Federal Employees: You be the Judge

I was removed due to lack of candor after 6 years of being a federal employee. An anomaly occurred in my life from June to Sept. i acted out of character and was not truthful about attending school in order to conduct a shift swap to remain on day shift. I provided my employer with a class schedule that I didnt create but knew was not legit. One thing led to another an investigation was done in which I admitted to to the wrongdoing 18 mins into the interview and was later removed in December. Can I get back into the government with this hanging over my head? Any suggestions on how to overcome this? In the 6 years I’ve never had any disciplinary actions or problems until as I said events took place in my life that I wasn’t able to handle and thought I could fix my personal life by staying on day shift so I provided a document that wasn’t legit.

Thank you all for your responses!
Should I upload and include my current SF-50 which shows removal lack of candor when applying for jobs on USAJobs?

DroneBee- I am not represented by an attorney however I have submitted my case to MSPB and in the begging stages. The timelines were extended because of the shutdown. The union I was apart of is representing me.

If you apply for jobs as an outsider (Delegating Examining Unit (DEU) which means that the federal job posting can be applied by any American citizen) then you don't have to attach your SF-50.


Good! You filed in the MSPB, which is your only real option. I'm glad that the union will represent you - going through the MSPB can be daunting and lengthy.

God Bless.

Can anyone explain why Danigirl could be fired for one incident? (granted, a serious one). I thought there was still a process the government had to go through to fire someone, i.e. counsel, give a chance to correct the problem, etc. Is it because it could be considered a crime (although pretty minor on the crime scale)? Interested in the legalities around this.

In this case, it may have been the admission that did the employee in. Trying to clean it up later would mean contradicting herself, which raises questions about her credibility. I don't see the "severity" of the charge being an issue here, as we all know SCORES of federal employees who have done much worse and not received so much as a slap on the wrist, let alone discipline/removal.

"Can be" is the operative phrase. It is a risk, and one I would advise most employees not to take unless there is clear and convincing, and damn near irrefutable evidence you did something wrong. Never apologize to the agency and certainly don't commit such in writing. And why should you? The agency will run like hell with a lie, even when there is ample evidence proving their agents' wrongdoing. In circus court your apology might help if by some miracle you end up with a decision maker who is truly objective. Doubtful, because at the point you are facing termination the action has been greenlit at every level. But if you insist on being a hopeless optimist, sure, go ahead and take a huge gamble. Good luck in real court.