The ultimate job security, it seems, comes from working for the U.S. government. As one Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found, "it can take six months to a year (and sometimes significantly longer) to dismiss an employee," with an average timeline of 243 days in 2013. And that's if a firing occurs at all: A federal worker's chance of being fired in a given year is just one in 500.
"It ends up being very, very difficult to fire a federal employee even when there is the best of cause," explains Joseph Morris, who served as general counsel for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in the 1980s. At one point, Morris recalls, he made a list of all the possible steps to fire a federal employee in his era and found it stretch some 30 feet. Today, he says, the list would likely be longer.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Cautious optimism surrounds plans for the world's first nuclear fusion power plantTalking Point Some in the industry feel that the plant will face many challenges
-
Explore new worlds this winter at these 6 enlightening museum exhibitionsThe Week Recommends Discover the estrados of Spain and the connection between art and chess in various African countries
-
2024: the year of Black country artistsIn the Spotlight Beyoncé debuted 'Cowboy Carter' at the top of the country charts, shining a spotlight on artists like Shaboozey
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons mergerSpeed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battleSpeed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rallySpeed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraudSpeed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
