House lawmakers want to know whether Veterans Affairs officials are using employee settlement policies to dismiss problem staffers instead of punishing them and push aside whistleblowers rather than address their allegations.
Bradley called such large cash settlements unusual, and said all VA employees have been warned that retaliation against whistleblowers will not be tolerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Committee officials said nearly $5 million in employee settlements have been negotiated since July 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to charges the settlements were meant to avoid lengthy firing processes, Bradley said that department officials typically avoid “clean record” settlements where workers can leave without any information about problems surrounding their departure appearing in their employment record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
But Miller said 96 percent of the cases the VA provided for committee review included those clean records, raising the question of whether supervisors are more interested in ignoring problems instead of addressing accountability. That drew the ire of several committee members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We want justice to be done,” said Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo. “If withholding derogatory (employment) info is a negotiating tool in these processes, that seems liable for abuse.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bradley said the number of settlement cases and processes used by department supervisors are in line with other federal agencies, but officials are using new tools to evaluate VA\u2019s use of the practice for potential future changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n