Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: I have 18 years of federal service and was just placed on a PIP. Will this cause me to lose my CSRS retirement? A: Your annuity is not threatened by a PIP, even if you are fired because you fail the PIP. Also, if you are fired for performance, you have enough years of service to retire and appeal to the MSPB at the same time. Bill Bransford is…
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Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: After 23 years of government service, I was recently reassigned to a new job and new supervisor. I have not yet been placed on performance objectives, but my new supervisor has threatened to place me on a PIP after being unable to complete a task because I had an already schedule appointment. The next day my supervisor yelled at me in front of the office. I felt sick, submitted a…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: Please provide me with the legal authority by which a personnel action can be authorized and issued for an employee who fails a PIP, is fired for poor performance and opts for a discontinued service or early retirement. A: The problem with an answer to your question is there is no specific legal authority. It used to be contained in the old federal personnel manual. The best I can do…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: What is the difference between a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) that is designed to help an employee succeed and a PIP that was merely put in place as a necessary step in the termination of an employee? If an employee was hired into a career ladder position and receives satisfactory annual performance evaluations but right before the 52 weeks are up, receives two quarterly performance appraisals with two “LTE’s” (Less…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: Can a federal employee’s full performance level promotion be denied after the initial probationary period expired without any prior notification of unsatisfactory performance? A: Yes. Full performance level or career ladder promotions have a different standard than probationary periods. The standard for full performance is the ability to perform at the next higher level. Generally speaking, an employee on a PIP has very limited recourse other than to try to…
Ask the Lawyer received the following question (paraphrased for easier reading and clarity) from a reader on a legal matter that might be of interest to the entire audience. Q: In a recent column I read that employees could not grieve being given a PIP. Could you please provide the legal reference for this? A: Many federal agency administrative grievance procedures (non-union) and negotiated collective bargaining agreements (CBA) exclude performance improvement plans (PIP) as grievable matters. This is because PIPs are considered to be a preliminary step in addressing perceived performance deficiencies and have no actual impact on employment, even…