Heads up federal employee friends, Congress is trying to pass another BS law designed to hurt us. Its called the MERIT ACT, short for Modern Employment Reform Improvement, and Transformation Act. Call your reps today 866-356-0201 to tell your Member of Congress that this is unfair and unproductive, and to oppose the MERIT Act.
Under the MERIT Act:
You would no longer be able to appeal adverse actions and unfair reductions in force actions through the grievance procedures. The only venue for you to appeal these unfair actions would be the severely under-resourced Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which reviews similar cases for the entire federal workforce of 2 million employees. The agency’s decision becomes final if the MSPB does not issue a decision within 30 days.
You will not have enough time to mount a credible defense if you are accused of performance or disciplinary issues, because the bill drastically shortens the response time.
You can be fired at any point in your first two years on the job, for any reason.
You may be forced to repay a bonus or award if the agency head claims he or she was unaware of a conduct or performance issues when you received the payment.
To stay involved and updated on what AFGE is doing to protect your rights, text AFGE to 225568 from your personal phone (never your government phone) to subscribe to text updates.
