebody. You can continue to be Mr. Popular.
In 2012....while I was in DC for a while....I came across this guy who’d been reported for harassment in the section and sent home for roughly six weeks while they conducted the investigation. No witnesses to the reported episode, so they couldn’t come to a decision. So, they invited the guy back. I asked him what he did for the six weeks, and he spent the whole time renovating his house...over 250 man-hours of work. All paid for...by the US gov’t.
The government pays for nothing. The government merely funnels money appropriated from us and distributed to others (welfare moms, contractors, employees)
It's all paid for...by you and me (or, considering the national debt, by our children and grandchildren)
The story in NYC’s “rubber rooms” was even worse; hundreds of teachers who were facing disciplinary action that was too costly or uncertain to take to court/arbitration/whatever were being paid for YEARS to show up in these rooms and pass the time (doing crossword puzzles and such) - it was the most damining indictment of the teachers’ unions (which prevented any real action) I’ve ever seen, and I was happy to see it finally reported within the past couple of years.
Not only are teachers in this area our upper-middle class - they had to pay someone else to teach in their classrooms at the same time!
I think the “chief” will fix this problem when hell freezes over. Imagine what would happen with the fed employee votes if they felt they could no longer feed at this trough.
only for problem employees who pose a danger to themselves or their colleagues
Fire them and have arrested.
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