FEMA’s workforce consists of employees hired under both Title 5 and the Stafford Act, as well as individuals from two other workforce components who are not FEMA employees, but who can be deployed for disaster response: the DHS Surge Capacity Force and FEMA Corps. Title 5 employees are permanent and temporary employees who form FEMA’s day-to-day workforce, and can be deployed as needed during a disaster. Stafford Act employees include CORE and Reservists hired specifically to support disaster-related activities on a temporary or intermittent basis. COREs are temporary employees with 2- to 4-year appointments, while Reservists work on an intermittent basis and are deployed as needed. Surge Capacity Force volunteers include employees of other DHS components who augment FEMA’s workforce in the event of a catastrophic disaster. Their first and only deployment as of May 2017 was to assist in response and recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. FEMA manages and coordinates the Surge Capacity Force program. FEMA Corps is a national service program managed by AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). FEMA Corps members support disaster response and recovery efforts and work under the direction of FEMA staff. As shown in table 1 below, FEMA’s available disaster response workforce, including Surge Capacity Force and FEMA Corps totaled over 22,600 in March 2017. FEMA’s workforce categories are subject to different employee rights and legal protections. For example, Title 5 employees are generally afforded notice and appeal rights, while Reservists serve in temporary intermittent positions and can be terminated at any time with or without cause. In 2012, FEMA issued a policy directive outlining procedures for reporting misconduct within the agency, conducting administrative investigations, and reporting actions taken in cases where the misconduct allegation was sustained. The FEMA Administrative Investigations Policy directive (FD 123-19) lays out misconduct responsibilities for employees, managers, and supervisors, and for the personnel management offices involved in managing misconduct. The directive also describes three types of administrative investigations: Managerial Inquiry: managers or supervisors may be assigned to conduct an inquiry when the allegation is not complex (e.g., tardiness, absence without leave) and involves a minimal number of witnesses. Office of the Chief Security Officer (OCSO) Investigation: OCSO personnel are assigned to conduct investigations of allegations that are criminal in nature, or have the potential to be criminal in nature, for example travel card fraud or a physical altercation. Independent Investigation: senior FEMA or other government officials may be assigned to conduct investigations into complex allegations that involve multiple offices and witnesses, senior employees, or prohibited personnel practices such as political coercion. The process for conducting investigations is further discussed in FEMA’s Administrative Investigations Policy manual (FEMA Manual 123-19-1). FEMA’s Employee Discipline Manual (FEMA Manual 255-3-1) describes the policies, procedures, and responsibilities for taking conduct-related discipline against permanent Title 5 employees. The manual discusses options for disciplinary actions, which include reprimands and suspensions of 14 days or less, and adverse actions, which include suspensions for 15 days or more, demotions, and removals. The manual also lays out employee grievance and appeal rights. The policies and procedures described in the manual apply solely to permanent Title 5 employees. As discussed later in this report, the discipline and appeals process varies for other workforce categories. Within FEMA, three primary offices are involved in reviewing, investigating, and adjudicating employee misconduct allegations. OCSO Internal Investigations Branch (IIB): conducts investigations related to more serious allegations, such as those that may involve potential criminal misconduct. The Office of the Chief Component Human Capital Officer (OCCHCO) Labor and Employee Relations Branch (LER): advises supervisors who conduct lower level investigations and inquiries, such as time and attendance violations, and provides recommendations on any counseling or any disciplinary or adverse action for all cases. The Office of the Chief Counsel (OCC) Personnel Law Branch (PLB): provides legal advice during investigations and conducts legal reviews of certain reports of investigation and all disciplinary and adverse actions. Representatives from these three offices form FEMA’s Administrative Investigations Directive (AID) Committee, which reviews misconduct allegations, assigns investigators, and tracks the status of open cases. DHS OIG also plays a role in reviewing and investigating certain misconduct allegations. DHS Management Directive 0801.1 requires officials from all DHS components, including FEMA, to refer certain categories of misconduct to DHS OIG for review, such as allegations of criminal misconduct against a DHS employee and any allegations of misconduct against senior employees. After reviewing the allegation, DHS OIG may elect to initiate an investigation or refer the case back to the component, such as FEMA, for review. DHS OIG receives complaints (from employees, supervisors, the public, and agency referrals) against employees in all DHS components through the DHS OIG Hotline, which is a resource for reporting corruption, fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, or misconduct. Table 2 below shows the average number of misconduct complaints received through the DHS OIG Hotline from fiscal year 2014 through 2016 by selected DHS component. These complaints represent alleged offenses only, and not final actions or adjudication results. FEMA receives allegations of employee misconduct from individuals both within and outside the agency. Individuals (including members of the public) can report these allegations through a number of different mechanisms, including, but not limited to, FEMA’s OCSO Tipline, LER specialists, and the DHS OIG Hotline. Employees can also report misconduct to their supervisors and union representatives. The AID Committee reviews most allegations, including those declined by DHS OIG and returned to FEMA. LER reviews complaints received directly from managers or employees to determine if they need to be discussed at the AID Committee meetings. Allegations may then be assigned to one of the three types of administrative investigations discussed earlier. Once completed, reports of investigation are forwarded to LER for review. LER recommends appropriate disciplinary or adverse action, if warranted. Figure 1 below outlines the general steps in FEMA’s misconduct process, including DHS OIG’s role in reviewing and investigating allegations. Variations in potential case outcomes and the appeals process by workforce category are discussed later in this report. FEMA has developed a policy outlining procedures regarding investigations of misconduct as documented in FEMA’s Administrative Investigations Policy directive. The directive applies to all FEMA personnel. While FEMA Corps and Surge Capacity Force members are not FEMA employees, OCSO officials stated that the investigations process is the same regardless of the workforce category. FEMA has also documented misconduct policies and procedures regarding options to address misconduct and appeals for Title 5 and CORE employees. For Title 5 employees the options to address misconduct include both disciplinary and adverse actions. FEMA Corps disciplinary policies and procedures are the responsibility of AmeriCorps NCCC and are documented in their member handbook. Figure 2 outlines the options to address misconduct and appeal rights for Title 5, CORE, and FEMA Corps as documented in their respective employee discipline and program manuals. According to LER officials, as of February 2017, most supervisors had been offered training on FEMA’s 2015 Employee Discipline Manual, which applies to Title 5 employees. Three more training sessions are planned for 2017. Additionally, PLB partnered with LER in 2016 to offer misconduct and documentation training for all supervisors. In 2016, PLB and LER completed 21 joint trainings. They held two more joint trainings in March 2017. FEMA has not documented misconduct policies and procedures for Surge Capacity Force members. DHS issued the Surge Capacity Force Concept of Operations in 2010, which outlines FEMA’s base implementation plan for the Surge Capacity Force. However, the document does not address any elements pertaining to Surge Capacity Force human capital management, specifically misconduct and disciplinary policies and procedures. According to the FEMA Surge Capacity Force Coordinator, despite the lack of documentation, any incidents of misconduct would likely be investigated by FEMA’s OCSO, which would then refer the completed report of investigation to the employee’s home component for adjudication and potential disciplinary action. Additionally, OCSO officials said that while they were unaware of any misconduct investigations involving Surge Capacity Force members to date, if an incident were to occur they would follow the procedures in the Administrative Investigations Policy directive and also notify the member’s home component of the incident. However, although no allegations of misconduct were made at the time, the FCO in charge of one of the Hurricane Sandy Joint Field Offices said he had not seen anything in writing or any formal guidance that documents or explains how the process would work and stated that he would have had to contact FEMA headquarters for assistance in determining how to address any misconduct. Furthermore, he noted that taking the time to figure out the Surge Capacity Force misconduct process would have detracted from time spent on the Joint Field Office’s mission. LER officials stated that they would be able to walk through the procedures with supervisors and managers if asked. However, because these procedures are not documented, the process is not transparent and information is not readily available. LER officials noted that while LER specialists can quickly answer questions, it would be beneficial for the procedures to be documented. A PLB official also told us that FEMA should have a written policy for potential Surge Capacity Force misconduct. Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government advises management to develop and maintain documentation of its internal control system. This documentation can assist in management’s ability to communicate controls to personnel, and is a means to retain organizational knowledge as well as communicating that knowledge to external parties.