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Appendix A: United States Secret Service Table of Penalties

Introduction

The United States Secret Service's (Secret Service) Table of Penalties is intended to serve as a guide in determining appropriate corrective, disciplinary, or adverse actions for common offenses and supersedes all previous policies and practices regarding disciplinary offenses and penalties.

The Offense Codes outlined in the Table of Penalties do not cover every possible offense but rather provide a general description of certain types of misconduct, whether committed on or off-duty, for which employees may be disciplined. The absence of a specific Offense Code covering an act does not mean that such an act is condoned, permissible, or would not result in disciplinary or adverse action. Offenses not described in the Offense Codes may be separately identified and result in appropriate disciplinary or adverse action, provided there is a nexus between the misconduct and the efficiency of the service. Employees are encouraged and expected to report through their chain of command, or the Inspection Division Hotline, or the DHS Office of the Inspector General hotline, information that indicates another employee may have engaged in misconduct described in the Table of Penalties. Supervisors are required to report through their chain of command an employee's misconduct involving violations set forth in the Table of Penalties. Failure of a supervisor to report information required by this policy may result in disciplinary action. See Offense Code 5.6.

Purpose and Progressive Nature of Discipline

The Secret Service is a world renowned, pre-eminent law enforcement agency and is distinguished by its responsibilities to protect the president, vice-president, and other national leaders, visiting world leaders, and designated National Special Security Events. As such, the Secret Service employs advanced recruitment strategies designed to attract and retain employees who possess the highest levels of aptitude and integrity. All Secret Service employees are held to a high standard of conduct and are expected to be worthy of trust and confidence. The Secret Service's disciplinary and adverse action processes serve to ensure adherence to the highest standards of conduct. Disciplinary measures are imposed to promote behaviors and principles that champion the pursuit of organizational achievement and excellence. The discipline model of the Secret Service is designed to incentivize self-discipline at all levels. Discipline at the Secret Service is progressive in nature, meaning that subsequent acts of misconduct are treated with increasing severity, especially but not exclusively, when the acts of misconduct are similar in nature. Certain offenses are so egregious that a single act is sufficient to warrant an employee's removal from employment with the Secret Service.

Penalty Ranges and Factors Considered in Determining the Penalty

The Secret Service's Penalty Guidelines are expressed in terms of a Standard Penalty, a Mitigated Range, and an Aggravated Range. Selection of an appropriate penalty involves a responsible balancing of the relevant factors in each case. The aggravating and mitigating factors listed in the Penalty Guidelines are a general description of certain factors that will result in higher or lower penalties depending on the specific case's circumstances. The factors listed in the Penalty Guidelines are illustrative and not exhaustive.

In addition, the Douglas Factors set forth below will be considered in every case prior to determining the penalty. Not all of these factors are applicable to every case, and the deciding official will balance the relevant ones.