Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican, overstates the problem of removing federal employees for poor performance, but not by much, according experts who examine federal work rules.
It is perhaps not a surprise that a union offical disputes McCain’s use of the incompetent federal worker cliche. Procedures do exist to remove workers from their jobs, and many people do get fired.
But it takes a long time, according to the outside experts who follow such issues closely. McCain wisely faults not an individual but a “system.” That puts him on pretty solid ground, where even a study by the federal government had difficulty finding supervisors who had attempted to take action against poorly performing employees.
Truth-o-meter Ruling
Statement
"The failings in our civil service are encouraged by a system that makes it very difficult to fire someone even for gross misconduct."
Context
Oklahoma City.Speaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
National Treasury Employees Union, email interview with Colleen M. Kelley.
Interviews with Paul Light, a professor of public service at New York University, Don Kettl at the University of Pennsylvania and John Palguta of the Partnership for Public Service.
Poor Performers in Government: A Quest for the True Story U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness, January 1999.
Translations
Language: en