Norton Files Amendment to Protect Federal Employees at Rules Committee, Today

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that Norton has filed an amendment at the Rules Committee today to H.R. 4361, the Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act, striking harmful provisions that would significantly hinder federal employees’ due process rights. The Republican-sponsored bill is a collection of measures that purports to reform employee evaluation functions, but in reality targets federal employees by undermining due process protections, enabling retaliation against whistleblowers, and overriding collective bargaining rights. Norton’s amendment would specifically strike provisions in the bill that extend the probationary period for Senior Executive Service (SES) employees from one to two years, a period under which these employees have few due process or appeal rights; reduce the amount of time SES employees have to file an appeal to an adverse personnel decision, potentially interfering with employees’ due process rights to receive notice and be given an opportunity to respond; and allow agencies to place an employee on mandatory leave using the employee’s own accrued leave, among others.

“This bill is yet another attempt by Republicans to attack the due process and other workplace rights of federal employees,” Norton said. “While some changes can help the government run more efficiently, and deal with poorly performing employees, this bill goes too far and raises serious constitutional concerns. There is little evidence that some of the measures in the bill are even needed to improve federal workplaces. We should work together to put together a real reform bill, not a partisan attempt to undermine federal employees.”