Federal Manager's Daily Report: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 FEDweek is the largest information resource in the federal government with now over one million weekly readers. To Subscribe, Go to http://www.fedweek.com/subscribepopup.htm ********************************************************** Valued Added Service to Our Readers:
Federal Job Search http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Job Bulletin Board http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Unlimited Internet Access for as low as $10.90 http://fedweeknet.com Our Readers Will Get Special Discounted Travel Rates Including, Airfare, Hotels, RV's, Car Rentals, and Special Weekend Getaways--Anywhere in the world http://www.fedweek.com/images/adart/travel_redirect.htm ********************************************************* In This Week's Issue 1. Controversy Over CFC Policy; Nonprofits Seek Injunction www.eff.org/Privacy/20041110_CFC_ACLU_v_OPM_Complaint.pdf 2. MSPB to Expand Mediation Appeal Project 3. Positive Review for Immigration and Customs Bureau 4. 4.Brand New Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Just Published New Publication Announcement: The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php ********************************************************** 1. Controversy Over CFC Policy; Nonprofits Seek Injunction A number of nonprofit organizations have filed for an injunction to stop the Office of Personnel Management from requiring nonprofit organizations that receive funds from the Combined Federal Campaign to certify that none of their employees are on classified lists of names compiled by agencies with security responsibilities. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on online rights and one of several groups to withdraw from the CFC in protest, stated that, "funding for charities should not be tied to screening." The request for injunction argues that the new requirement, which was not put up for public comment or announced in the Federal Register, is not authorized by statue and violates the First and Fifth Amendments. The CFC is the only way the organizations can solicit from federal employees directly, and according to EFF, it distributed about $250 million to thousands of charities such as Amnesty International, as well as the AFL-CIO and NAACP, which also resigned in protest. The complaint was filed before the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC and can be found here: www.eff.org/Privacy/20041110_CFC_ACLU_v_OPM_Complaint.pdf 2. MSPB to Expand Mediation Appeal Project The Merit Systems Protection Board has announced plans to expand its mediation appeals project for federal employees during fiscal 2005 by offering mediation services to any party filing appeals at any of its regional offices. It described last year's pilot program, involving select appeals at three regional offices, as a success, and said a significant number of those cases resulted in settlement. The program provides alternatives to revolving appeals on their way to an administrative judge -- currently, after an appeal is docketed and acknowledged, a regional office notifies the parties that mediation is available and if they agree, the case is placed in a "suspense" status and assigned to a mediator, according to MSPB. It said the Board now wants to start mediating by telephone and videoconference. Appeals settled that way would be put into writing and submitted to a regional office for review and prepared for a decision to dismiss them as settled. If no agreement is reached, the appeal is returned to the more traditional track to continue adjudication, said MSPB. 3. Positive Review for Immigration and Customs Bureau Although the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not have a formal and distinct interior enforcement strategy, it has incorporated the Immigration and Naturalization Service�s enforcement strategy into its broader homeland security mission of joint customs and immigration investigations, the Government Accountability Office has said. INS and other federal agencies merged law enforcement functions into the Department of Homeland Security's ICE, which consists of an Office of Investigations, and an Office of Detention and Removal Operations. OI is responsible for former INS objectives such as "deterring, dismantling, and diminishing the smuggling and trafficking of aliens; responding to community complaints about illegal immigration; minimizing immigration benefit fraud; and removing employers' access to undocumented workers," while DRO is charged with "identifying and removing criminal aliens, with some assistance from OI," according to GAO-05-66. It said DRO has started aligning strategic goals with budget requests and workforce plans to determine the resources it needs for fiscal 2005 and beyond, while developing performance measures--for example, criteria to determine if enough resources are being devoted to apprehending the fugitive alien population annually--yet, DRO officials said it would not be possible to determine which efforts are most successful until performance measures have been applied to all activities. GAO noted that OI field offices conducted baseline threat assessments to identify risks, such as regional assessments of businesses that transport biological materials and might employ terrorists, to develop its budget request and fiscal 2007 workforce plans. 4.Brand New Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Just Published New Publication Announcement: The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php Passman & Kaplan announces the October 2004 publication of the SECOND EDITION of the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide. This comprehensive book, first published by Passman & Kaplan in 1999, has been called the definitive how-to guide for enforcing the rights of federal employees. The second edition of the Guide includes 100 PAGES OF ADDITIONAL NEW MATERIAL (now 616 total pages) and useful advice. New features include information on internet legal research, preparing for and conducting a hearing, sample discovery requests, and up-to-date contact information for federal personnel agencies. The Guide also includes a listing of frequently used civil service acronyms and practical appendices of sample forms, charts illustrating appeal rights, and commonly-needed deadlines. As with the first edition of the Guide, Passman & Kaplan has attempted to move away from the �legalese� which so often complicates an already-bewildering array of regulations and policies. Although the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide, Second Edition is clearly an invaluable resource for practioners, Passman & Kaplan has maintained its commitment to target the book to the average federal employee. ********************************************************* To place your order for The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide just go to http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php and place your secure order online. The cost of this publication is only $49.95 Plus $6 s&h--Remember, this is a 616 page reference that is chalked full of invaluable information that every federal manager must have! Or you can mail your order with payment of $55.95 to FEDweek, PO Box 5519, Glen Allen, VA 23058. This is a one of a kind book you can't afford to be without! ********************************************************** Published by FEDweek 11541 Nuckols Rd. Suite D Glen Allen, VA 23059 (804) 288-5321 Website: http://www.fedweek.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are subscribed to federalmanagersdailyreport as [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
