§713 Senior Executives: Removal, Demotion, or Suspension Based on Performance or Misconduct

Summary

The Secretary may reprimand, suspend, move, demote, or fire a senior executive at the Department for poor performance or misconduct. If fired, the Secretary may also remove that person from the civil service. Before doing any of these actions, the employee must get advance notice and a file with the evidence, may have a lawyer or other representative, and may use an internal grievance process that the Secretary will create after consulting the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. The whole notice/response/decision process must take no more than 15 business days. The employee has 7 business days to reply. The Department must give a written decision with specific reasons within 15 business days of the notice. The grievance must be finished in under 21 days. Decisions that are not grieved, or that result from the grievance, are final, but the employee can ask a court to review the record. A court can overturn the Department’s action if it was arbitrary or unfair, if required procedures were not followed, or if the decision lacks substantial evidence. Section 3592(b)(1) of title 5 and the procedures under section 7543(b) of title 5 do not apply. Definitions: “covered individual” = a career appointee or someone in an administrative/executive job appointed under certain sections of title 38; “misconduct” = things like neglect of duty, wrongdoing, or refusing a directed reassignment or transfer; “senior executive position” = a Senior Executive Service job for career appointees or an administrative/executive job for others.