Articles by Susan Smith
Lying about Government Credit Card Debt Leads to Removal
This Dept. of Veterans Affairs employee filled out a background investigation form but provided inaccurate answers to certain questions. She was fired and the MSPB and a federal court upheld her removal.
Posted: May 11, 2008 | Full Story | Discuss this Article
Marriage, Death and Your Survivor Annuity
A federal employee who died was divorced in 1988 but never filed a form to remove his former wife as his designated beneficiary. What impact does that have on his ex-wife whom he had divorced almost 20 years ago? Where financial impact does it have on his new wife? As this case shows, actions you take (or do not take) have an impact on those you leave behind.
Posted: May 5, 2008 | Full Story | Discuss this Article
Claim for Overtime and Mileage Leads to Removal--Court Overturns MSPB
"We are at a loss to understand how an employee could be said to engage in misconduct by submitting an overtime claim based on an estimate so long as the estimate was reasonable."
Posted: April 30, 2008 | Full Story | Discuss this Article
"Substantial Evidence" Upholds Removal for Positive Results on Random Drug Test
A federal employee who was fired as a result of a positive drug test stays fired upo9n appeal despite the employee paying for a subsequent polygraph and drug tests.
Posted: April 29, 2008 | Full Story | Discuss this Article
Using Taxpayer Records for Personal Reasons Leads to Removal
An agency has a core mission. An employee's action in one agency may be a relatively minor problem; in another agency it may be a firing offense. The Internal Revenue Service has strict rules about accessing taxpayer records--presumably because taxpayer records are related to its core mission. When this IRS employee accessed these records for personal reasons, she was fired despite her contention a medical condition was the basis for the problem.
Posted: April 23, 2008 | Full Story | Discuss this Article
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Ms. Smith spent most of her 26-year federal government career with NASA, first at NASA Headquarters Office of General Counsel and then at Marshall Space Flight Center, serving as Chief Counsel there for more than 14 years. Her expertise is in government contracts, ethics, and personnel law.
She also spent one year as Assistant Counsel to the Select Committee on Ethics in the United States Senate where she was responsible for drafting the Senate's ground breaking Code of Ethical Conduct. At NASA, Ms. Smith was Deputy Associate General Counsel for General Law. She was appointed Chief Counsel at Marshall Space Flight Center in 1982, the first woman to hold a chief counsel position in the agency and to hold a Senior Executive Service position at Marshall. Another first was her appointment in 1996 as Associate Director of Marshall Space Flight Center.
Ms. Smith has a J.D and a B.A. degree from the George Washington University. Her publications include Practical Ethics for the Federal Employee.
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