  The American Veteran's On-Line News Magazine Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 12-30-2008 |
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The American Veteran's On-Line News Magazine Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 12-30-2008 |
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HIRING PREFERENCES -- DoD violated the rights of a veteran who was seeking an entry-level, civilian auditing job when it decided to hire two non-veteran candidates instead.
For background on this lawsuit, click here... Story here...
http://www.federaltim Story below: Your comments accepted at bottom of page.
Court finds Pentagon violated veteran hiring preferences By ELISE CASTELLI
In a Dec. 24 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that an Office of Personnel Management authority that allowed Defense to bypass traditional competitive hiring procedures for entry-level positions was invalid because the regulation conflicted with statutory requirements.
Defense used a special
authority to hire candidates through the Federal Career Intern Program,
which under OPM’s regulation allowed the department to decide whether to
give preference to the veteran. In exercising this hiring authority, the
department denied Gingery, who has a 30 percent or greater disability, his
preference rights, Judge Kimberly Moore wrote in the decision. Although Gingery had also questioned the legality of the intern program as a whole, saying it violated requirements that exceptions to competitive service be “necessary” for “conditions of good administration,” the court decided not to rule on this issue. “Because we conclude that OPM’s pass-over regulation is invalid and that Mr. Gingery’s veterans’ preference rights were violated, we need not reach the broader questions of the FCIP’s validity,” Moore wrote.
The National Treasury Employees Union, which filed a brief in support of Gingery during the case, said it was pleased the court ruled in Gingery’s favor, but was disappointed the court took no action with regard to the intern program. NTEU president Colleen Kelley has criticized the program on grounds that it enables federal hiring managers to skirt traditional competitive hiring methods. One judge on the three-judge panel that heard the case said the court should have settled questions regarding the intern program. The validity of the intern program and how it was implemented was central to the case and could have larger implications for Gingery’s legal rights, Judge Pauline Newman said in a concurring opinion. -------------------------
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