Federal Daily - September 24, 2008

Obama Pledges to Undo PART, Reform Agencies

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama promised on Sept. 22 to reform President Bush's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), hire a federal chief performance officer (CPO) to root out underperforming programs and fire managers who don’t measure up. PART, which provides detailed assessments of more than 1,000 federal programs, is a centerpiece of Bush’s effort to streamline government, but has been riddled with “ideological goals rather than true performance standards,” Obama said in a plan released by his campaign. Obama noted that a recent Government Accountability Office study found that among federal managers, only 26 percent used PART to make management decisions. Also, congressional appropriators, when considering which programs to fund, have said they generally ignore or are unaware of the PART evaluations. Another recent study found that agencies improved their PART scores primarily by better communicating their accomplishments, not by improving performance, Obama said. Under the plan, Obama would establish a federal agency “SWAT team” composed of top-performing government professionals and headed by a CPO who would report directly to the president. The CPO would work with federal agencies to set performance targets and hold managers responsible for progress. Failing programs would be eliminated and underperforming managers would be replaced, according to the plan. Obama also promised to improve efficiency and get help to the agencies that need it the most. For example, the plan pointed out that “we need more resources and better tools for food inspectors at the Food and Drug Administration, for nurses at VA hospitals, for air traffic controllers and baggage screeners, and for immigration border control agents.” To see more, go to: www.scribd.com/doc/6159046/The-Change-We-Need-in-Washington.

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APWU to Gain Access to USPS PolicyNet

The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) on Sept. 22 announced it had reached an agreement with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that will give union representatives at the state and local levels direct access to USPS PolicyNet. The PolicyNet is the portion of the Postal Service intranet (Blue) that contains handbooks, manuals, management instructions, publications, Memorandums of Policy, forms, posters, notices, Vehicle Modification Orders and Vehicle Maintenance Bulletins. The agreement is a result of ongoing discussions related to implementing a memorandum of understanding on electronic access to information that is part of the union’s 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement, APWU said in a statement. Authorized union representatives will complete a form and submit it to the manager of their reporting unit to get access to a virtual private network through which non-postal computers can connect to authorized portions of the USPS internal network. “This agreement is a significant accomplishment,” said Greg Bell, the union’s director of industrial relations. “It is another step in our ongoing efforts to gain access to electronic records necessary to process grievances or to determine whether a grievance exists.” APWU national business agents and other national officers were granted access to PolicyNet last year. To see more, go to: www.apwu.org/news/webart/2008/0887-policynet-080922.htm.

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Judge Rules in Favor of Transgender Job Applicant

A federal judge on Sept. 19 ruled that the Library of Congress illegally discriminated against an applicant for a senior research analyst position when she was denied a job after announcing her intention to transition from male to female. In the lawsuit, Diane Schroer charged that the Library of Congress unlawfully refused to hire her in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects against sex discrimination in the workplace. In the lawsuit filed in 2005, Schroer said she applied for a position with the library as the senior terrorism research analyst. Soon thereafter she was offered the job, which she accepted immediately, the lawsuit said. Prior to starting work, Schroer took her future boss to lunch to explain that she was in the process of transitioning and thought it would be easier for everyone if she simply started work presenting herself as female, according to the lawsuit. The following day, Schroer received a call from her future boss rescinding the offer, telling her that she wasn’t a “good fit” for the Library of Congress. The court also ruled that the library was guilty of sex stereotyping against Schroer because she failed to live up to traditional notions of what is male or female. The court ruled that it will hold further proceedings to determine the appropriate remedies, which could include an order for the library to hire Schroer, the award of back pay or the imposition of a lump-sum monetary award for the injury caused by discrimination, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Schroer in the case. To see more, go to: www.aclu.org/lgbt/transgender/36872prs20080919.html.

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