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VA chief: Firings of bad employees a deliberate process

 
Published Aug. 15, 2014

MEMPHIS — The Veterans Affairs Department is in the process of holding bad employees accountable amid a scandal about long wait times for patients and other problems, VA Secretary Robert McDonald said Thursday, but he declined to say how many people were being fired and who they were.

McDonald visited with veterans and employees at the Memphis VA hospital on Thursday. He said employees who are being fired are allowed due process, but the agency is working as quickly as it can.

"You've got to treat that person with respect," he told reporters. "They have to be allowed a certain due process that's allowed them by law or by statute or by policy. And, so, we can't talk to you about names, we can't talk to you about individuals, even though that's what you would like. We can't do that because that would be disrespectful.

"On the other hand, we've got to deal with it as quickly as we can," he added. "We've got to deal with it deliberately and we've got to deal with it appropriately. I can tell you, we are going to hold people accountable, and we're going to do that as quickly as we possibly can."