Latest news with #federalemployees
Arab News
21 minutes ago
- Business
- Arab News
Trump administration moves to fast-track firings of federal workers for misconduct
President Donald Trump's administration moved on Tuesday to make it easier to fire federal employees for misconduct, the latest step in a broader effort to overhaul the civil service and shrink the federal bureaucracy. The US Office of Personnel Management published a proposed rule that would allow the office, which acts as the federal government's human resources department, to direct other agencies to fire employees for conduct such as tax evasion, leaking sensitive information and refusing to testify in other workers' disciplinary cases. The rule would extend OPM's existing power to designate job applicants as unsuitable for federal employment, to current federal employees, a change it said was necessary to hold government workers accountable to the public. Federal workers have for decades been covered by an array of job protections, including the ability to contest firings by engaging in a lengthy administrative process. The proposal would allow agencies to refer misconduct cases to OPM instead of going through the traditional disciplinary process. If OPM determines that removal of an employee is required, an agency would have five days to terminate them. 'Illogically, the government has far greater ability to bar someone from federal employment who has committed a serious crime or misconduct in the past than it does to remove someone who engages in the exact same behavior as a federal employee,' OPM said in the proposal. The publication of the proposal kicked off a 30-day public comment period. Since Trump's second term began in January, the administration has moved aggressively to shrink the federal bureaucracy, including directing mass firings and layoffs and implementing changes to the civil service. Many of those policies have been met with court challenges and some have been temporarily blocked by judges. OPM, which is closely linked to the White House, has played a key role in those efforts by attempting to give Trump more direct control of the federal workforce. Many unions, Democrats and advocacy groups have said Trump's various policies violate complex federal civil service and labor laws meant to regulate government employment and ensure that federal workers are insulated from political influence. OPM on Tuesday said the policies agencies have followed for decades rely on overly cumbersome and restrictive procedures that protect misconduct. 'This arbitrary state of affairs seriously impairs the efficiency, effectiveness, and public perception of the Federal service,' the agency said.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Trump administration moves to fast-track firings of federal workers for misconduct
June 3 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration moved on Tuesday to make it easier to fire federal employees for misconduct, the latest step in a broader effort to overhaul the civil service and shrink the federal bureaucracy. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management published a proposed rule, opens new tab that would allow the office, which acts as the federal government's human resources department, to direct other agencies to fire employees for conduct such as tax evasion, leaking sensitive information and refusing to testify in other workers' disciplinary cases. The rule would extend OPM's existing power to designate job applicants as unsuitable for federal employment, to current federal employees, a change it said was necessary to hold government workers accountable to the public. Federal workers have for decades been covered by an array of job protections, including the ability to contest firings by engaging in a lengthy administrative process. The proposal would allow agencies to refer misconduct cases to OPM instead of going through the traditional disciplinary process. If OPM determines that removal of an employee is required, an agency would have five days to terminate them. "Illogically, the government has far greater ability to bar someone from federal employment who has committed a serious crime or misconduct in the past than it does to remove someone who engages in the exact same behavior as a federal employee," OPM said in the proposal. The publication of the proposal kicked off a 30-day public comment period. Since Trump's second term began in January, the administration has moved aggressively to shrink the federal bureaucracy, including directing mass firings and layoffs and implementing changes to the civil service. Many of those policies have been met with court challenges and some have been temporarily blocked by judges. OPM, which is closely linked to the White House, has played a key role in those efforts by attempting to give Trump more direct control of the federal workforce. Many unions, Democrats and advocacy groups have said Trump's various policies violate complex federal civil service and labor laws meant to regulate government employment and ensure that federal workers are insulated from political influence. OPM on Tuesday said the policies agencies have followed for decades rely on overly cumbersome and restrictive procedures that protect misconduct. "This arbitrary state of affairs seriously impairs the efficiency, effectiveness, and public perception of the Federal service," the agency said.
E&E News
a day ago
- Business
- E&E News
Trump proposal would make it easier to fire feds
The Trump administration released a proposal Monday that it says will target federal employees who engage in 'serious misconduct.' The draft rule, set for formal publication Tuesday, would expand the Office of Personnel Management's 'existing authority to take suitability actions against employees,' the proposal says. 'Because employees who engage in serious misconduct while in the Federal service should not remain in Federal service, OPM should not limit its ability to take action to a limited subset of factors.' The proposal comes as part of a broader push by the administration to downsize the federal government, including moves aimed at making it easier to fire workers deemed to have engaged in misconduct and those viewed as poor performers. Advertisement 'For too long, agencies have faced red tape when trying to remove employees who break the public's trust,' OPM acting Director Chuck Ezell said in a statement. 'This proposed rule ensures misconduct is met with consequence and reinforces that public service is a privilege, not a right.'
Fox News
a day ago
- Business
- Fox News
'Red tape': Trump admin unleashes DOGE-aligned process to fire federal workers for misconduct
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration has rolled out a new rule with the aim of making it easier to terminate federal employees for serious misconduct by cutting through the red tape that currently impedes that process. "The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing amendments to the Federal Government personnel vetting adjudicative processes for determining suitability and taking suitability actions," the rule, which went live for public comment on Monday morning, states. "The purpose of the proposed rule is to improve the efficiency, rigor and timeliness by which OPM and agencies vet individuals for risk to the integrity and efficiency of the service, and to make clear that individuals who engage in serious misconduct while employed in Federal service are subject to the same suitability procedures and actions as applicants for employment." OPM says its new rule is part of President Trump's "Implementing the Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative" as well as the Presidential Memorandum, "Strengthening the Suitability and Fitness of the Federal Workforce." OPM explains that the new rule will allow the federal government to take action against employees who engage in misconduct after being hired, giving agencies "broader authority" to "flag conduct" including tax evasion, leaking of sensitive information, and other behavior "inconsistent with the public trust." "For too long, agencies have faced red tape when trying to remove employees who break the public's trust," OPM's Acting Director, Chuck Ezell, told Fox News Digital. "This proposed rule ensures misconduct is met with consequence and reinforces that public service is a privilege, not a right." Under the new rule, federal agencies will be able to refer specific cases to OPM requesting "suitability action" for employees who are believed to have committed post-appointment conduct that deserves disciplinary action. Fox News Digital reported in 2023 that under current law, the vast majority of the federal workforce is not at-will and may only be terminated for misconduct, poor performance, medical inability and reduction in force. Federal employees are also entitled to sweeping due process rights when fired which can create a cumbersome process for agencies to remove a worker.
E&E News
5 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
High hopes for Interior deputy: ‘They need her desperately'
The Interior Department's new second-in-command has an unusual combination of cheerleaders rooting for her as she gets down to work this week. Kate MacGregor, who was sworn in as deputy Interior secretary this week, is being hailed as a possible savior both by career federal employees and by Trump administration allies. They welcome her entry into a department whose boss is a newcomer to Washington and where the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency operation has wielded significant sway in the early days of Trump's second term. Both camps view MacGregor — an Interior veteran from Trump's first term and Capitol Hill — as a loyal soldier for the administration's energy policies but also as someone who respects the department's mission and will have a willingness and the authority to push back on DOGE if she disagrees with it. Advertisement Interior employees, like other federal workers across the government, have been reeling from DOGE's early moves to slash staffing and reconfigure agencies. At Interior, DOGE official Tyler Hassen was put into a senior leadership position overseeing policy, management and budget.
