Goldwater Backs Proposal to Rein in Federal Bureaucracy

If an employee in the private sector is a poor performer, his employer has broad power to fire him. But in the federal government, even the worst workers have extraordinary protections from termination—and that makes it difficult to reform the federal bureaucracy. That’s why the Goldwater Institute is supporting a new proposal by the Trump Administration that will rein in abuses by unelected bureaucrats.

Employment at will in the private sector is the general rule, not the exception. “At will” means that either employers or employees can terminate the employment relationship at any time. In other words, the system is based on voluntary agreement. The result is flexibility and accountability to the employer, and often more opportunity and mobility for employees.

But for too long, many entrenched federal bureaucrats have avoided “at-will” employment status due to various “civil service” legal protections for career government employees. Some government workers can’t be fired even when they don’t perform their job or when they actively work against public interests.

That’s why last week, the Goldwater Institute submitted a formal public comment to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in support of a Trump Administration proposal to reclassify thousands of federal employees with policy-influencing roles to at-will employment status. The Institute’s comment makes clear that this is an encouraging step forward to ensure accountability in government, and when necessary, rein in abuses in the federal bureaucracy.

States like Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Texas, Utah, and Florida have classified state workers as at-will employees for years. As the Institute noted in its letter, “oversight and accountability are central features of efficient management practices for government employees,” both at the state and federal levels.

The federal government should follow the example of these states and adopt the OPM’s proposed rule. Federal bureaucrats—especially those who influence policymaking—shouldn’t receive special legal protections that hinder government operations or undermine the public’s interest. The Goldwater Institute will continue to promote efforts to restrain the administrative state and curb the excesses of unelected bureaucrats.

To read the Goldwater Institute’s full comment submitted to the OMB, click here.

You can find out more about what Goldwater is doing to confront the Administrative State here. For more on the proposed civil service rule and other important regulatory issues, please visit our friends at the Institute for the American Worker.

Parker Jackson is a Staff Attorney at the Goldwater Institute.