Federal Employees Have An Obligation To Sustain Public Trust

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that Federal agencies may take disciplinary action against an employee who lies to the Agency during an investigation of employee misconduct. [LaChance vs. Erickson et al case No. 96-1395(SCT)]. This ruling reversed a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Court which ruled that an adverse action may be based on employee-related misconduct, but may not be based on false statements made by the employee about the underlying conduct. Both the Office of Personnel Management Director and Chief Supreme Court Justice indicated that "Public service is a public trust that cannot be compromised by allowing employees to make false statements to save their jobs. No Federal employee has a right to lie."