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We have heard reports of Goddard-campus civil servants being directed to come onsite during the shutdown to complete building move activities, including moves of both offices and laboratories. We have significant concerns that such activities during a government shutdown may be illegal under the Antideficiency Act, which defines what activities may continue during a lapse in appropriations (see also the NASA shutdown Continuity of Operations Plan). Violating the Antideficiency Act carries potential penalties of suspension without pay, removal from office, fines of up to $5000, or up to two years in prison.
Any work that happens during a shutdown also has to be approved, first at the Center management level and then at the NASA HQ-level by a Shutdown Executive Committee (SEC) led by the Agency Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Stephen Shinn. If you receive instructions that you believe may violate the Antideficiency Act, we recommend that you do the following (note that you can do these in any order, or at the same time). We write to provide an update and advice in response to Associate Center Director Raymond Rubilotta’s recent email announcement of imminent office and laboratory moves that will severely reduce the Goddard campus footprint. We note that unlike what is implied in the Associate Center Director’s email these moves and closures go well beyond what agency leadership had approved in Goddard's 2019 20-Year Master plan. We are very concerned these moves are not being orchestrated in accordance with NASA and GSFC established policies regarding the moving and disposing of equipment and documents. We are also gravely concerned that the unstrategic processes being followed jeopardize human safety, flight hardware and expensive lab equipment, and will compromise GSFC core engineering and science capabilities.
GESTA had previously met and bargained in good faith with Center management on building moves given they constitute changes in employees' working conditions. Due to Executive Order 14343, management is no longer recognizing our Collective Bargaining Agreement, and these negotiations with management have been halted. However, we urge NASA management to ensure that if buildings must be closed due to budgetary reasons, these closures happen safely and strategically. We will be exploring other actions we may take to ensure this. Our advice to employees is: Although we sincerely hope a Reduction in Force (RIF) does not occur at Goddard, we want to share some information on your rights and what you should do if a RIF does occur and you receive a RIF notice. The information below is taken in part from “A Civil Servant's Guide To Reductions In Force” by the Civil Service Strong organization, GESTA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Sect 18., information from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) RIF Website and OPM’s Employee Guide to Career Transition. We encourage you to read the information at those links as well.
At the end of my last article, I promised to write about both the bargaining and grievance Articles in our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). That turns out to be an awful lot for one article, so I’m dividing it into two; this article focuses on grievances that can be filed by individual bargaining unit members, the next one will address bargaining and arbitration, unless events change our priorities. Both bargaining and arbitration are addressed by GESTA as an organization representing employees, not by individuals.
As the union works to keep track of and respond to the various changes to working conditions for our Bargaining Unit Employees (BUEs), one obstacle that has become clear is management's tactic of using only verbal non-recorded communications to convey new information. This is a tactic that, given its reliance on human memory, can muddy the waters of what a real direction or policy is and also lead to uncertainty about the dates when specific information is first presented to BUEs. It hampers cohesive efforts to respond to change.
However, there are ways that employees can push back against this tactic and establish more clarity. These methods can also help union efforts by providing a firm base to bargain from, if bargaining is initiated on the employees’ behalf. Recently, we have heard of some confusion about whether term employees (i.e. temporary employees with terms greater than 1 year) could possibly be terminated before their term end dates without a formal Reduction in Force (RIF) process. Below is a summary of GESTA's current understanding of the law surrounding term employees. However we encourage individuals to consult a federal labor lawyer for any legal advice.
Term employees who are past their probationary/trial periods cannot be terminated for reasons unrelated to their job performance or conduct before their term end date without the agency performing a formal RIF process. However, terms still in their probationary period (within 1 year of hiring for those in the competitive service and within 2 years of hiring for those who are in the excepted service and without veteran’s preference) can be terminated prior to their term end date for performance/conduct but also suitability reasons without a formal RIF process – see our prior post on the new regulations for Probationary Employees. Employees can check in Box 34 of their SF-50 to locate their status as either a competitive or an excepted service employee. In addition, in the case of their termination, both non-probationary and probationary term employees must be given sufficient notice, and the terminations must not violate any civil rights or whistleblower protections. In the case of their termination, both non-probationary and probationary term employees also have appeal rights, though probationary employee’s appeal rights are more limited. If any term employees do find themselves facing termination prior to their term end date and prior to formal RIF procedures being implemented by NASA, we encourage you to reach out right away to GESTA to understand your options. For more details you can also see section 5 of NSREF-3000-0972_NASA Time-Limited Employment Desk Guide (internal) On June 24, 2025 changes to the regulations guiding probationary employees and termination\separation conditions were published in the Federal Registrar (90 FR 26727). With these changes two prior Federal Regulations (eCFRs) (315.804 & 315.805) governing probationary period terminations were rescinded. Before June 24th, as described in an email GESTA sent to our members on February 16th under these now rescinded eCFRs (315.804 & 315.805): “management may [only] terminate a probationer for unsatisfactory performance or conduct or for ‘conditions arising before appointment’" and transitioning from probationary status occured one or two years post employment and “does not depend on any paperwork being filed or processed.” Under the June 24th amended regulations this is no longer entirely the case.
Under the new regulations eCFR Title 5, Chapter I, Subchapter A § 11.5 termination under probationary status can be justified by unsatisfactory performance but also if the agency determines the person’s employment is no longer “in the public interest”. In addition, continued employment after the 1 year or 2 year (for excepted service employees who do not have veterans preference) trial period is no longer automatically granted. Instead the agency must “certify” the employee’s continued employment 30-days prior to the probationary period end date. If this certification does not happen the employee is automatically separated from service. This new regulation does not apply to “an employee serving a probationary period due to being promoted, transferred, or otherwise assigned, for the first time, to a supervisory or managerial position.” |
GESTA IFPTE
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