FederalDaily - April 6, 2006

NTEU, DHS Back in Court

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are back in court on April 6 at 9:30 a.m. to dispute DHS’ proposed new personnel system. The union and the agency will make their arguments before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. NTEU is opposing the new system, and alleges that DHS violated the Homeland Security Act requirement that DHS ensure its employees have the right to bargain collectively when creating its new human resources system. This isn’t the first time DHS and NTEU have been in court haggling over the legality of the proposed personnel system.

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Court Orders IRS to Supply Data

A federal court ruled that the IRS must abide by a longstanding court order and provide performance data to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) and Susan Long. An organization called Public Citizen said on April 4 that the information will be used for analysis. Long, a Syracuse University professor and co-director of TRAC since 1989, first obtained a court order in 1976 to examine IRS audit and performance statistics. Public Citizen said in mid-2004 the IRS ceased providing the data, prompting Long—along with Public Citizen—to file suit. Long said, “This ruling…is a win for the American people, who want to assure themselves that the IRS is operating in a fair and effective manner.”

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OPM Employees Win Sourcing Competition

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) employees won a competition—with a proposal that fell $1.7 million below the contractor’s offer—to provide case processing services under the Federal Erroneous Retirement Coverage Correction Act (FERCCA). FERCCA cases involve federal employees mistakenly placed in the wrong retirement system; these employees are given a choice between the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). The competition determined that OPM employees could handle FERCCA cases for $500,000 to $600,000 less per year over the life of the three-year contract. OPM Director Linda M. Springer said, “Utilizing in-house resources and expertise will bring greater efficiency and effectiveness in processing the claims and facilitating the transfers of current federal employees and annuitants.”

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OSC Calls for BOP Investigation

The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has failed to address concerns about hazardous material exposure, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) said on Tuesday. OSC received whistleblower information from Leroy Smith Jr., a former safety manager at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atwater, Calif. According to Smith, BOP and Federal Prisons Industries Inc. management acted irresponsibly, and possibly intentionally, allowing staff and inmates to work around unsafe levels of lead, cadmium and other dangerous substances at a recycling center. Smith reported shutting down operations on multiple occasions due to safety concerns, but management continually renewed activities without addressing his recommendations, OSC said. Based on evidence from Smith, OSC ruled that BOP’s internal investigation—which found no wrongdoing—was inaccurate. “The agency made little effort to explain how available documentary evidence could be reconciled with the conclusions of its investigation,” OSC said. OSC called for a new, impartial investigation.

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