Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) have proposed a measure to protect the due process rights of federal employees who hold sensitive roles in government.
Norton said Monday the bill would repeal a federal court decision in 2013 that prevented federal employees from appealing an agency’s decision removing them from service based on national security reasons.
The Kaplan v. Conyers and MSPBÂ decision at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affects more than 200,000 Defense Department workers with noncritical sensitive job descriptions, according to Norton.
“This [proposed] bill protects the individual, constitutional rights of federal workers and continues to hold agencies accountable for the action they take against employees,” Wittman said.
“If we want to continue to get the best candidates serving in the federal government, we must ensure that their most basic constitutional rights are protected – at least to have an independent body review the decision of an agency official,” Norton added.