[nfb-talk] FW: FedManager: October 17, 2006

[Christopher McMillan]

1. News Round Up 
* EEOC Seeks To Boost Hiring Of Federal Employees With Severe Disabilities
Under LEAD Initiative

See Below!!

Sincerely, 
 
Christopher McMillan
Rehabilitation Engineer
chrismcmillan at earthlink.net		Windows Messenger Username
-----Original Message-----
From: FedManager E-Newsletter [mailto:techsupport at shawbransford.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 6:23 PM
Subject: FedManager: October 17, 2006

FEDmanager®
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interests and viewpoints of federal managers.

1. News Round Up 
* EEOC Seeks To Boost Hiring Of Federal Employees With Severe Disabilities
Under LEAD Initiative
* New Benefit Plan Announced For Federal Employees
* FEEA, NTEU Establish Endowed Scholarship Fund For Federal Families
2. From The Hill – Agencies’ Loss Of Personal Information Occurs Throughout
The Government, House Committee Concludes
3. Case Law Update – Polygraph Use By FBI And Secret Service To Screen Job
Applicants Does Not Violate Constitution, D.C. Court Rules
4. Educate Yourself – SEA Offering Pre-Retirement Series Called “Putting
Your Experience To Work”
5. Smile of the Week
6. Tip of the Week – Handling The Difficult Boss
7. This Week on FEDtalk®
8. Salamone Talks About The Chief Human Capital Officers Council, On Last
Week’s FEDtalk©
9. FEDmanager’s Weekly Leadership Reflection

1. NEWS ROUND UP

* EEOC SEEKS TO BOOST HIRING OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES
UNDER LEAD INITIATIVE
Federal managers and hiring officials need to do more to recruit and hire
individuals with severe disabilities, such as blindness, deafness,
paralysis, mental illness, and mental retardation, the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says. With the percentage of people with
serious disabilities dropping to less than one percent of the permanent
federal workforce, and that figure continuing a long-term decline, the EEOC
has launched the “Leadership for the Employment of Americans with
Disabilities” (LEAD) Initiative.

A national outreach and education campaign, LEAD is designed to
significantly increase the number of individuals with disabilities employed
by the federal government by: (1) raising the awareness of hiring officials
about the declining numbers of people with disabilities employed by the
federal government; (2) reversing the trend of decreasing participation in
federal employment; (3) educating federal hiring officials about how to use
special hiring authorities to bring people with disabilities on board,
particularly those with severe disabilities; (4) educating applicants with
severe disabilities about how to apply using the special hiring authorities
available; and (5) providing information and resources on reasonable
accommodation.

The EEOC says that the LEAD Initiative will include educational events,
seminars, and focus group sessions with federal managers, hiring officials,
and other interested parties to explore the issue of declining employment
for individuals with severe disabilities, and to devise concrete solutions
to address the problem.

For more information, click on www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/lead/index.html.  

* NEW BENEFIT PLAN ANNOUNCED FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES
Civilian federal employees can now obtain up to $750,000 of life insurance
coverage from WAEPA. The new $750,000 maximum is in response to a demand for
higher levels of coverage from federal employees just like you. 

Many federal employees have discovered that their current level of federal
insurance is insufficient to protect their family due to higher mortgages,
and the rising cost of their children’s college education. 
Unfortunately, FEGLI continues to limit the amount of coverage available
based on your annual salary. However, WAEPA provides even more flexibility,
since your can choose coverage to meet your personal needs from $25,000 up
to $750,000, regardless of your current salary. 

WAEPA’s premiums are also significantly lower than FEGLI’s. For example,
WAEPA’s rate for an individual age 45 is 59% less than FEGLI Basic. For
those federal employees who wish to supplement their existing FEGLI
coverage, WAEPA offers rates that are also significantly less than FEGLI
Option A and B. 

To learn how much you can save, visit www.waepa.org and use the FREE Online
Premium Calculator. You can also download an application for WAEPA coverage.
Questions can be emailed to info at waepa.org, or you can call 1-800-368-3484
to speak with a Customer Service Representative.

* FEEA, NTEU ESTABLISH ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR FEDERAL FAMILIES
Federal families who could use some help sending their children to college
can now turn to a new source. Last Wednesday, the Federal Employee Education
& Assistance Fund (FEEA) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)
announced the creation of an endowed college scholarship fund that will
provide annual educational grants for federal families. 

The initial contribution to the endowment by the NTEU is $726,363 – the
amount of administrative funds remaining after payouts to recipients in the
union’s settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the federal government.
The fund will provide, at the start of the 2007 academic year, five annual
scholarships of $5,000 each, the highest merit-based scholarships FEEA
awards.

NTEU’s class-action lawsuit - known as the special rates lawsuit - began in
1983. The suit encompassed a class of some 212,000 federal employees who
were paid special salary rates but who may not have received pay raises to
which they were due. After multiple court battles over 22 years, the case
was settled for some $178 million. The court-approved settlement of the
class action suit provided for administrative expenses to be paid from the
agreement reached between NTEU and the government. The settlement agreement
also provided for any excess funds to be donated to the charity of NTEU’s
choice. 

NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said the selection of FEEA to receive these
funds was an easy decision given NTEU’s long history with the organization
and FEEA’s outstanding work over the years. The timing of the union’s
contribution to establish the FEEA-NTEU Scholarship also carries special
meaning, she added, since this year marks the 20th anniversary of FEEA’s
founding in 1986. NTEU was one of the founders of FEEA. 

“For two decades, FEEA has broadened the meaning of federal employees making
a difference in the lives of their colleagues through merit scholarships to
federal workers, their spouses and college-aged children, as well as
emergency no-interest loans and grants to those in need,” Kelley said. 

Over that period, FEEA has distributed more than $6.5 million in scholarship
assistance. The organization also has provided more than $5.5 million in
emergency assistance, including $1.8 million to victims of Hurricanes
Katrina, Rita and Wilma last year. In addition, FEEA gave assistance and
scholarships to victims of the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the
World Trade Center/Pentagon attacks, flooding, tornadoes, wildfires and much
more. 

The new FEEA-NTEU Scholarship awards can be combined with local FEEA
scholarships to provide recipients with even greater financial resources for
their education.

To learn more about FEEA, click on http://www.feea.org/. 

2. FROM THE HILL – AGENCIES’ LOSS OF PERSONAL INFORMATION OCCURS THROUGHOUT
THE GOVERNMENT, HOUSE COMMITTEE CONCLUDES
Since January 2003, all 19 departments and agencies have reported at least
one loss of personally identifiable information, a House Government Reform
Committee report released last Friday has concluded. Such data breaches are
not limited to widely-publicized losses like the theft of a Department of
Veterans Affairs’ laptop computer, which contained the personal information
of approximately 26.5 million veterans and active duty military members, the
report stated. (The VA laptop has since been recovered, with no apparent
misuse of the personal information.) Instead, the problem is both common and
pervasive throughout the federal government.

In the wake of the VA’s May 2006 revelation that a laptop had been stolen,
along with other reports of security breaches at the Social Security
Administration, the IRS, and the Department of Health and Human Services,
the Government Reform Committee asked agencies to provide details about such
incidents occurring on or after January 1, 2003. What the committee found
was that: (1) such breaches are widespread throughout the government; (2)
agencies do not always know what has been lost, or how many individuals
could be affected by a particular loss, often because they do not track this
information; (3) the vast majority of data losses arose from physical thefts
of portable computers, drives, and disks, or unauthorized use of data by
employees, not by hackers breaking into computer systems online; and (4)
federal contractors are responsible for many of the reported breaches.

The committee noted that agency responses to data losses vary as well, with
some notifying all potentially affected individuals, and others not
providing any such notice. It added that despite the volume of sensitive
information held by agencies – from tax returns to health records, military
records, and more – there is no requirement that the public be notified if
their sensitive personal information is compromised. Legislation authored by
Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-Virginia) and included in the House-passed
Veterans Identity and Credit Security Act of 2006 would change that.

To read the committee’s report, click on
http://reform.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Agency%20Breach%20Summary%20Final%20(3
).pdf. 

3. CASE LAW UPDATE – POLYGRAPH USE BY FBI AND SECRET SERVICE TO SCREEN JOB
APPLICANTS DOES NOT VIOLATE CONSTITUTION, D.C. COURT RULES
The use of polygraph examinations by the FBI and the Secret Service to
screen job applicants does not violate the Fifth Amendment, the
Constitutional right to privacy, or the Administrative Procedure Act (APA),
a D.C. federal district court ruled recently. 

In this case, two individuals applied for law enforcement positions with the
FBI and four others applied to the Secret Service for Special Agent
positions. All six were rejected after failing their polygraph examinations.


The applicants filed suit against the FBI and the Secret Service, contending
that the use of polygraph examinations in the application process violates
the Fifth Amendment, their Constitutional right to privacy, and the APA.
Specifically, the applicants alleged that they applied for employment with
the two agencies, that as part of the application process they were required
to take a polygraph examination, and that as a result of that examination
they were not offered employment. They also argue that polygraph testing is
unreliable, that their “false positives” improperly served as the basis to
deny them employment, and that the polygraph results affect their potential
employment with other law enforcement agencies. 

The court, however, rejected all of the applicants’ claims. The court began
by explaining that to establish a Fifth Amendment procedural due process
violation, the applicants must show that they were deprived of a
constitutionally protected interest. In this case, the court stated, the
applicants could proceed under one of two theories – “reputation-plus” or
“stigma or disability.” 

Under the “reputation-plus” theory, an employee’s liberty interest is
infringed when there is “official defamation” accompanied by either a
“discharge from government or at least a demotion in rank or pay.” In this
case, the court concluded that the applicants could not satisfy either prong
of this theory. First, to be defamatory, the Government-disseminated
information must be false. Here, the court explained, while reports that
they failed their polygraphs may imply that they had lied or used illegal
drugs, the reports were technically accurate – there was no dispute that the
applicants did, in fact, fail the polygraph exams. Therefore, there was no
defamation. Second, the court added, the applicants were neither discharged
nor demoted – they were merely not offered a position. Thus, this theory
fails, the court determined. 

The applicants fared no better under the “stigma or disability” theory.
Under this theory, the government action and stigma must “seriously affect,
if not destroy” the individual’s ability to pursue his chosen profession.
Here, the court pointed out that the applicants conceded that they had no
evidence that the agencies disseminated their polygraph results, or that
they were denied other jobs because of their polygraph exams. Moreover, two
of the applicants who were rejected by the Secret Service attained law
enforcement positions with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration, despite having failed the Secret Service’s
polygraph exam. Accordingly, the applicants were unable to prevail under
this theory either, the court found. 

The applicants also claimed that the agencies violated their constitutional
right to privacy because they were questioned about their medical,
psychological, sexual, criminal, and drug use histories during their
polygraph exams. In particular, the applicants challenged the Secret
Service’s practice of asking applicants whether they had committed adultery
and other sexual crimes. The court again dismissed the applicants’ argument,
stating that they were applying for positions of public trust concerning the
security of the nation and of its elected officials. “Therefore, even
assuming there exists a constitutional right to non-disclosure of private
information, [the FBI and Secret Service] can legitimately inquire into the
applicants’ financial, drug use, health, and criminal history,” the court
stated. 

With respect to the Secret Service’s specific questions about adultery and
other sexual crimes, the court added that the Secret Service “has made a
reasonable determination that there is a danger if its employees in
sensitive positions could be blackmailed for some reason. The Court will not
second-guess that conclusion, and therefore the agency can legitimately ask
whether applicants committed adultery or serious crimes.” 

Lastly, the court addressed the applicants’ claim that the agencies’ actions
violated the APA. Specifically, they argue that the agencies violated their
own regulations in denying employment solely on the basis of failed
polygraph exams, and that the agencies’ practice of denying employment
solely on the basis of failed polygraph exams is arbitrary and capricious.
However, the court found both of these arguments without merit. Accordingly,
the court ruled in favor of the FBI and Secret Service. 

The case is Croddy v. FBI, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia,
Civil Action No. 00-651 (EGS), September 29, 2006. 

4. EDUCATE YOURSELF – SEA OFFERING PRE-RETIREMENT SERIES CALLED “PUTTING
YOUR EXPERIENCE TO WORK”
Senior executives considering retirement in the foreseeable future should
know that the Senior Executives Association (SEA) is now offering a monthly
pre-retirement seminar titled, “Putting Your Experience To Work.” The
seminar will be held on October 18-19; November 8-9; December 11-12; January
17-18, 2007; February 13-14, 2007; and March 13-14, 2007.

For more information, call SEA at (202) 927-7000.

5. SMILE OF THE WEEK
A 5-dollar bill walks into a bar and orders a drink. The bartender says,
“Hey, get out of here! We don’t serve your kind – this is a singles’ bar!”

6. TIP OF THE WEEK – HANDLING THE DIFFICULT BOSS
Even managers have bosses. Large organizations like the federal government
and corporate America have layers of management, which means layers of
bosses. So while our Tips tend to offer advice on how to deal with those who
work below you on the organizational chart, what about dealing with those
above you on the chart? What makes a boss “difficult”? The answer is - a lot
of the same traits that make it difficult to deal with a subordinate -
personality clashes, non-responsiveness to work needs, or being
micro-managed. However, techniques for successfully dealing with a difficult
boss differ from dealing with a difficult subordinate because of the shift
in power in the relationship. For example, you can use the authorities of
your position to obtain compliance with a non-compliant subordinate. Not so
with your boss. 

What makes you successful in your dealings with your boss is a lot of what
makes your subordinates successful in dealing with you. So turn the tables.
If your boss has bouts of being non-responsive to your organizational needs
or issues, then be persistent in getting your issues before him or her.
Don’t jump over your boss until you’ve informed your boss that you’re
contemplating moving the issue up the food chain, with an explanation why.
If your boss tends to micro-manage your work, be responsive to his or her
management while trying to convince him or her that you’re capable of
getting the job done without the extra oversight. For example, touch base
with you boss before and after you’ve completed a specific task and see if
he or she is satisfied with your effort. If so, begin a dialogue about your
abilities to perform the same or similar task in the future without the
extra oversight. 

If you and your boss have a clash of personalities, remember that you don’t
have to like everyone you work with. You just have to maintain a
professional relationship to ensure you understand what’s expected of you to
get the job done.  

Finally, in all your communications - whether in person, by email, or memo -
be polite, professional, respectful, and non-confrontational. In short,
treat your boss the way you want to be treated by those you supervise!

7. THIS WEEK ON FEDTALK®
This week on FEDtalk® radio show, author, speaker, and former federal
employee Steve Katz joins hosts Debra Roth and Ralph Conte to explore what
federal executives, managers, and supervisors need to know to succeed - but
are never told, taught, or trained to do.

The radio show is this Friday, October 20th, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. You
can email your questions to: fedtalk at federalnewsradio.com, or call in your
questions during the show by dialing: 1-866-895-5086 (toll-free) or
202-895-5086. 

Those in the Washington, D.C. area can listen to the show on their radios by
tuning in to 1050 AM. Click on www.federalnewsradio.com for more details.

8. SALAMONE TALKS ABOUT THE CHIEF HUMAN CAPITAL OFFICERS COUNCIL, ON LAST
WEEK’S FEDTALK®
The Chief Human Capital Officers Council was established “to make sure that
cutting edge human resources issues are discussed, to create a forum where
agencies can share best practices to learn to from one another, and to
elevate the importance of human resources in the government to recruit,
maintain and attract talent to federal service,” said John Salamone,
Executive Director of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council, on last
week’s edition of FEDtalk® radio show. The Chief Human Capital Officers
Council, which is comprised of Chief Human Capital Officers from all of the
executive level agencies and from some of the smaller federal agencies, is
also helping agencies maximize their more limited resources.  

To learn more about the Council and its work, visit http://www.chcoc.gov/.
To listen to an archived version of the show, go to
www.federalnewsradio.com.

9. FEDMANAGER’S WEEKLY LEADERSHIP REFLECTION
The most successful leaders build organizations that can function without
them, rather than making themselves indispensable.

 
FEDmanager®
Publisher: Shaw, Bransford, Veilleux & Roth, www.shawbransford.com 
Consulting Attorney: William L. Bransford
Editor: Susan S. McWilliams
Sponsors: WAEPA, www.waepa.org and Wright & Co., www.wrightandco.com


Feedback?  Comments?  Suggestions?  Send mail to editor at shawbransford.com.
All submissions become the property of the publisher and may or may not be
reprinted.
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