MSPB

In recent years, federal employees have become more familiar with their rights under the Whistleblower Protection Act and their ability to file complaints with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.   Despite this heightened awareness of federal whistleblower protections, many federal employees are unfamiliar with whistleblower protections under other laws.  These other provisions, like those under the Occupational Safety & Health Act and Consumer Financial Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), provide for additional protections, procedures, and remedies for federal employees that they may not have elsewhere.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been given the authority to receive complaints under 22 different whistleblower retaliation provisions.  Some of these statutes prohibit retaliation against federal employees who make disclosures under a given act.  They also provide for administrative remedies that may be different than which can be obtained from the Office of Special Counsel.

The additional protections may duplicate administrative procedures and remedies for federal whistleblowers.  Because of this, federal employees often have to choose whether to file a complaint under the Whistleblower Protection Act with the Office of Special Counsel, seek protection under one of the alternatives, or both. In addition, different deadlines apply to the different statutes, and can be quite confusing.  For this reason, we encourage federal employees who may have whistleblower claims to consult with an experienced attorney as soon as possible.  The following websites have additional information about whistleblower protection laws and applicable deadlines:

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Department of Labor

To discuss your possible whistleblower retaliation case, contact Kator, Parks, Weiser & Harris.

Every so often, scandals at federal agencies whip through the news cycle. Frequently, long time federal employees can be improperly targeted in the subsequent attempts to correct perceived problems and clean house.  And, to be sure, there may be instances where disciplinary action is appropriate. But due process rights must be followed and any penalty imposed should be fair and equitable. If you are a federal employee facing a proposed disciplinary action, or think you might be facing a proposed disciplinary action in the near future, please contact KPW at (202) 898-4800 for a free initial consultation.  Our Washington, DC based firm has been representing federal employees for more than 20 years in proposed disciplinary actions and in appeals of imposed disciplinary actions to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. Jessica Parks serves as the Chair of KPW’s MSPB practice section.  Ms. Parks served as an Administrative Judge with the MSPB’s Atlanta Regional Office.  President George H.W. Bush appointed Ms. Parks to serve as one of the three Board Members of the MSPB, and her appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  President Bill Clinton elevated Ms. Parks to the position of Vice Chair of the MSPB.  While at the MSPB, Ms. Parks decided hundreds of cases, establishing important principles related to protecting employees’ due process rights, guaranteeing fair consideration of adverse actions, and enforcing reasonable and just levels of penalties. Read more about our firm’s MSPB practice here.

KPW Co-Manager Jessica Parks was contacted by The Washington Post to provide expert perspective on possible federal employee furloughs.  In an article published February 27, 2013, The Washington Post quoted Ms. Parks regarding possible legal issues that could arise if federal employees are furloughed due to sequestration.  In the article, “Sequester a nightmare for appeals agency,” The Washington Post wrote, “In terms of precedent, furlough cases are ‘largely unexplored territory,’ said Jessica Parks, a former MSPB vice chairman who is now with Kator, Parks & Weiser. She said that many earlier cases involved special rules applying to one small group of employees, administrative law judges.”

Ms. Parks discussed possible legal challenges that may be available to federal employees subject to a furlough order: “‘It comes down to: Are there going to be fairness issues? And that depends on how each agency handles it,’ Parks said. …. ‘While that may sound simple, we see in our practice that agencies often don’t follow procedures correctly,’ Parks said. ‘Sometimes they make mistakes. If that happened in a particular case, it could result in the reversal of an action and then back pay and other relief.'”

If you have questions about your possible legal rights related to a furlough order, contact KPW now (at 202-898-4800) to discuss your legal options.