AFGE and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have reached a settlement in which nearly 5,000 VA employees were wrongfully disciplined and terminated under the controversial firing law enacted in June 2017. The VA unilaterally implemented the law without first satisfying its bargaining obligations with AFGE, prompting findings from the Federal Labor Relations Authority and a federal arbitrator that it violated the law.
Under the terms of the settlement and depending on the facts and circumstances of an individual case, employees unjustly removed under the 2017 law have the option to return to the VA with compensation. However, those employees who engaged in what the parties defined as “grievous misconduct” are not eligible for reinstatement.
Additionally, if an employee does not wish to return to the VA, they are eligible for a lump sum payment.
The VA said it agreed to the settlement to allow both parties to move forward and continue to serve veterans without having to worry about legal challenges as a result of the 2017 law.
AFGE welcomes the news.
“This historic settlement shows what’s possible when labor and management come to the table in good faith to solve problems together,” said AFGE President Everett Kelley. “As a result of the agreement between our union and the VA, thousands of low-level veteran employees who were overcharged for minor offenses will finally get the due process and justice they deserve while hundreds of former employees who engaged in truly grievous misconduct will have their terminations upheld.”
“The AFGE National VA Council filed a national grievance almost immediately after VA implemented Section 714 demotions suspensions and removals. An NVAC attorney prevailed, and it was determined that VA illegally implemented 714, affecting about 4,500 employees,” said AFGE NVAC Third Executive Vice President Bill Wetmore. “That litigation and the subsequent mediation to determine how those illegally affected would be made whole took almost six years. This marks another victory for the NVAC in our relentless efforts to represent our bargaining unit to the best of our abilities. It also further exemplifies the great skill of our legal team under the leadership of Council President Alma Lee.”
On June 23, 2017, then President Trump signed into law the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, promising to help the VA get rid of unethical managers and help veterans get their health care faster. The act came into existence allegedly due to the wait list scandal in which managers manipulated the data to qualify for big bonuses.
But as AFGE predicted, the law has been a massive failure. Since enactment of the law, thousands of lower-level VA employees such as housekeepers, food service workers, and nursing assistants have been fired. Within its first year, more than 2,600 employees were fired – with only 5 being top officials. Instead of making the VA more efficient, it's created even more damage to this massive agency that takes care of nine million veterans every year.
The AFGE National VA Council filed multiple grievances and argued that the VA’s unilateral implementation of the law violated the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute and the union contract, which states, in part, that the VA must provide employees with a legitimate chance to improve performance prior to initiating performance-based disciplinary action.
AFGE won many of these challenges, prompting the VA to stop using the 2017 law earlier this year after being ordered by judges to reinstate illegally disciplined employees.
“AFGE members are eager to put this matter to rest, move forward in a spirit of cooperation, and focus on continuing to deliver world class health care for our nation’s heroes,” Kelley added.