Employees routinely rate their supervisors as failing at the task of dealing with unproductive and misbehaving coworkers. In one recent survey undertaken by a national newspaper, federal civil servants concluded that at least 35% of the government’s work force should be terminated for unacceptable performance or for violating agency policies and regulations. Many people both within and outside of government mistakenly believe that a civil service job is for life—that it is impossible to hold a government worker accountable and to remove that individual from employment should he or she fail to perform at an acceptable level.
In this text, federal employment law attorney William Wiley, a longtime Dewey author, makes use of his 30 plus years of experience in the field to explain the steps necessary to hold government employees accountable. As the author explains, "The trick is to know the system. In some situations a government employee who engages in serious illegal misconduct can be terminated in only eight days."
This book is for supervisors, managers, and policymakers who recognize the responsibility to honor employee civil service rights while maintaining an accountable, high-performing government organization. UnCivil Servant is similar to a cookbook that contains the recipes that will ensure government accountability. Keep it close, you will want to use it often.
The text begins by explaining that in the federal government there two separate sets of procedures for holding employees accountable: the procedures to be used for employees who engage in misconduct and the procedures to be used for employees who are unacceptable performers. It is critical for the supervisor to understand the difference between the two from the very beginning and to choose the proper procedures. If the supervisor determines that the employee is engaged in misconduct and will be held accountable for workplace rules and policies, then the supervisor must understand the five fundamental elements of every misconduct case and be prepared to develop evidence to prove each element.
UnCivil Servant takes the reader through each of the five elements and explains the sort of evidence looked for by a reviewing judge or arbitrator. Written in handbook-style, the text next moves through the unacceptable performance procedures, explaining how to establish a performance improvement plan (PIP), how to gather necessary supporting evidence, what record keeping and documentation to maintain during the PIP process, and which documents to maintain if the employee fails the PIP and must be removed from his or her position. The author includes sample documentation that can be used to implement each stage of both procedures.
In addition to covering in great detail the specific procedures and evidence necessary for misconduct and performance actions, the text discusses how to deal with some of the special challenges that can arise in an employment law setting, including whistleblowers, leave abusers, employees with medical problems, and employees who file unwarranted discrimination complaints.
The text concludes with author Wiley’s advice for dealing with problem employees. He lays out seven nonstandard options that the more experienced supervisor may want to consider using. Although these options are aggressive and different from the traditional discipline/performance procedures, they have been recognized by the adjudicators as acceptable methods for holding employees accountable.
160 pages.
Information Link:
Table of Contents
-------
Text Sample
