Personal Liability for Managers & Supervisors Conducting Personnel Management Functions

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a memorandum to reassure supervisory officials that, when acting in the scope of their official responsibilities in taking disciplinary action against employees, they are unlikely to be a defendant in an employee's lawsuit and that the Department of Justice will typically seek to have any claims against them dismissed. The memorandum emphasized that this is true even when a supervisor has unlawfully discriminated against the employee, though such a supervisor might face disciplinary action. It also highlighted the government's ability to pay for up to half the cost of personal liability insurance for federal supervisors and law enforcement officials.