Court destroys key federal worker rights, including to tell you what's really going on

POGO - A devastating court decision stripped federal employees of their right to appeal a personnel action—even if it is discriminatory or in retaliation for whistleblowing. This deeply flawed, activist decision arms agencies with sweeping power not granted by the president or Congress, leaving untold numbers of federal workers with no right to challenge discrimination or retaliation for whistleblowing.

In Kaplan v. Conyers, Northover and MSPB (Conyers), the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that federal agencies have unlimited discretion to take adverse actions pertaining to the eligibility to occupy a national security position without any review. This greatly expands a Supreme Court decision, Egan, which for decades has only applied to security clearances. Conyers wipes out civil service due process rights and whistleblower protections for anyone in a national security “sensitive” position.

Now, if an agency fires an employee after having made a legally protected whistleblower disclosure or because of that employee’s race or religion, using the determination of ineligibility for a national security sensitive position as a pretext, the employee cannot seek justice from the Merit Systems Protection Board and has no other recourse.

This decision flouts the congressional intent of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, as well as the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, and the recently passed and strongly bipartisan Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012—reforms the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) fought for years to enact. Conyers guts these laws and significantly expands the boundaries and power of the national security state—throwing waste, fraud, and abuse of power deep into the shadows.