§ 1–608.56. Disciplinary action for attorneys other than Senior Executive Attorneys.

(a) Notwithstanding subchapter XVI-A of this chapter [§ 1-616.51 et seq.], a Legal Service attorney, other than a Senior Executive Attorney, shall be subject to disciplinary action, including removal, suspension, reduction in grade, or the placing of such attorney on enforced annual leave or enforced leave without pay, for unacceptable performance or for any reason that is not arbitrary or capricious.

(b) The disciplinary action provided for in subsection (a) of this section shall be taken by:

(1) The Attorney General when the attorney is employed by the Office of the Attorney General and performs work primarily for that Office, whether located in that Office or not;

(1A) The Director of the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel when the attorney is employed by the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel and performs work primarily for that office, whether located in that office or not;

(2) Repealed; or

(3) The agency head or the Senior Executive Attorney designee when the attorney is employed by an independent agency, and by the subordinate agency head in consultation with the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel when the attorney is employed by a subordinate agency.

(c) Any disciplinary action taken pursuant to this section against an attorney employed by a subordinate agency or the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel may be appealed to the Mayor. Any such action taken against an attorney employed by the Office of the Attorney General may be appealed to the Attorney General. The Mayor’s and the Attorney General’s decisions regarding disciplinary actions shall be final.

(d) The disciplinary provisions of § 1-609.05 shall apply to Legal Service employees of the Council of the District of Columbia.

(Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-139, § 856; as added Apr. 20, 1999, D.C. Law 12-260, § 2(j), 46 DCR 1318; Apr. 12, 2000. D.C. Law 13-91, § 110(d), 47 DCR 520; Oct. 30, 2004, 118 Stat. 2230, Pub. L. 108-386, § 7; Oct. 20, 2005, D.C. Law 16-33, § 3012(f), 52 DCR 7503; Apr. 7, 2006, D.C. Law 16-91, § 110(b), 52 DCR 10637; Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 5(p)(3), 53 DCR 6794; Dec. 13, 2013, D.C. Law 20-60, § 101(f), 60 DCR 15487.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 1-609.56.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 1-608.62.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 13-91, in subsec. (a), inserted “Notwithstanding subchapter XVII-A,”.

Subsec. (110)(d)(1)(B) of D.C. Law 13-91 provided:

“(1) Subsection (a) is amended as follows:

“(B)(i) Strike the phrase ‘or reduction in grade,’ and insert the phrase ‘reduction in grade, or the placing of such attorney on enforced annual leave or enforced leave without pay,’ in its place.

“(ii) The subparagraph shall apply upon the enactment of legislation by the United States Congress that states ‘Notwithstanding any other law, section 3(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Legal Services Clarification and Technical Emergency Amendment Act of 1999, adopted by the Council of the District of Columbia is enacted into law’.”

Pub. L. 108-386, in subsec. (a), substituted “reduction in grade, or the placing of such attorney on enforced annual leave or enforced leave without pay,” for “or reduction in grade,”.

D.C. Law 16-33 rewrote subsec. (b), which had read as follows: “(b) The disciplinary action provided for in subsection (a) of this section shall be taken by: (1) The Corporation Counsel when employed by the Office of the Corporation Counsel; (2) The Corporation Counsel, after consulting with the agency head, when the attorney is employed by a subordinate agency and there has been no delegation of authority over the attorney pursuant to § 1-608.55; or (3) The agency head or the Senior Exec Attorney designee when the attorney is employed by an independent agency or by a subordinate agency and the Corporation Counsel has delegated authority over the attorney to the subordinate agency head pursuant to § 1-608.55.”

D.C. Law 16-91 added subsec. (d).

D.C. Law 16-191, in subsec. (b)(2), validated a previously made technical correction.

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 20-60 would have added (b)(1A); would have repealed (b)(2); and would have rewritten (b)(3) and (c).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary addition of subchapter, see note to § 1-608.51.

For temporary (90-day) amendment of section, see § 3(c) of the Legal Services Clarification and Technical Emergency Amendment Act of 1999 (D.C. Act 13-203, December 8, 1999, 46 DCR 10456).

For temporary (90-day) amendment of section, see § 3(c) of the Legal Services Clarification and Technical Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2000 (D.C. Act 13-293, March 7, 2000, 47 DCR 2063).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3012(f) of Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-168, July 26, 2005, 52 DCR 7667).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of D.C. Law 20-60, § 401(a), see §§ 1013, 1014(b), and 1014(c) of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-377, July 14, 2014, 61 DCR 7598, 20 STAT 3696).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of D.C. Law 20-60, § 401(a), see §§ 1013, 1014(b), and 1014(c) of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-449, October 10, 2014, 61 DCR 10915, 20 STAT 4188).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of D.C. Law 20-60, § 401(a), see §§ 1013, 1014(b), and 1014(c) of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Second Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-566, Jan. 9, 2015, 62 DCR 884, 21 STAT 541).

For temporary (90 days) repeal of D.C. Law 20-155, § 1014(c), see § 7002 of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-127, July 27, 2015, 62 DCR 10201).

Effective Dates

Section 9 of Pub. L. 108-386, 118 Stat. 2228, the 2004 District of Columbia Omnibus Authorization Act, provided: “The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.”

Editor's Notes

Applicability of D.C. Law 20-60: Section 401(a) of D.C. Law 20-60 provided that § 101 of the act shall apply as of October 1, 2014.

Applicability of D.C. Law 20-60: Section 1013 of D.C. Law 20-155 amended D.C. Law 20-60 to provide that D.C. Law 20-60, § 101, shall apply as of October 1, 2018; Section 1014(b) of D.C. Law 20-155 amended D.C. Law 20-60 to provide that D.C. Law 20-60, § 101, shall apply as of October 1, 2014.

Applicability of D.C. Law 20-155: Section 1014(c) of D.C. Law 20-155 provided that § 1014 of the act shall apply upon the inclusion of its fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan, as certified by the Chief Financial Officer to the Budget Director of the Council in a certification published by the Council in the District of Columbia Register.

Section 7002 of D.C. Law 21-36 repealed D.C. Law 20-155, § 1014(c).