Promotions within the government bureaucracy are based on satisfying HR criteria to even enter the competitions. These competitions take upwards of a year, and 90% of the effort is to ensure fairness and lack of discrimination rather than the best candidate be chosen. Preference is ALWAYS given to minorities and women, and bilingualism is mandatory.  That all of these people are currently off work because of "stress" due to alleged harassment tells me more than enough about the types of people we're dealing with here. Everyone who has ever worked for the government has come across them. and as a former union rep I've come across more than my share. They're entitled to their entitlements, and make sure they use ever single one. They're resentful when asked to do anything beyond the minimum and take offense at any criticism. They're also invariably off 'sick' on Monday. Then they get upset they're not selected for temporary acting positions.