(no subject)
Responding to "why do I like my job," I started by noting it's like arguing with morons on the internet, but instead of the winner merely being the one who yells the loudest and longest irrespective of data, there is a deciding official who usually says "José wins."
However I also noted the problem is that in a better world, I would not have this job, or there would at least be less people doing it. Each area I work in should not exist as it does today - each was a good idea to PREVENT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
The MSPB is designed to give a brief informal review of actions taken by managers. Instead, it's become an entire area of law and discipline has moved from managers, to HR professionals, and now to a gaggle of attorneys. "Hearing examiners" have morphed into a created title of "Administrative Judge," stolen from "Administrative Law Judge" because they didn't qualify at one time (they probably do now, most AJs are attorneys, if not all). There are attorneys on both sides. This system is so famously out of control it is in the newspapers as VA firings are being overturned by the MSPB to the ire of congress.
MSPB has been well criticized lately when it was noted they overturn about 20% of all discipline taken. This is DESPITE the move from "guys at a table" to "long drawn out lawyer waltz." If it almost takes an attorney to suspend someone for not coming to work, then it's absurd to say that 20% is a reasonable amount of actions that were so egregiously wrong that they had to be reversed. The figure REEKS of a performance metric of overturning actions rather than just figuring out if the suspension was abusive somehow.
EEO wasn't applied to gubbies, but then when it was, it was filled with procedures and steps to keep the process informal. However, like the MSPB, the process then was litigated more and more until now it's an entire area of law - and the steps meant to teach people "No, it's not discrimination when you don't get selected because you have less educ/exp," has instead become "Ah, you didn't interview the 3rd manager within 20 days about their notes on the list of applicants, therefore we cannot trust your response and the complainant automatically wins so the EEOC can claim the back pay for their annual report to congress." There are entire law firms who do nothing but make money from the body of law that has exploded, and the EEOC - taking advantage of the fact they are not subject to most controlling law held in check by real courts, contorts into bizarre legal pretzels to "find" (create, label) discrimination. I've pointed to their statistics over and over, noting what they brag about - settlements and a vast majority of claims being for reprisal against complainers rather than discrimination (ignoring this simply means the same people file all the time and never prove discrimination) - only show the process exists to feed itself.
Arbitration for grievances is a joke, with the punch line often "split the baby," followed by appeals to the FLRA who makes rulings based on the general concept they don't want to be asked to make rulings. The grievance process is supposed to be, like ALL THE ABOVE, a series of steps wherein the parties meet, discuss, and come to an understanding (ok the supervisor yelled, but punching him in the face still gets you fired). Instead, each step is merely a hurdle by which each side tries to find the other one violated some technicality - or just to beat the other side into submission with the sheer volume of filing(s). Again, a bizarre body of law has come out of the process which creates a beast - in this case a constant stream of splitting babies and orders to "bargain" over things without any illusion that coming to an agreement is part of bargaining...but ordering bargaining is a performance metric for the controlling body (Read some Pizzella dissents for giggles).
In each case, a process was made to be efficient, and based on the assumption that information and discussion would result in reasonable decisions. In each case, the process grew into a body of law and branch of lawyers who are paid from taxpayer dollars to "feed the beast." I love my job and work my ass off to save those taxpayer dollars (I pay them too), but in a better world, this job would not be necessary.
However I also noted the problem is that in a better world, I would not have this job, or there would at least be less people doing it. Each area I work in should not exist as it does today - each was a good idea to PREVENT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
The MSPB is designed to give a brief informal review of actions taken by managers. Instead, it's become an entire area of law and discipline has moved from managers, to HR professionals, and now to a gaggle of attorneys. "Hearing examiners" have morphed into a created title of "Administrative Judge," stolen from "Administrative Law Judge" because they didn't qualify at one time (they probably do now, most AJs are attorneys, if not all). There are attorneys on both sides. This system is so famously out of control it is in the newspapers as VA firings are being overturned by the MSPB to the ire of congress.
MSPB has been well criticized lately when it was noted they overturn about 20% of all discipline taken. This is DESPITE the move from "guys at a table" to "long drawn out lawyer waltz." If it almost takes an attorney to suspend someone for not coming to work, then it's absurd to say that 20% is a reasonable amount of actions that were so egregiously wrong that they had to be reversed. The figure REEKS of a performance metric of overturning actions rather than just figuring out if the suspension was abusive somehow.
EEO wasn't applied to gubbies, but then when it was, it was filled with procedures and steps to keep the process informal. However, like the MSPB, the process then was litigated more and more until now it's an entire area of law - and the steps meant to teach people "No, it's not discrimination when you don't get selected because you have less educ/exp," has instead become "Ah, you didn't interview the 3rd manager within 20 days about their notes on the list of applicants, therefore we cannot trust your response and the complainant automatically wins so the EEOC can claim the back pay for their annual report to congress." There are entire law firms who do nothing but make money from the body of law that has exploded, and the EEOC - taking advantage of the fact they are not subject to most controlling law held in check by real courts, contorts into bizarre legal pretzels to "find" (create, label) discrimination. I've pointed to their statistics over and over, noting what they brag about - settlements and a vast majority of claims being for reprisal against complainers rather than discrimination (ignoring this simply means the same people file all the time and never prove discrimination) - only show the process exists to feed itself.
Arbitration for grievances is a joke, with the punch line often "split the baby," followed by appeals to the FLRA who makes rulings based on the general concept they don't want to be asked to make rulings. The grievance process is supposed to be, like ALL THE ABOVE, a series of steps wherein the parties meet, discuss, and come to an understanding (ok the supervisor yelled, but punching him in the face still gets you fired). Instead, each step is merely a hurdle by which each side tries to find the other one violated some technicality - or just to beat the other side into submission with the sheer volume of filing(s). Again, a bizarre body of law has come out of the process which creates a beast - in this case a constant stream of splitting babies and orders to "bargain" over things without any illusion that coming to an agreement is part of bargaining...but ordering bargaining is a performance metric for the controlling body (Read some Pizzella dissents for giggles).
In each case, a process was made to be efficient, and based on the assumption that information and discussion would result in reasonable decisions. In each case, the process grew into a body of law and branch of lawyers who are paid from taxpayer dollars to "feed the beast." I love my job and work my ass off to save those taxpayer dollars (I pay them too), but in a better world, this job would not be necessary.