VA’s 2500 paid leave employees
Bobo sends us a link to the Stars & Stripes which writes from a Washington Post article about the 2500 employees at the Veterans’ Affairs Department employees who were on paid administrative leave for at least a month last year.
The tab in salary for these absences — ranging from 30 days to more than a year for 46 employees — came to $23 million, according to a report provided to several congressional Republicans.
VA, responding earlier this year to requests from Congress to account for why so many federal workers linger on paid leave, often when they are accused of wrongdoing, said it was reviewing its policies on what is known as administrative leave.
You know, in this, the age of telecommuting, admin leave in the Federal government is almost unforgivable. Especially in an agency that has largely been on it’s ass as long as the VA. There are veterans standing in line for their benefits and for their healthcare and a couple of thousand VA employees would have a real impact on those numbers.
In my own experience, when I was disabled to the point that I couldn’t make it to work, I put in my eight hours-a-day at the computer for two years, still doing the work that I would have done in the office. We had another employee who was injured in an accident and spent a year in a nursing home recovering from the injuries with a laptop on on his chest, still working from his nursing home bed.
Category: Veterans' Affairs Department
Here’s OPM’s guidance on the use of Administrative Leave (AKA “Excused Absence”):
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/administrative-leave/
It’s essentially paid time off without charge to accrued leave. Per OPM guidance, it’s not exactly supposed to be a common occurrence.
While the VA Secretary has the authority to prescribe agency rules for the use of Administrative Leave within the VA, it does appear that there may a bit of a problem with some of those 2,500 cases. An entire year seems WAY out of line.
No its not suppose to be common. Everywhere else, you are doc’d as “LWOP”, usually if you take more than 20 days of leave without having use or lose leave…better have a good reason because most hiring official will look to replace you. There must have been some sort of problem with these 2,500 employees. Problem childs….
Yeah, sounds like the problem was an evaluation bullet I was told about in the 90s:
His position would better be filled by nobody.
And I’ve had bosses who expected us to take a day of leave if we had appointments. Didn’t like giving passes and said just take leave if you want time off. And so on. Granted the officers were taking passes almost every weekend, but that’s just me confusing the issue with facts.
I would be interested in knowing what they had been accused of, and by whom to end up on paid administrative leave. Anyone here who gets into trouble seems to end being detailed out to other services, not sent on a paid vacation.
That said, a huge chunk of the time when someone is accused of wrongdoing around here, it has turned out to be a vendetta, or the “investigation” process was so jacked up that it ends with the employee being compensated for lost time, or pay.
My fear is the federal government has grown to be so bloated that it can never be reined in. The employees have too much control and call the shots.
Unfortunately, some people in the system are fucked up. But not all employees are like this. I seen some people just abusing the system, giving us a bad name. Unions nearly make some GS employees invincible. Seen guys who fail drug test use the unions to keep their retirement.
“The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.”
– Oscar Wilde
This is similar to the New York City School System. Teachers, on disciplinary suspension for any reason, even some who have been accused and found guilty of inappropriate conduct with students, are so protected by their union they are sent to “detention schools”. Public School Buildings where they and only they show up, do nothing all day, go home and still get paid. I shit you not folks I read about this years ago and it made me sick. I guess the VA has taken lessons from places like this.
California has similar issues with protection of teachers. The teacher’s union is the most powerful organization in the state.
Not only are they the highest paid in the country (roughly 110 thousand a year, plus free medical and other benefits – free medical for them and immediate family is for life), but because of all the disciplinary hearings, the administrative boards, the appeals process, etc, it takes years to fire one. No matter what one a board says, they can just say “Appeal” and keep appealing and their final appeal board determination would take 5 years after all the others are completed.
I listened to a talk show a few years ago when I was there and they discussed at length each level of appeal and the bureaucracy that was involved in firing a teacher. It is ridiculous.
Monkey see, monkey do, just like the Senior Management crap you posted yesterday.
$23 Million for 46 employees. Look on the bright side. That is a much better ROI than training “good” Syrian rebels!
You know, I’m wondering about that now too.
That’s $500k a year. Even with all benefits costs included – approx 33% of salary – I don’t think most VA doctors (who are on special pay scales) come close to that.
I’m thinking something is rather off with that number, particularly since the admin leave wasn’t all year for all 46 individuals.
Cost includes 3 supervisory employees for each admin leave recipient, 14 Finance Dept employees to calculate , print and distribute disbursements, and 12 employees to supervise the other finance and oversight employees. Of course there will be 3 new hires to actually do the work.
Don’t forget, the 3 new hires get Herman Miller chairs, desks, and credenzas. Then there’s the cost of the artwork for the walls…
Don’t forget the 40+ inch flatscreen TVs each have for their office too.
Being a government worker/employee should now be considered a type of welfare program. We know that it is for most elected congressmen and senators. Dispute this!
Admin leave is also used when someone is under investigation.
I disagree that government employees should be considered a type of welfare.
Most people on welfare sit around and do nothing.
Government employees, when they do anything, cause enormous harm to the citizens of this great nation.
It might actually be better if we put most of them on admin leave and required that they sit at home and do nothing.
What good is bitching and reminiscing about this B. S. if we don’t do anything about it? IS there one among us who would take the position, all the while knowing most every one of us would be happy to contribute and assist in any grunt work required.
Consider joining forces with the same attitudes, Stolen Valor just for starters, and we could become a voice of strength to reckon with.
All of us with ratings need not worry about being threatened with lower ratings just because we stood up. There is ALWAYS a way. Those of us who already have ratings are generally available to help another vet, providing the service history can be confirmed.
More thoughts please, because I know there are a good many others of similar attitude and condition.