Questions, we get questions. Not many questions about demotions, however, because agencies rarely use them. But recently we got an interesting query as to exactly what to include in the proposal letter of a demotion:
Today, someone who should know MSPB case law told me that when an agency proposes a demotion, it is required for the proposal letter to state the position and grade to which the agency is proposing the employee will be demoted. This someone added that if this requirement is not met, MSPB will conclude that a due process violation has occurred. I asked this someone to point me to case law, but s/he could only identify the due process cases with which we are all familiar. Am I missing something? How does an employee’s ignorance of the specific job and grade to which he may be demoted impact his due process rights?
And our FELTG response:
Very nice to hear from you. As for your question, amazingly this issue has not come up squarely before the Board, at least not in any final opinions and orders. I think that’s because demotions are rare and because agencies more-or-less routinely say in the proposal letter the step and grade of the demotion. Doing so helps to set the expand bracket for negotiating a lesser demotion with the employee after he responds to the proposal.
From a due process standpoint, I can see a potential problem if I really strain my brain. For example, if we were to propose a “suspension” without stating the length, that might give the employee/appellant the argument that if he had known of the length of the suspension, he would have exercised his response rights differently. If you think about it, an employee might not put a lot of effort into defending against a one-day suspension, but might hire a lawyer for his response if the suspension was going to be 90 days. I can see an analogy to a demotion in that if we don’t tell the employee how much salary he has the potential to lose, he doesn’t know how to exercise his due process right to respond. He might not respond at all if the demotion were one-grade, but might hire a big law firm if it was going to be from a GS-12 to a GS-5.
On the practical side, I don’t know why we would NOT tell the employee to what level the demotion would be. Doing so gives us one less thing to worry about as a possible reversal point (and we know that arbitrators and recently the Board are looking very hard at due process). The employee has a right to respond to the penalty analysis in Douglas. Without knowing the severity of the penalty (the degree of the demotion), it arguably would be difficult for him to respond to the penalty assessment (because he doesn’t know the degree of the penalty).
In my practice, I never propose a demotion. If the employee has done something that warrants a demotion, it also warrants a removal. Therefore, I propose a removal, allow the employee to respond, then offer a voluntarily demotion as an alternative. If the employee accepts, I’ve avoided the appeal/complaint/grievance process. If he does not, the Deciding Official can still implement a demotion instead of the proposed removal as it is a lesser penalty.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything else. [email protected]
