John Paul Jones
I served my country honorably as a Medical Corpsman in Central Highlands of Vietnam, 4th Infantry Division, before returning home to the United States. From 1978-2003, I worked overseas at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
As a Veteran, I applied for positions within the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) only to learn that the agency circumvented hiring practices in order to exclude me from consideration. I filed both appeals and complaints; the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) agreed to take on my case and defend me against Prohibited Personnel Practices (PPP). In May 2010, I received yet another surprise. The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) also concurred that civil service practices were circumvented. The Administrative Judge ordered the agency to “reconstruct the selection processes….”
One would think the story ends there, but it continues. A week after the MSPB decision, the CDC filed a motion questioning the jurisdiction of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Stay with me as I highlight my journey through the Federal Civil Service hiring process.
Charlotte Yee
For much of my twenty-year statistical career, I worked for the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. For five of those years, I was a manager attempting to instill a sense of taxpayer duty in the federal institution. In 2007, I departed.
My change of lifestyle brought me closer to the local community, doing good deeds and experiencing firsthand, the fruits of my labor. I love my new life, yet there are portions of me that cannot give up the battle for transparency and accountability to the people. This is the root of democracy, and every citizen depends upon the efforts of one another for our freedom.
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* The five years I put in as a federal manager can only be described as surreal. For those trying to follow my blog, I’m including a historical background. I’d recommend thinking about the following in the context of an office on the verge of “going postal.”
Within a few weeks of my new management job I found myself in a serious EEO matter which was “resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.”
Upon my return I was subjected to retaliation from an unsupervised boss. I don’t think I would have survived had I not reported his egregious fraud. He was made the subject of an Inspector General (IG) investigation, ”placed on paid leave, and left the employ of the agency.” We later found out during discovery that he received a golden handshake from Uncle Sam. I was assaulted. I filed a Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) case as a whistleblower. I lost. According to MSPB, whistleblowers have no recourse against assault or torture.
My attorney published the hearing on the internet. The agency backed off. The assaulter was removed from the office. They brought in a new supervisor from outside of federal service. For a few years, I finally got a taste of serving the public in the capacity for which I was hired.
My boss became frighteningly obsessed with me. He too was unsupervised. (It was tragic watching him deteriorate) I called for supervision. None was provided. I fled for my safety. This blog is my public quest for accountability and answers. Follow me as I attempt to navigate the system to show how federal employees’ lack of rights leave average citizens mired with poor public service.