Norton to Speak on House Floor on Her Amendment to Protect Due Process Rights of Federal Employees, Today

WASHINGTON, D.C.—An amendment offered by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) to strike harmful provisions from a bill that would significantly hinder federal employee due process rights has been made in order and she will speak on it today on the House floor, likely between 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Norton said that the Republican-sponsored bill, the Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act of 2016 (H.R. 4361), undermines constitutional due process rights to which federal employees are entitled, enables retaliation against whistleblowers, and overrides collective bargaining rights. Norton’s amendment specifically strikes 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 and are essentially at-will employees; reduce the 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.

“Republicans are once again treating the federal workforce like a punching bag, this time even targeting some of their constitutionally-protected due process rights,” Norton said. “Reforms to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of federal workers are welcome, but this bill goes in the wrong direction and would not achieve that goal.”