Serious HR issues sometimes arise when you increase your workforce by 1,300 people! Senator Grassley has sent out a letter on behalf of those beleaguered FDA staff members who have had trouble with HR issues, like health insurance mistakes, confused names of employees….
Senator Chuck Grassley has asked the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration to respond to allegations about mismanagement of employee pay and benefits.
Grassley said that high level FDA officials and others have complained to him about
paycheck errors that resulted in legal fees and sloppy record keeping and have shaken confidence in the personnel management system.
“Based on the reports that have come to me, it looks like there is more than isolated
incidents of mismanagement, and it could have significant repercussions for the quality
workforce that the public deserves to have at the Food and Drug Administration. The leadership of the department and the agency needs to address these issues promptly,” Grassley said. Of course the senator is asking that FDA drop everything and send him:
For all employee complaints since 2006 a summary of the complaint;
· date of the complaint;
· actions taken to rectify the problem;
· current status of the complaint; and
· date the issue was resolved.
Please also provide my staff with an analysis of the hiring surge, including:
· net increase or decrease in staff by center, from January 1, 2008 to the present (please distinguish between part-time and full-time employees);
· number of new Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) employees for whom CDER is their first assignment within the FDA; and
· number of new CDER employees who transferred to CDER from another FDA center or office.
Besides, fixing the Heparin problem, regulating and inspecting foreign made drug ingredients, ensuring safety of the food supply, and getting drug approvals going again, this is one more thing to add to the list for the new FDA commissioner. I am sure they can’t wait!
Paychex and Administaff are both companies that handle payroll and HR, perhaps FDA should consider hiring them.