Failure to Report an Offense, Status or Relationship

Melville Johnson
April 8, 2020

To sustain a Failure to Report an Offense, Status, or Relationship, the agency must prove by preponderant evidence that:

  1. The agency’s regulations provide for reporting certain misconduct, status, or relationships
  2. The employee is on notice of those regulatory requirement
  3. The employee failed to report the required information in violation of the regulations.[1]

The MSPB has also sustained charges in which an employee had made an unauthorized disclosure of privileged information to someone with whom they have had an intimate relationship, and had then passed the information to an adverse third party. The MSPB has also sustained charges in which a federal employee failed to report an arrest.

There are some defenses to this charge that the MSPB may consider when determining whether to sustain the agency’s charge. They include: whether the agency regulation covered the information allegedly not reported; whether the regulation specified the way in which the covered matter was to be reported; and did the agency discriminate against the employee by intentionally treating him or her more harshly than others.

The federal employee 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. Call or message us today to discuss your claim and see how we can assist you.


[1]Rodriguez v. DHS, 117 MSPR 188 (2011).

This blog and web site published by Melville Johnson, P.C. should not be used as a substitute for seeking competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney. Readers of this information should not act upon any information contained on this blog or website without seeking professional counsel.
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