FederalDaily - August 15, 2007
Union to Ask Supreme Court to Hear NSPS Case
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) this week announced it would take its battle
against DoD’s National Security Personnel System (NSPS) to the Supreme Court after an appeals
court turned down a request for the full court to review a decision upholding the system’s restrictions
on collective bargaining and other labor mechanisms. The United DOD Workers Coalition, whose members
include AFGE and 35 other unions serving DoD employees, had asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia to review a May ruling which upheld NSPS provisions that restrict collective bargaining,
and which affect other issues of concern to the unions, including labor relations, independent third
party review, adverse actions and other matters. AFGE said it will file a motion with the court of
appeals to postpone the issuance of the mandate accompanying last week’s decision, and that it
will deliver its petition to Supreme Court within 90 days. For more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=780.
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EEOC Votes to Bring National Contact Center In-House
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted Aug. 10 to replace its outsourced National
Contact Center (NCC) pilot with an in-house phone-answering team. The NCC contract expires Sept. 20,
and Congress has proposed eliminating funds for the pilot in the commission’s Fiscal Year 2008
budget. EEOC’s vote authorizes funding to begin the transition to an in-house system staffed
by federal employees. Commission Chair Naomi C. Earp called the NCC “a useful mechanism for the
EEOC to address 21st Century customer service needs,” but acknowledged “strong opposition
to the NCC expressed by many interested parties who want calls answered by federal employees.” The
NCC currently receives more than 70,000 calls and 3,000 e-mails each month, EEOC said. EEOC said it
would hire a consultant to guide planning for the transition to a decentralized system located across
the agency’s 15 districts. For more, go to: www.eeoc.gov/press/8-13-07.html.
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USCIS Rolls Out Hotline to Aid Servicemembers with Immigration Concerns
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched a toll-free line aimed at helping military
servicemembers and their families with immigration services and benefits. “Thousands of immigrant
soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have made extraordinary sacrifices for America,” said
USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez. “We are committed to exhausting every effort to ensure that the
application process for immigrant servicemembers is convenient, quick and secure.” The service
hotline was one of the provisions outlined in the Kendell Frederick Assistance to Citizenship Act,
introduced by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., after the 2005 death in Iraq of Army Spc. Kendell Frederick
of Randallstown, Md. Frederick, who was from Trinidad, had been trying for more than a year to apply
for citizenship, but had been delayed by misinformation. “This hotline honors the more than 40,000
non-U.S. citizens serving in the military today,” said Mikulski. “If you are willing to
fight and die for America, you should be able to become an American.” The hotline specialists
are available to assist callers Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., CST, at 1-877-CIS-4MIL
(1-877-247-4645). For more, go to:, www.uscis.gov/military.
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