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FederalDaily - August 15, 2005

Judge Rules against DHS Personnel Reforms

On the night of August 12 a federal judge ruled in a suit brought by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) that key personnel regulations sought to be implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are illegal and cannot be put in place. This decision effectively stopped DHS from implementing its new labor relations system on Monday, as it had planned. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia concluded that “significant aspects of the HR system fail to conform to the express dictates of the Homeland Security Act.” NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley called the decision by Judge Rosemary Collyer “an enormous and critically-important win for the rights of federal employees not only in DHS but in all federal agencies."

OPM Works Towards Dental/Vision Benefits

Last week Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Linda Springer wrote to House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce and Agency Organization Chair Jon Porter, R-Nev., addressing OPM’s efforts towards implementing dental and vision benefits for federal employees. Springer said OPM staff has met with representatives from indemnity products, dental health maintenance organizations and preferred provider network programs. She added that OPM staff is now developing a proposal for a benefits program design. OPM will begin soliciting care providers and Springer said the solicitation “will be broad enough to accommodate a wide variety of product types, including regional and national vendors.” She wrote, “I share your concern that federal employees have access to a full range of dental and vision benefits.”

AFGE Wins Right to Represent USDA Employees

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) announced that it won a decision restoring union representation for import inspectors of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The decision was handed down by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) Chicago Region last week. AFGE, which has represented USDA food and import inspectors since 1968, challenged a USDA action that declared import inspectors no longer eligible for union representation due to alleged national security needs. AFGE challenged the change in union status of import inspectors before the FLRA, the agency responsible for deciding labor-management disputes in the federal government. The August 10 decision and order begins a 60-day period during which USDA has the right to appeal the decision to the full FLRA.

IRS Possibly Wasted Millions

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released last week by Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Max Baucus, D-Mont., suggests that the IRS could be wasting millions of dollars on employee training programs intended to improve accuracy and ensure that taxpayers get the right answers to their questions. GAO cited previous reports revealing that the IRS continues to provide inaccurate information to taxpayers who request help in complying with federal tax laws. The GAO study looked at employee training and development for four types of taxpayer assistance: less complex tax law questions answered by phone; more complex tax law questions answered by phone; tax law questions answered at walk-in sites; and tax return preparation at IRS walk-in sites. For more on this story, see the upcoming Aug. 22, 2005, issue of Federal Employees News Digest. To subscribe, click here.

Arlington Cemetery Burial Questioned

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., sent a letter last week to Sens. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, and Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, urging them to follow up on the burial of Russell Wagner in Arlington National Cemetery. Wagner was convicted of stabbing to death two elderly residents of Hagerstown, Md., and was sentenced to two life sentences. While serving his sentence in prison, he died from a heroin overdose. Despite his conviction and crimes, he was given full military honors at his Arlington burial on July 27, 2005. “Our national cemeteries are places of national honor for those who have served their country and fellow citizens. Convicted murderers should not be allowed in their hallowed grounds,” Mikulski wrote in her letter.