Interior watchdog unable to determine if staff reassignments comply with law

The Hill ^ | April 11, 2018 | BY MIRANDA GREEN

[Oldeconomybuyer]

The Interior Department's watchdog was unable to determine if a series of senior staff reassignments that took place last year complied with federal law due to poor departmental record-keeping.

The Interior Department’s Office of Inspector General (IG) announced Wednesday that it could not “independently determine” whether the Executive Resources Board (ERB), which was tasked with making the reassignment of 27 Senior Executive Service (SES) employees, followed the necessary federal legal requirements.

Joel Clement was the first Interior employee to blow the whistle on the reassignments, filing a complaint in July. For the majority of the time that Clement was at Interior, he studied the impact of rising sea levels on Native American tribes in Alaska. Until July, he was the director of the Office of Policy Analysis. Then he was reassigned without notice to be a senior adviser at the department's Office of Natural Resources Revenue — a position he labels an accounting job. Clement officially resigned in October.

“I am stunned by the level of incompetence that this report describes; there were so few records kept that the Inspector General can’t even make a determination of the legality of the reassignment actions,” Clement said in a statement Wednesday.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

[Reno89519]

Should have simply fired them instead of reassigning them. WOuld that be better?

[falcon99]

Obama holdovers who don’t like losing their positions of power to be able to obstruct the current Administration. Can anyone say corrupt Deep State.

[Enchante]

You don’t understand federal civil service regulations.

[AndyJackson]

SES can be reassigned anywhere at any time

[AndyJackson]

5 U.S. Code § 3131 It is the purpose of this subchapter to establish a Senior Executive Service to ensure that the executive management of the Government of the United States is responsive to the needs, policies, and goals of the Nation and otherwise is of the highest quality. The Senior Executive Service shall be administered so as to ....

(5)enable the head of an agency to reassign senior executives to best accomplish the agency’s mission

[NutsOnYew]

SES can be reassigned anywhere at any time

Yep.

Here's what I'd like to know: Were these folks reassigned because their jobs were eliminated?

[WayneS]

For the majority of the time that Clement was at Interior, he studied the impact of rising sea levels on Native American tribes in Alaska.

If I was in charge I would be seriously considering trying to get back every dime of taxpayer funded salary and benefits this ass-hat collected while he worked for the federal government.

[glorgau]

...there were so few records kept that the Inspector General can’t even make a determination of the legality of the reassignment actions,”

They're right next to Hillary's missing emails...

[Enchante]

That’s off point. I was replying to the comment which said they all should have been fired. Re-assignment is one thing, but SES can’t just be fired on a whim.