A few low level staffers will get thrown under the wheelchair.
Via AP
The Veterans Affairs Department is in the process of holding bad employees accountable amid a scandal about long wait times for patients and other problems, VA Secretary Robert McDonald said Thursday, but he declined to say how many people were being fired and who they were.
McDonald visited with veterans and employees at the Memphis VA hospital on Thursday, a day after addressing the American Veterans national convention.
McDonald said employees who are being fired are allowed due process, but the agency is working as quickly as it can as it goes through the process under a new law that addresses the VA’s firing practices.
“You’ve got to treat that person with respect,” he told reporters at the hospital. “They have to be allowed a certain due process that’s allowed them by law or by statute or by policy. And, so, we can’t talk to you about names, we can’t talk to you about individuals, even though that’s what you would like. We can’t do that because that would be disrespectful.
“On the other hand, we’ve got to deal with it as quickly as we can,” he added. “We’ve got to deal with it deliberately and we’ve got to deal with it appropriately. I can tell you, we are going to hold people accountable, and we’re going to do that as quickly as we possibly can.”
When asked how many people have been fired, he said: “That’s not relevant. I mean, what’s relevant is what’s happened here in Memphis.”
BREAK
Bonuses are still being paid.
Vis WISTV
Despite a scathing report of the Columbia Regional Veteran’s Affairs Office, hundreds of employees learned they will soon be getting bonuses.
Last Friday, 360 employees at the Regional Office were notified they were getting a $400 quality I-Care award.
The regional office actually has a large budget for employee awards — close to $250,000 a year. But none of that money, thanks to Congress, is allowed to go to directors; it must go to line employees. The employees who received that bonus work in the national call center, vocational rehab, and, of course, the disability claims center. […]
Attorney and veteran Thomas Eppink, however, disagrees with the bonuses.
“That’s my federal government, giving money away for nothing,” said Eppink. “If you look at the salaries to start with, these people at the phone centers, these G9’s, they’re making $50,000 a year. How much of a bonus do they need?”