GAO to Federal Workers: Fork You!

Bring your own damn forks to work, or wash the cutlery you bring from home, lazy slackers: GAO to fed workers: No, taxpayers can’t pay for your plastic forks

Federal workers who pack their lunches should also remember to pack their own utensils.

A Government Accountability Office decision released last week determined that federal agencies cannot supply “disposable cups, plates, and cutlery” for employee use because they are for personal benefit and not a specific government purpose.

The issue was brought to light in a dispute between the Commerce Department and the National Weather Service employees. In 2009, Commerce had allowed the weather offices to supply hand sanitizer, paper goods and plasticware in response to the H1N1 flu outbreak. In 2013, Commerce determined that those offices could no longer provide “disposable plates, cups, and cutlery.”

The NWS employees organization objected and the subject went to arbitration. The arbitrator at the time sided with the employees that providing the disposable items could lead to a healthier, and thus more productive, workplace. But the Commerce Department appealed to the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), and that decision is still pending.

Unbeknownst to the NWS employees, Commerce asked GAO to separately look into the dispute. The GAO made a final decision on Dec. 23 that the bar was very high for allowing taxpayer dollars to be used for anything viewed as a personal expense.

“Disposable cups, plates, and cutlery clearly constitute a personal expense,” the GAO concluded. “Commerce has not demonstrated that using appropriated funds to provide these items would directly advance its statutory mission and that the benefit accruing to the government through the provision of these items outweighs the personal nature of the expense.”

Oh, the humanity!