Susan McGuire Smith

Author: Susan McGuire Smith

Susan McGuire Smith spent most of her federal legal career with NASA, serving as Chief Counsel at Marshall Space Flight Center for 14 years. Her expertise is in government contracts, ethics, and personnel law.

Firing an HR Specialist With 30 Years of Federal Service

A personnel specialist with 30 years of federal service argued that his long employment history and a recent mid-term evaluation should have been considered in a decision to remove him from federal service. But, says a federal court, the only performance that is relevant in this case is his performance during a 60-day evaluation period. His removal stands.

Great Hollywood Action Scenes–But Employee Stays Fired

The charges in this case sound like a scenario from an action adventure novel but the Army was not impressed. The specifications leading to this employee’s removal included failing to turn over a weapon, not getting permission to fly in a restricted military airspace and disobeying air traffic control. The MSPB and a federal court were not impressed either and the employee stays fired.