Stephen Patrick has spent the past three years collecting a paycheck from the federal government while not doing the job for which he was hired, because his supervisors can’t decide what to do with him following his professional transgressions.

 

When he was working, Patrick drove nuclear materials around the country in unmarked trucks for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. In July 2007, he made an unauthorized detour (of 340 miles) to have dinner with a friend.

 

He was suspended for 30 days for his misdeed, which set off a series of appeals and delays. Patrick appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board. He was offered $250,000 to drop his appeal and resign, but Patrick insists that he wants his job back. Today he finds himself still on the payroll ($47,000 salary) while limited to desk duty…doing nothing.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Fight for Job Leaves Stephen Patrick Idle and on the Federal Payroll (by Lisa Rein, Washington Post)

The Ultimate Bureaucrat: Paid $150,000 to Do Nothing (AllGov)