Failure to Complete Training

To charge a federal employee with a Failure to Complete Training, the Agency must show: (1)there is an agency training program in place; (2) as a condition of employment ,the employee is required to complete training program requirements; (3) the employee failed to complete the training program or a part of the program required for advancement to the next part of the program; and (4) the agency provided all required training or that the there was no connection between training that it failed to provide and the employee’s failure to complete training.

It is important to note that the Merit Systems Protection Board (“MSPB”) will sustain this charge even where other employees received more training than the employee challenging this charge if the Agency shows that the employee did receive all training required and failed. It is also important to note that the MSPB will not apply the Douglas factors and mitigate an employee’s removal, unless the Agency is required by a specific regulation to reassign or consider reassignment of an employee who failed to complete training.

Defenses include showing that the alleged incompletion did not occur, that training instructors were not properly certified, that the employee was not given an opportunity to complete training, or due process violations in the Agency’s adjudication of the charge.

The EEO and MSPB attorneys at Melville Johnson, P.C. are highly experienced in MSPB matters such as these, and are willing and able to assist you in your federal employment legal matters. Give us a call today at 404-724-0000.

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