Federal Daily - April 21, 2009

Report: DoD Fails to Meet Hiring Goals for Medical Officers

DoD needs to improve efforts to remedy hiring shortfalls in physician, dental, nurse and other medical officer positions, said a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released April 16. GAO looked at medical workforce planning efforts throughout DoD, the challenges that hinder the achievement of medical personnel goals, and plans to resolve personnel shortfalls. According to the report, the eight military active and reserve components did not always meet annual hiring goals for medical officers in Fiscal Years (FY) 2001 through FY 2008. GAO also found that for FY 2005 through FY 2007, the eight components were consistently below their annual medical specialty authorizations within each of the four medical officer categories, with one exception—Air National Guard dentists. To address these challenges, the military services have begun to employ a variety of plans, including pay incentives such as accession and retention bonuses, scholarship programs, special pay, and loan repayment programs, the report said. For example, Navy Recruiting Command officials told GAO that they have dedicated 22 nurses to recruit medical personnel, and have offered accession bonuses of up to $30,000. Another effort is the Army Recruiting Command’s Officer Accession Pilot Program, which allows fully qualified medical professionals between the ages of 43 and 60 to join the Army with a two-year initial service obligation. To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/new.items/d09469r.pdf.

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APWU Questions USPS ‘Summer Sale’ for Major Mailers

American Postal Workers Union (APWU) President William Burrus last week questioned the wisdom of the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) “Summer Sale,” a short-term discount program which offers new price incentives for major mailers in response to declining mail volume and deteriorating USPS finances. The proposal, which is designed to increase volume during the time of year when mail volume is typically lowest, calls for large mailers to be granted rebates of 20 percent to 30 percent for increasing their standard mailings between June 15 and Sept 15. A companion discount effort, the Saturation Mail Incentive Program, proposes a rebate of 2.2 to 4 cents per piece on “incremental business” during the 12-month period beginning May 11. But Burrus said both plans represent a further erosion of uniform rates and are bad ideas because they will not drive up mail volumes. “How does one justify giving away more money for lower volume day after day?” Burrus asked in an update posted on the union’s Web site. “The record shows that as rates have been artificially reduced, volume has continued to drop—and at an unprecedented rate.” To see more, go to: http://apwu.org/news/burrus/2009/update05-2009-090415.htm.

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EEOC Judge Sides with Employees in Case Against TSA

An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administrative judge (AJ) ruled in favor of a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employee who complained that TSA four years ago illegally removed him from his teaching position at the agency. The Transportation Security Officer (TSO) in question has a degenerative disability that at the time of his removal required him to use a cane when walking and standing. Despite receiving an “exceeds” rating on his performance reviews, TSA transferred him from the teaching position at Washington Dulles International Airport to a screening position, according to documents posted online on April 17 by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). The union, which represented the TSO, noted that the screening position required standing for up to eight hours a day. As a result of the transfer, the TSO sought a disability retirement and subsequently filed a complaint with EEOC alleging constructive removal and discrimination based on disability, AFGE said. The AJ awarded the TSO back pay, $150,000 in compensatory damages and attorney’s fees. The judge also ordered TSA to train its management and human resources team at Dulles on disability rights and post a notice to all TSA employees at Dulles about the finding, AFGE said. To see more, go to: www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=PressReleases&PressReleaseID=985.

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