A government contractor sought to hire a lawyer to work at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to conduct investigations into the dismantled agency’s former staff, including for “unauthorized communications with the media.”
The job posting from Highlight Technologies — deleted Tuesday afternoon following inquiries from The Hill — said the attorney would be located within USAID’s Office of General Counsel and seeks a candidate who will handle “grievance disputes” filed by former employees as well as “conduct investigations into general employee misconduct,” such as communication with the media.
Before it was deleted, the original job posting had already undergone several edits after it was first reported by CBS News late Monday. The posting, up for several hours Tuesday, said the attorney will “conduct thorough and impartial workplace investigations when required” but no longer mentioned contact with the media.
The edit also removed language saying the attorney would “defend vigorously over 200 grievances filed by employees.”
Critics say the initial job posting, however, highlights the administration’s next steps for USAID, even after firing the majority of its employees and moving to fully absorb the development agency into the State Department.
“The administration is just continuing to demonstrate its hostile attitude towards the workforce,” Randy Chester, vice president of the American Foreign Service Association, told The Hill.
“So those over 200 grievances were filed by foreign service and civil service staff of USAID — in a normal year, it’s between 30 and 50. So that just tells you the amount of wrongdoing that people feel is happening. And so, they filed the grievances to respond to that,” he said.
The State Department did not respond to The Hill’s request for comment, nor did Highlight Technologies, the government contractor that posted the job.
Several USAID employees last week were notified they were the subject of an “administrative inquiry” for having “engaged with the press/media without authorization.” CBS News reported last week that at least half a dozen USAID employees received such notices.
“We don’t normally do this, but these aren’t normal times,” Chester said of staff speaking to the media.
“And the wrongdoings that people have felt sort of compelled them. They felt compelled to break that code, break that policy, and speak out because they felt that what was happening was either illegal or immoral.”
While the email also threatened disciplinary action, the vast majority of USAID employees have been notified they will be fired as part of a reduction in force, pushing employees out in either June or September. In February, USAID employees were given 15 minutes to pack up their belongings and clear out their offices.
“To be going after people now who may have 45 days left in their employment with the agency is a little strange. You’ve already terminated the individual in question, so what remedy are you seeking by doing a misconduct investigation? I don’t know what that is or what that would look like, because a lot of these lawyers — and this is why they have to hire new attorneys — a lot of the lawyers in the agency are on administrative leave, so they can’t do the investigations,” Chester said, noting there are just two attorneys left in a division that once housed as many as 10 lawyers.
“So it’s kind of weird that they would even bother,” he said, adding later, “It’s a waste of time and taxpayer dollars.
The job posting made the rounds with dismissed employees of the agencies and was mocked in a blog dedicated to USAID as an example of the agency “shutting itself down while punishing anyone who cared too much.”
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