Senate

Republican wants details on VA’s ‘troubled’ administrative leave policy

by Jordain Craney - 10/26/15 4:01 PM ET

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is pushing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald on the department’s use of administrative leave, suggesting that it isn’t properly being tracked.

“The VA has a troubled record with respect to the use of administrative leave,” the Iowa Republican wrote in a letter to McDonald, adding that he wants to “understand the details surrounding the VA’s use of extended administrative leave and how the VA ensures the appropriate use of such leave.”

{mosads}The Iowa Republican previously pressed the VA on its policy last year after a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that government agencies were placing employees on leave for personnel-related matters. But Grassley said the VA’s response to why it placed 46 employees on paid administrative leave for one year or more were “largely vague, incomplete, or incoherent.”

“The VA’s responses suggest it may be placing some employees on administrative leave for inappropriately long periods of time and that it does not adequately track or manage use of administrative leave,” he added. “Further, the VA’s incomplete responses to this inquiry make it impossible to fully evaluate the agency’s use of administrative leave, and thus frustrate meaningful oversight.”

In the letter, which was sent on Friday but released Monday, Grassley asked for details on every VA employee placed on administrative leave for more than one year, including why the incident mandated a lengthy leave period, and any department guidelines for tracking leave.

He also wants to know any changes the VA has implemented to its leave policy, and if those changes “enable the VA to explain why it placed nearly 2% of its workforce on paid administrative leave for between 1 and 6 months.”

Tags Chuck Grassley