|
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) Comments are closed.
|
GESTA IFPTE
|
RSS Feed
