Republican U.S. Congressman James Comer of Kentucky's First District saw his first bill pass the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday afternoon.
The Ensuring a Qualified Civil Service (EQUALS) Act extends the probationary period for new civil service employees from one year to two years following training. During that time, a supervisor could more easily fire an underperforming employee.
Comer said the extension allows more time to assess whether new hires are qualified before becoming formalized federal employees. “Several management groups within the federal government have said they need more time to evaluate an employee before they’re granted what we call in Kentucky ‘merit’ or ‘tenure,'" Comer said.
Following the probationary period, it becomes more difficult to terminate an employee for under-performance, Comer said, referencing a Government Accountability Office report from 2015 that found the formal process for removing finalized appointees can be a six month to one year process.
Comer said different jobs require different levels of training. Some may take a week and others may take a year. “What my bill does, it says after your training then you have two years," he said. This would clarify that an employee would need to get the required training or license for the job prior to the beginning of a probationary period.
Comer said many new government jobs are highly specialized, particularly regarding information technology. “Someone may understand an operating software system today, but if they don’t keep up with the changes, it’s vastly different every year and that’s where a lot of problems were within information technology because that’s where the federal government is behind," Comer said, adding that extending the probationary period would help enhance cyber-security efforts.
The Department of Defense has already enacted a two-year probationary period.
The new measure applies to employees in the civil service sector, which includes non-elected, non-military government career positions. Most of these positions have a ‘competitive service’ classification. The measure also applies to initial Senior Executive Service members, which include managerial and supervisory positions. These positions tend to not change under Presidential administration changes. The measure wouldn’t include Congressional staffers.
According to FEDweek, opponents to the bill expressed concern for employee due process rights and whistleblower protections. Most of the opposition came from Democrats. The measure passed the House with only two Democratic votes.
Comer said he disagrees as workers can still appeal discrimination based on race, political affiliation, sexual harassment or whistleblowing through existing, "well-defined," channels.
As for support in the Senate, Comer said he will soon meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and plans on lobbying Democrats in the Senate to see the bill pass. He said it would need 60 votes to pass, which would require bipartisan support.
