Basically, the Fed overreacted.

It would seem that the electrician was going about his normal business, and something went wrong, something dramatic enough to cause backup systems to kick into play and bosses to be woken up. As he was using an unapproved device, that gave his superiors something to hang him on, and they had their man.

The real issue was why that happened in the first place, but by having the excuse and the sackings, this permitted the bosses to cover up the real ommissions that must have been going on for years. In all probability, the bosses have not even thought to go fix the original flaw that allowed a single circuit breaker to bring down some key systems.

That was coverup #1. The electrician fought back and on the face of it quite fairly. Filing against the Fed brought in the lawyers, who took the accident and dressed it up into a three-mile-island meltdown scenario. That's what lawyers are paid to do, right?

Which of course was escalation, and again, here's cover up #2. Now the Fed has to face questioning of how he was able to do so much damage in the first place (he wasn't, but they said he was) as well as the core problem of how a guy who has worked there for 10 years gets sacked for using a home made tool?

The coverup caused escalation, and further coverups. On the face of it, this seems to be a classic case of poor HR management in an institution that probably needs a good shakeup.

The draconian reaction of the Fed shows the distance the Federal Enviroment bas traveled within the span of 20 years. Basically the isolated world of the Fed has disregarded the workers rights and promoted the use of a dangerous or un approved device. Cravetts has been damaged. If Cravetts had a good union boss he woulld shut the facilities down via a strike, but he is probably being paid off by some means. The Electrical Trade in the New York metro area was enhanced by strick educational standards and work rules. This proactive union the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers would have in the past shut all the buildings down and dare any other uniton to cross its lines. Now a Supervisor is allowed to violate the work rule with an unapproved device endangering Cravetts and the system. The Unions created the standards and enforced them because local inspectors where too corrupt to and everyone benefited from this self regulated action. Now Cravetts was trained within this enviroment and created a solution for an issue. Instead of addressing the problem the Fed, the Union, and the Supervisors found an easy out by firing Cravetts. The only party that has an obligation to react is the Union since the Fed and its supervisors are taking priviledge with a weakened corrupt Union. I realize that this might be a suggestion against the national security but the IBEW should strike and shut down all facilities their members run in and around the New York Metro Areas this should highlight the issues the workers have with poor standards and bad procedures.