The District was ordered to pay $3.4 million in 2009 to more than three dozen employees, including a drunk driving cop, who appealed their firings and then waited months or years for the appeals process to play out.

The Office of Employee Appeals has a backlog of 533 cases, only four administrative judges on staff and finances so depleted that it can’t even hire court reporters, agency leaders say. Cases stemming from basic budget-related layoffs to terminations for cause often drag on for years, and those workers who successfully appeal are ultimately paid “to take a long vacation,” said Ward 3 D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh, government operations committee chairwoman.