[Cobra64]

Supposedly, you can’t fire federal employees. Can anyone confirm this?

[PCPOET7]

in the last hiring freeze my roommate was a victim of the freeze he worked for the forest service and got fired because of the freeze 11 months after starting the job because he was still probationary.

[PLMerite]

“Supposedly, you can’t fire federal employees. Can anyone confirm this?”

Yes, you can. Most easily for cause. Timecard fraud is a biggie.

[USNBandit]

Not completely true. There is a whole book of disciplinary actions for employees, many of which include firing. The problem is that employees appeal, sometimes for years and get reinstated, with back pay.

My agency had an employee who was known for playing with his gun at his desk. One day he had an accidental discharge, and he got fired. His appeal went on for 12 years and he won. He was reinstated with full back pay. At that point all he had to do was hang out for two more years without screwing up and then retire. BANG! Another AD, and he was fired again. That time it stuck because he had signed a special form as a condition of rehire that any more AD's would result in termination.

One of the problems with making firings stick is that the ratings system in government service is completely ineffective. It is made to make everybody look great, regardless of performance. It also makes an effective defense when appealing termination because people pull out their ratings and say "Look, I was an effective employee who just made a mistake."

[mom4melody]

That is incorrect. It’s not easy, but it is possible.

And before you all get your panties in a twist, agencies always do this when a hiring freeze is looming. It has nothing to do with Obama.

And this Federal employee works her butt off.