![true](https://devtest-static.politifact.com/CACHE/images/politifact/rulings/meter-mostly-true/4ac7c61540eff5211f6a04d98a6bc93a.jpg.)
![mostly-true](https://devtest-static.politifact.com/politifact/rulings/meter-mostly-true.jpg)
Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican, overstates the problem of removing federal employees for poor performance, but not by much, according experts who examine federal work rules.
It is perhaps not a surprise that a union offical disputes McCain's use of the incompetent federal worker cliche. Procedures do exist to remove workers from their jobs, and many people do get fired.
But it takes a long time, according to the outside experts who follow such issues closely. McCain wisely faults not an individual but a "system." That puts him on pretty solid ground, where even a study by the federal government had difficulty finding supervisors who had attempted to take action against poorly performing employees.
Interviews with Paul Light, a professor of public service at New York University, Don Kettl at the University of Pennsylvania and John Palguta of the Partnership for Public Service.
Poor Performers in Government: A Quest for the True Story U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness, January 1999.
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.