Federal Daily - September 18, 2008

GAO Made Strides in SES Diversity, IG Says

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has made gains in the representation of women and minorities in both its Senior Executive Service and manager (GS-15) ranks over the past five years, said a GAO Inspector General (IG) report released Sept. 10. The IG also found that in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, the agency’s SES and managers were generally more diverse in comparison with executive branch agencies and the civilian labor force. The IG looked at whether GAO’s diversity efforts from FY 2002-2007 were achieving better representation of women and minorities in top leadership. Overall, GAO has made gains, the report said, and the top management has made a commitment to increasing the diversity of its workforce and has implemented leading diversity management practices. For example, last year the agency began work to examine disparities in the average ratings between African-American and white analysts, including those at the manager level. Some problems still remain. The IG did find representational gaps in the SES, in the manager level in certain job categories and among recent applicants for the SES candidate program. In response, the agency is planning to target efforts on the areas of greatest under-representation, such as for Hispanics, at all levels in the agency. To improve diversity in the SES and manager ranks, the IG recommended that GAO establish a formal policy to annually produce a Workforce Diversity Plan to more effectively manage its diversity activities. To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-1098.

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Online Tool Launched for Military, Overseas Voters

The Pew Center on the States and the Overseas Vote Foundation on Sept. 15 announced the launch of a new online tool that may give military and overseas voters a better way to complete the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB). The new tool is designed to help the more than 6 million military and overseas voters who in the past have had a tough time making their vote count. The tool works by matching users’ 9-digit ZIP code for their U.S. residence to their voting district. The system automatically presents candidate lists for federal races in one’s district. Voters select their candidates for office and then download, print, sign and send the FWAB to the local election office. “Military and overseas voters do not share an equal opportunity to vote,” said Michael Caudell-Feagan, director of Make Voting Work. “According to research from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, only one-third of the nearly 1 million ballots mailed to these voters were cast or counted in the 2006 general election. FWAB is a powerful tool for these voters.” To see more, go to: www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=44138.

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New NFFE Local to Represent Forest Service Law Enforcement

The National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) on Sept. 15 announced that Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations (LE&I) employees elected NFFE as their exclusive bargaining representative. The election was concluded in August and NFFE was named the exclusive representative for about 500 LE&I bargaining unit members. The petitioning process began in late 2006 when LE&I members already represented by NFFE asked their unrepresented colleagues to join them and form a nationwide NFFE local. “This election is the culmination of many years of work by LE&I employees to see national union representation for their fellow employees,” said Brian Webb, chairman of the Forest Service Council Law Enforcement and Investigations Committee. To see more, go to: www.nffe.org/ht/display/ArticleDetails/i/6135.

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