EPA managers let workers get away with timesheet fraud, watching porn at work

[red states rule]

This behavior is getting to be so common it is no longer shocking to some people. The federal government is so bloated and corrupt the inmates are no running the asylum

The bad news is the US taxpayer is paying for all of it.




The Environmental Protection Agency is creating a festering “culture of complacency” by dragging its feet on action against employee misconduct, the agency’s watchdog found, leaving the public to wonder if one of the most mission-driven areas of government is running smoothly.


Employees watching porn on government computers, a senior executive who looked the other way while an employee faked his time sheet, another senior employee who took another paying job while on the federal clock — these are some of the examples Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins Jr. cited last week in a report on the six management challenges (http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2015/20150528-15-N-0164.pdf) facing the EPA this fiscal year.


They range from managing chemical risks to improving oversight of states, which work with the federal government to implement environmental policies. The challenges serve as a roadmap for senior leaders. While the IG reported some progress on each after they all made last year’s list, they’ve stayed “due to persistent issues,” investigators wrote.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/06/01/when-epa-employees-do-wrong-managers-let-things-slide-watchdog-says/

[red states rule]

So why are these folks still employed? Oh they are Federal workers




In the private sector, if you're caught viewing porn on company time or intimidating a co-worker, you'd probably be fired immediately; not so if you're a federal employee.


A CBS News investigation looks at how hard it is for the U.S. government to discipline or fire employees who behave badly. With examples ranging from extravagant to explicit, civil service rules meant to protect public workers from political pressure may be backfiring, and costing you big, reports CBS News correspondent Don Dahler.


At the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), red tape is preventing the removal of a top level employee accused of viewing porn two to six hours a day while at work, since 2010. Even though investigators found 7,000 pornographic files on his computer and even caught him watching porn, he remains on the payroll.
At a Congressional hearing, EPA administrator Gina McCarthy was asked why she hadn't fired the employee and said, "I actually have to work through the administrative process, as you know."


The administrative process meant to prevent against politically motivated firings is the civil servant protection system. The rules give employees the right to appeal a termination, a process that can take up two years.


"There is a big difference between trying to protect against that and what we have today," Partnership for Public Service president and CEO Max Stier said.
He said those rules make it nearly impossible to fire poor performers or problematic employees, even when they've committed egregious violations.


"Many managers would like to get rid of problem employees and find that they have to go through a challenging process," Stier said.


A CBS News analysis of cases under review by the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB), an appeals board for federal workers, found other instances of employees who had committed seemingly fireable offenses who were later reinstated to their jobs, often with back pay and interest.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/civil-servant-protection-system-could-keep-problematic-government-employees-from-being-fired/