Poor gov hiring, firing practices interfere with economic justice

Interviews help get gov jobs, but firing is difficult[/caption]

Carol Forsloff---One of the most important factors in economic growth and recovery comes from the public sector, where it is difficult to fire poor workers.  Despite the fact that new research shows private wages outstrip the pay of public workers, pension demands and virtual inability to fire the incompetent government worker can sometimes mean mediocre to poor service in many sectors.

Economic justice demands fair treatment of all workers.  That means employers having the freedom to choose the employees best suited for the demands of a specific job.  It means reasonable pay for the worker and benefits that allow protection for health and from discrimination in hiring and firing practices.

In the public sector when a manager finds someone is not doing the job, or is limited in his/her ability to perform the tasks, after the six months review period, it is almost impossible to terminate the worker.  And it is not just termination concerns that create problems for a department, but the fact that previous employers will either neglect to provide a reference or those who would give a negative one are avoided by the applicant and the government employer.  Although this happens also in the private sector, it is far more difficult to remove the employee in government.

"Federal employees' job security is so great that workers in many agencies are more likely to die of natural causes than get laid off or fired," reported USA Today after studying federal employment statistics in 2011.

Changing hiring and firing practices and equalizing both pay and benefits so both private and public sector jobs are equivalent would help the economy and ensure better growth and stability in a number of areas.  For some it might mean increasing benefits, and for others it might mean reducing them.

Here's an example of the problems that occur with government workers and the difficulties they might cause.  A worker in a private organization had difficulty with the job of providing services required by contracts with the organization.  As a result some of these contracts failed.  This occurred near the end of the company's tenure, as the owners were closing it to retire.  Following some of the negative aspects of the employee's behavior, notice was given of possible termination if there were no improvement.  This was followed by threats of lawsuits at a time when the company was financially vulnerable.  Since the company was closing, the loss of money would have meant money used to pay workers and suppliers would be significantly reduced by having to defend the lawsuit, especially when the employee in question had intimate friendships with several key, and somewhat amoral, attorneys.  The employee was kept on the job until the company closed as a result.

After a brief period of self employment, the employee got a job with the Federal government.  The previous employer received a request for recommendation, but this came after the new government hire.  That's because after the company was closed, key personnel had relocated to various locations; and mail had been forwarded and came late.  Other people who had worked with her gave references instead, but they did not have the inside information about the employee's behavior.  She is presently exhibiting similar behavior with respect to inability to manage some of the responsibilities on her job with the Federal government but remains in the position because of the complications involved in termination of government employees.

As Congress investigates problems related to labor and other issues that interfere with balancing the budget and promoting a healthy economy, perhaps the old ways of doing things by government agencies with respect to hiring and firing might be one of those areas of investigation and change that could make a difference.  For it could enhance government services, promote economic justice, by balancing fairness in labor practices both public and private.