The VA cited an incident in which it was unable to immediately remove an employee at the Michael DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston who was caught watching pornography while with a patient as evidence that it needs legislation from Congress to make it easier to remove employees for misconduct.
It was recommended that the employee be fired after a review of the incident. The VA transferred the employee from patient care into administrative duties.
Under current law, the VA must continue to pay employees who are in the process of being removed. During this advance notice period, at least 30 days from the date that the employee’s removal has been proposed, assuming there is no evidence that the employee has committed a crime, an employee must be paid.
If the employee has been assessed as a potential danger to Veterans, the employee should be placed on administrative leave with pay. If the employee does not pose an immediate threat to Veterans, he or she is typically placed on administrative duties, which limits contact with Veterans and their families while ensuring that the employee is not sitting at home collecting a pay check without providing any services to the government.
“This is an example of why we need accountability legislation as soon as possible,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs David J. Shulkin. “It’s unacceptable that VA has to wait 30 days to act on a proposed removal. Current legislation in Congress reduces the amount of time we have to wait before taking action.”
