I came across the regulations regarding Prohibited Personnel Practice. Wouldn't you know it the San Diego Office is in violation of many of these practices.


I. THE U.S. OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL (OSC) is an independent agency that investigates and prosecutes allegations of prohibited personnel practices (PPP).

WHAT IS A PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICE (PPP)?:
Under 5 U.S.C. §2302(b)(1)-(b)(12) a federal employee authorized to take, direct others to take, recommend or approve any personnel action may not:

* Discriminate (including discrimination based on marital status and political affiliation). EXAMPLE: Supervisor Joe refuses to promote Employee Jane because Jane is a registered Republican; or his refusal is because she is a single mother. (OSC will generally defer Title VII discrimination allegations to the EEO process, rather than duplicating already existing procedures.)

* Solicit or consider employment recommendations based on factors other than personal knowledge or records of job-related abilities or characteristics. EXAMPLE: Selecting Official Joe hires Applicant Jack based on Senator Smith’s recommendation that Jack be hired because Jack is a constituent; or fails to hire Applicant Jane because of Congressman Smith's recommendation based on the Congressman's friendship with Jane's parents.

This is happening with the promotion of many of the employees at the RO

* Coerce the political activity of any person, or take action against any employee as reprisal for refusing to engage in political activity. EXAMPLE: Supervisor Jane takes away significant job duties of Employee Jack because Jack will not make a contribution to Jane’s favorite candidate.

Would the Union Representation be classified as "political" activity since the position requires voting for a representative and the union itself is engaging in lobbying

* Deceive or willfully obstruct any person from competing for employment. EXAMPLE: Supervisor Joe, located in Headquarters, orders that no vacancy announcements be posted in the field office where Employee Jack works because he does not want Jack to get a new job; or falsely states that there will be extensive travel in the position when he knows that there is no travel.

How many people are the RO have been directly told not to apply for a position or have been convinced not to take a position?

* Influence any person to withdraw from competition for a position to improve or injure the employment prospects of any other person. EXAMPLE: Supervisor Jane, in an effort to hire Employee Joe, tells Employee Jack that he should not apply for a position because he is not qualified and will never be selected. Employee Jack is qualified.

We all know well in advance who will get the position. Certain positions will be created just for a person like the training coordinator position for Maria Barajas. Come to think of it... Maria was boosted up to GS11 when she was hired for that position which allowed her to have a year in grade at the GS11 before her promotion to Coach Position

* Give an unauthorized preference to a person to improve or injure the employment prospects of any particular employee or applicant. EXAMPLE: Supervisor Jane specifies that Spanish-speaking skills are necessary for a vacant position, for the purpose of selecting Employee Jack, who speaks fluent Spanish. The position, however, does not require Spanish-speaking skills..

Special Projects... Special Projects... Special Projects... They go to the ones that Management wants to groom for management

* Engage in nepotism. EXAMPLE: Second-level Supervisor Jane asks First-level Supervisor Joe to hire her son; or to promote her daughter.

The hiring of Mark's Stepson... the position of Support Services Director given to his wife Barbara.... Elyce Reck and John Sullivan are all examples of this

* Take a personnel action against an employee because of whistleblowing. EXAMPLE: Supervisor Joe directs the geographic reassignment of Employee Jack because Jack reported safety violations to the agency’s Inspector General; or because employee Jill reported a gross waste of funds to the Office of Internal Affairs.

Once you start an action against management whether official or just complaining then you will be passed off to Appeals, Public Contact, Post-D etc... and your work is scrutinized for any error

* Take a personnel action against any employee because of the exercise of an appeal, complaint, or grievance right. EXAMPLE: Supervisor Jane places Employee Jack on an undesirable detail because Employee Jack filed an administrative grievance about his performance rating.

* Discriminate against an employee on the basis of conduct, which does not adversely affect the performance of the employee. EXAMPLE: Jack's employment is terminated because he attended a "Gay Pride" march; or he attended a "Pro-Life" event; or he attended an animal rights rally; or he attended a gun-owners' rights meeting.

* Take or fail to take a personnel action, if such action would violate a veterans’ preference requirement. Example: Supervisor Jane hired Employee Jack, without considering Veteran Jennifer, who was included on the list of eligible employees. (OSC’s jurisdiction is for disciplinary actions only; the Dept. of Labor has jurisdiction to investigate for corrective actions.).

This one is a very sad violation when they promoted those young girls who never saw a day of military service over much more qualified veterans.

* Take a personnel action against an employee which violates a law, rule, or regulation which implements a merit systems principle. EXAMPLE: Supervisor Joe terminates the probationary appointment of Employee Jack because of Jack’s letter to the editor criticizing affirmative action - a valid exercise of First amendment rights, a law implementing a merit system principle.

If they terminate any of us who came forward to post would be a violation of this Prohibited Personnel Practice for exercising our freedom of speech in trying to expose rampant corruption and ineffective official process of grievance (many have tried to the OSC route and also court action against these violation with no effect).

What You Can Do If You Believe A PPP Has Been Committed
An employee who believes a PPP has been committed can file a written complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Complaint forms are available on the Web at www.osc.gov. Employees do not need attorneys to file a complaint. OSC is an independent and prosecutorial agency. It will investigate allegations of prohibited personnel practices, and seek any corrective and disciplinary action.

II. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel Also Receives Confidential Disclosures and Enforces The Hatch Act
RECEIVING CONFIDENTIAL DISCLOSURES (5 U.S.C. §1213):
Current and former federal employees and applicants can confidentially report information evidencing a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. The OSC has the authority to require the head of the agency concerned to investigate the matter if OSC determines that a disclosure has been made.