· A GROWING NUMBER OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES ARE STAYING AWAY FROM THE OFFICE (12/15/05)
     Read the recent Washington Post article on telecommuting in the govermnent.


· UNION'S CONCERNS THREE YEARS AHEAD OF GAO INVESTIGATION (12/15/05)
     In April, 2002, the Union wrote a letter to then NTSB Chairman Blakey outlining its concerns and proposed solutions to a series of management problems at the agency. Blakey was tapped for FAA Administrator shorly thereafter and NTSB leadership ignored the Union's concerns. It appears that some of those problems may have recently come to the attention of Congress. See the following article concerning the GAO investigation of management practices at NTSB.


· GAO TO INVESTIGATE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AT NTSB (12/10/05)
     The General Accountability Office (GAO) has initiated an investigation of NTSB management practices. The GAO began the investigation in December, 2005, after receiving a request from Congressman James L. Oberstar, senior Democrat on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
     Often called the "congressional watchdog" because it investigates how the federal government spends taxpayer dollars, the GAO ensures that government is accountable to the American people. The GAO supports congressional oversight by evaluating how well government policies and programs are working, auditing agency operations to determine whether federal funds are being spent efficiently, effectively, and appropriately, investigating allegations of illegal and improper activities, and issuing legal decisions and opinions. Watch this page for updates as they become available.


· ENGLEMAN CONNORS ASKS PRESIDENT TO WITHDRAW HER NOMINATION FOR NTSB CHAIR (12/10/05)
     Has the "Chairman Designate" (a title that has recently appeared at the NTSB) become an embarrassment to the agency and the administration? See the "Chairman Resignate's" letter to President Bush and "SAFETY CHIEF IN HOLDING PATTERN" article below for details.


· EDITORIAL: LAUNCH DECISIONS IGNORE FATIGUE AND PUT INVESTIGATORS AT RISK (12/10/05)
     The late night launch of a go team to a Thanksgiving eve crash at a Chicago grade crossing included the issuance of instructions to responding investigators to forgo sleep and travel immediately to the accident site to arrive early on Thanksgiving morning, ahead of the responding Board Member. Some of the responding employees, more concerned about the administrative wrath of the agency than their own safety, complied; others chose the safest path and traveled after resting. All arrived safely, but ask if will take a fatigue-related injury or death of one of its own to put safety first for Safety Board employees.
     This is not a new problem. Managers have ignored fatigue concerns in similar circumstances before; they have even disciplined investigators for briefly postponing departure in order to rest before driving to the airport and to the scene of an accident. It's time for the NTSB to establish policy that considers employee safety.
     In a 2003, letter to the Chairman, and again in early 2005, (see 4/1/05 article below "IGNORED BY NTSB CHAIRMAN, UNION TAKES EMPLOYEE FATIGUE CONCERNS TO CONGRESS"), the Union's pleas to management have fallen on deaf ears. The Union hopes that Congress and the GAO are listening.


· SAFETY CHIEF IN HOLDING PATTERN; RELATIONS WITH COLLEAGUES CALLED FROSTY AND PETTY (12/10/05)
     Click here for the recent Flight Safety Information article on the "Chairman Designate".


· FLRA BACKS TELEWORK RULING WITH GOVERNMENTWIDE IMPLICATIONS (12/10/05)
     Click here for details on the recent FLRA decision concerning teleworking in the government.


· DISCLOSURES TO THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL (FED MANAGER 9/7/05)
     Every federal manager has heard the term “whistleblower” throughout his or her career. The term describes an employee who has disclosed potential wrong-doing (violations of law, rule or regulation), gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, and any substantial and specific danger to public health and safety. One of the often overlooked ways in which a federal employee can report such information is to make a disclosure directly to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). OSC has a specific unit to handle such disclosures, aptly titled the “Disclosure Unit.”
     Unlike other government channels, if a federal employee makes a disclosure to OSC, the law provides some unique powers to the Special Counsel:
• under the OSC process, the whistleblower can elect that his or her identity be kept confidential;
• the Special Counsel can order an agency head to investigate the disclosure and report back to the Special counsel;
• the Special Counsel must forward the agency’s report to the President and the appropriate congressional oversight committees.
     Many times federal managers come to know of the OSC and its powers only after it has been alleged that a whistleblower has been retaliated against by way of an adverse personnel action taken as reprisal for his or her disclosure. More recently, however, OSC has made efforts to begin investigations of disclosures prior to the point where allegations of reprisal are made. In such circumstances, the whistleblower may have made a disclosure to the OSC Disclosure Unit and OSC has decided to investigate, without waiting for the allegation that the whistleblower is the subject of reprisal.
     Under these circumstances, the federal manager must cooperate fully, and any attempt to “make things harder” for the “suspected” whistleblower could be viewed as reprisal and a violation of the law. Nonetheless, managers still have to manage. Advice from Employee Relations or the General Counsel’s Office is a good idea when a negative personnel action needs to be taken against an employee whose disclosure has caused an investigation into potential wrongdoing. For a more thorough review of the Office of Special Counsel, federal managers are encouraged to visit the Office’s website at www.osc.gov.


· WORKING OUT AT WORK IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY (7/7/05)
     NTSB management gripes about employees taking time to exercise exercise at the office, but new research shows that workers were consistently and significantly more productive and better able to manage time demands - and got along better with colleagues - when they exercised at work. See Washington Post article here.


· NTSB RESCINDS SUSPENSION AND RESTORES EMPLOYEE'S PAY (7/7/05)
     In a recent agreement between the Union and the NTSB, an employee who was suspended for five days after being denied Union representation, had his pay restored and his official personnel file purged of the record of suspension. The settlement was reached after the Union prepared to proceed to arbitration over a grievance which alledged that the employee's supervisor improperly denied representation in violation of the law. The Weingarten Rule requires that an employee receive Union representation if the employee believes that questioning by management could result in disciplinary action, and the employee requests representation. The agency admitted no wrongdoing.


· OPM: MEMBERS OF MILITARY RESERVE MAY FILE CLAIM FOR TIME OFF (6/14/05)
     According to the Office of Personnel Management, federal agencies may accept claims filed after July 24, 2003, for crediting additional leave for military leave charged on non-workdays between the date six years prior to the claim filing date and December 21, 2000. For example, if an employee filed a claim on August 1, 2004, the agency must consider any period of military service between August 1, 1998, and December 21, 2000. For details see OPM announcement here.


· NATIONAL SLEEP FOUNDATION: TRAVELING GOVERNMENT WORKERS IN RENTAL CARS AT RISK DUE TO FATIGUE (4/13/05)
     Traveling government workers had the worst sleeping patterns, said Darrel Drobnich, senior director of government and transportation affairs for the National Sleep Foundation. Drobnich, who regularly speaks to local and federal government agencies on ways to reduce fatigue. He said government workers often took shorter trips but had to crunch in more tasks by working longer hours. The National Sleep Foundation ranks business travelers just behind teenagers in the likelihood of being involved in car accidents. Drobnich attributes the ranking to frequent fliers getting on the road in their rental cars on too little sleep. See Washington Post Article here.


· IGNORED BY NTSB CHAIRMAN, UNION TAKES EMPLOYEE FATIGUE CONCERNS TO CONGRESS (4/1/05)
     Washington, DC-- During National Sleep Awareness Week (March 28 - April 3), the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2211 (AFL-CIO) hopes to raise public awareness of its ongoing concern about fatigue-related safety issues at the National Transportation Safety Board. Since first bringing this critical issue to the attention of the Safety Board's Chairman in August 2003, the silence has been... conducive to a restful night of sleep.
     On August 1, 2003, the Union forwarded a letter to then-Chairman, Ellen Engleman Conners, alerting her to the fact that NTSB managers had taken disciplinary action against investigators in both the Office of Aviation Safety (OAS) and the Office of Highway Safety (OHS) for fatigue-related incidents, including one crash. Although some individuals on the five-member Safety Board expressed their grave concern that the independent Federal agency charged with safeguarding the traveling public was nevertheless putting its own employees in harm's way, Conners ignored the Union's plea-- that the Agency essentially "practice what it preaches"-- by training its personnel in the dangers of drowsy driving and implementing safety-conscious policies that would deter employees from driving fatigued. The Union urged Conners to ensure that employee would not be disciplined when they acted responsibly to avoid driving while impaired by fatigue.
     The Union received no response from Conners. Moreover, their efforts to meet with the aloof Chairman on more general labor relations issues have been rebuffed, see 4/30/04 item below. Other attempts to work with Conner's staff to negotiate safety measures to protect employees have also been thwarted.
     As the Safety Board appeals to the public during National Sleep Awareness Week to emphasize the importance of screening commercial motor vehicle operators for sleep disorders, the Union will be appealing to the Congressional committees considering the reappointment of Conners as Chairman of the NTSB. The Union will be urging the Congress to insist that the Safety Board implement measures to ensure the safety of its investigators, as well as other travelers with whom they share the road. The Union is hopeful that Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker, nominated by President George W. Bush for reappointment to a two-year term as Vice Chairman and a five-year term as Board Member, will reach out to the Union in a sincere effort to make the NTSB a "model employer" when it comes to recognition of the threats posed by 24-hour operations, and the need for scientifically-based policies that avoid placing its employees behind the wheel at times when they pose a risk to themselves and others.
     The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union representing 600,000 federal and D.C. government workers nationwide and overseas. The Union represents over three-quarters of the NTSB's approximately 430 personnel, including all of its investigators in the aviation, highway, marine, pipeline/hazmat and railroad modes.


· WALL STREET JOURNAL BLASTS NTSB CHAIRMAN (2/11/2005)
     A February 3, 2005, article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "Criticism Clouds Future of NTSB Head --- Reappointment of Chairman Conners Is Up in Air as Her Leadership Style Comes Under Fire" criticizes the Chairman, see article here. Privately, NTSB employees see Chairman as source of concern and embarassment.


· OPM ISSUES NEW CHANGES TO COMP TIME FOR TRAVEL; NTSB POLICIES UNDER DEVELOPMENT (1/29/05)
     The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued new regulations effective yesterday, which will enable Federal employees to earn compensatory time for travel under circumstances where it had been previously not payable. Read more about it here.