This is pretty stunning. It was revealed today that the EPA had to pay an employee who was a convicted child molester $55,000 just to retire! They tried to fire him but some bureaucratic protection board overturned the firing. So the only way to get him out was to settle with him.
Chaffetz was stunned at this:
FOX NEWS – The Environmental Protection Agency was forced to pay $55,000 to get an employee to retire because the EPA was unable to fire him, even though he was a convicted child molester who also imitated a police officer, officials testified Wednesday.
The settlement was discussed at a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on EPA employee misconduct Wednesday. Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said that was one of the most egregious cases of employee misconduct and misuse of taxpayer dollars.
Stan Meiburg, acting deputy administrator at the EPA, said the agency attempted to fire the employee but the Merit Systems Protection Board — an independent agency that acts as an appeals board for employees across the federal government and adjudicates personnel decisions — overturned the decision. Instead, the agency paid the employee $55,000 to retire and leave the agency, he said. That shocked Chaffetz.
“It’s just pretty stunning,” he said. “How do we need to change the Merit Systems Protection Board, because we’re not protecting the American taxpayer and we’re not protecting the employees who have to sit next to this freak of a pervert.”