Another Hot Presidential Race

By Joe Davidson
Friday, August 29, 2008

You might not have noticed, but the contest between Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is not the only presidential race underway. At the 30th biennial National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association convention in Louisville next month, incumbent Margaret L. Baptiste will face a challenge from Tom McKinney, president of Chapter 2104 in Dunwoody, Ga.

Baptiste is running on leadership and experience. "I have worked long and hard for this association, as I believe in our primary purpose, which is the preservation and protection of our earned annuities and our health-care benefits, which are so important to all federal retirees and their survivors," she said. "We face a challenging time next year, and we need a leader who completely understands the issues and has worked with members from across the country and who is well known by them."

McKinney argues the organization needs new leadership to build membership and develop programs. "Instead of growing membership consistent with the increased number of retirees, we lost membership," McKinney said. Among other things, he promises to work for legislation that would "allow retired federal employees to return to work part time at a federal agency without loss of annuity benefits" and to "allow retired federal employees to have their health-insurance premiums exempted from income tax as do current employees."

Wanted: Workers With Disabilities

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released a guide, in the form of questions and answers, to help promote federal employment of people with disabilities.

For example, one question says: "May an agency indicate in a job announcement that it is seeking to recruit or hire qualified individuals with disabilities?"

The answer, in part:

"Yes. Agencies may include language in their vacancy announcements encouraging people with disabilities to apply for jobs, specifically stating that they are recruiting qualified applicants with disabilities, or indicating that they will prefer qualified applicants with disabilities for jobs."

The guide is a response to data showing a decline in workers with disabilities.

"The percentage of federal employees with targeted disabilities, which are severe physical or mental disabilities that historically have resulted in barriers to employment, has declined each year since reaching a peak of 1.24 percent in fiscal years 1993 and 1994," according to the commission. "In [Fiscal Year] 2007, the participation rate of people with targeted disabilities declined to 0.92 percent of the federal government's total workforce, the lowest participation rate in more than 20 years."

Commission Chairman Naomi C. Earp said "the EEOC is doing everything it can to provide agencies with useful guidance on how to be the nation's model employer, providing equal opportunity to all Americans, including those with disabilities."

Early Warning

If you're a federal worker and want to change health insurance plans, Nov. 10 through Dec. 8 will be the time to make your move.

'Laptop Law'

The Association of Administrative Law Judges is upset by a Social Security Administration pilot project to cut its backlog of disability insurance claims. Under the pilot program, the claimant is in his or her lawyer's office and is connected to the proceedings by computer video.

The association's national executive board complained about what it dubbed "laptop law" because "no federal employee is present to monitor the hearing and oversee operation of the camera or protect the privacy of claimants."

The judges say they do not object to all video hearings, including those "conducted in special chambers located in government buildings where federal administrative law judges control the camera and where claimants can discuss the most intimate details of their lives and disability, without worrying others will hear."

But the computer video operation comes with too many risks, according to the judges: "It deprives the judge of control of the hearing process and creates too many opportunities to game the system. It is not hard to imagine a claimant testifying from his lawyer's office reading testimony from a teleprompter or being coached by another lawyer in the background."

The Social Security Administration did not respond to a request for comment.

Acquisition Awards

The Office of Management and Budget has honored "the best and the brightest" in the government's acquisition workforce.

The 2008 Shine Initiative Award winners are Patrick Quigley of the Defense Logistics Agency, LaTonya Richardson of Treasury, Deborah Erwin of the General Services Administration, and the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Team at the Defense Contract Management Agency.

Contact Joe Davidson atfederaldiary@washpost.com.