WASHINGTON, D.C. (FEDweek) — The Army ordered that supervisors are to start the process for firing civilian employees on grounds of unacceptable performance within seven days of such a rating, with specified times to move quickly through the employee response and final agency decision-making stages, generally to conclude within 30 days.
“Commanders are directed to ensure supervisors expeditiously separate civilian employees with unacceptable performance from their positions using the most efficient means available, consistent with the requirements of the employee’s personnel management system” and with any union contracts, says the memo signed by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
It meanwhile says that employees facing firing can be offered incentives such as buyouts, early retirement and individual deferred resignation to “facilitate efficient and expedited employee voluntary resignations or retirements”—although the employee would have to waive any right of appeal.
Michael Fallings, managing partner at the Tully Rinckey PLLC law firm, said that such a waiver “is similar to the DRP language from last year and is common in settlement agreements where employees agree to avoid removal actions but must withdraw all claims.”
The memo tells components to employ a section of civil service law typically used for alleged misconduct, but which can be used in performance-based cases deemed severe. That requires no “performance improvement period” to give employees an opportunity to improve before being fired—the section of law generally used in performance cases requires one of at least 30 day and agency assistance to the employee—although the agency bears a higher burden of proof if the employee appeals.
The memo also ends the use of tables of penalties in cases of alleged misconduct—which indicate a lesser penalty—and specifies that “suspensions should not be substituted for removals to the extent removal is warranted.”
Where union contracts have provisions contrary to those of the memo—for example, giving employees more than the seven days it allows for them to respond to the initial notice—commanders are to move to end them “at the earliest opportunity.”
The memo comes in the wake of one issued last fall by DoD/DoW secretary Pete Hegseth calling on components to “encourage workforce rewards and demystify the removal process,” including authority to provide employees facing firing with incentives to resign while giving up appeal rights. Many of its disciplinary provisions mirror rules proposed recently by OPM stressing management’s discretion over discipline.
The Army memo meanwhile encourages the use of incentives for high performers including time-off awards, cash performance awards and quality step increases. It also loosens rules for granting leave without pay for employees to accompany a military or civilian spouse to a new duty location.
The Army has 188,000 civilian employees, down from 221,000 at year-end 2024 but still making it one of the government’s largest employers when the military services are broken out as separate components of DoD/DoW.
