Former federal managers push for faster, clearer agency dismissal rules

After being pushed out of senior positions during the Trump administration, Maureen Klovers and April Mohr Harding co-founded the nonprofit We the Doers to channel former civil-service experience into federal reform. Their latest report, based on interviews with ten former or current managers and a review of twelve dismissal cases, shows that eliminating an underperforming employee averages 19 months from initiation to final outcome.

The authors propose a standardized, agency-wide removal process and the creation of a single, non-political adjudicatory body to consolidate appeals now split among the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Office of Special Counsel and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They also call for agencies to record “time to fire,” to secure agency-funded second medical opinions for staff on performance-improvement plans, and to assess supervisors’ ability to address issues promptly. Funding for the initiative comes from the Fund for Constitutional Government, and the recommendations aim to preserve civil-service protections while making terminations more efficient.