An AFGE member who was wrongfully suspended for eight days will receive back pay thanks to AFGE’s Legal Rights Program. The member, an IT specialist at Fort Huachuca Army Base in Arizona who had no previous infractions, was suspended in 2013 for conduct unbecoming a federal employee after following the direct order of his supervisor to set hundreds of contractor accounts to expire in accordance with policy.
“The supervisors didn’t take any responsibility for their actions once a lot of people became upset about what occurred, and claimed the employee took the action on his own without following the proper approval process,” said Michael T. Pazder, AFGE District 12 Legal Rights Attorney. “Someone had to take the fall so they decided to place the blame on our member who was just doing his job.”
AFGE provided ample evidence to show the supervisors’ involvement in the decision-making and approval that ultimately led to the employee’s actions.
The arbitrator found that the testimony of the supervisors involved lacked credibility, and the AFGE member was granted back pay for the time he lost due to the unjust suspension. The disciplinary action will also be removed from his personnel file.
This is the second time in two months where the agency's suspension of a Fort Huachuca employee was overturned in its entirety by an arbitrator. These are significant victories for our members at Local 1662 who have been in the process of rebuilding their local.
