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Fed intern program on trial
Appeals court to hear case of Pentagon worker passed over for intern.
By Max Cacas
FederalNewsRadio
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is scheduled to hear arguments in the case of Gingrey v. the Department of Defense on Friday.
It’s a case dealing with merit-based civil service competitive hiring practices.
This is a case that turns on the question to what degree can the federal government use the Federal Career Intern Program to hire people for federal jobs, circumventing the current rules for competitive hiring under which all agencies operate.
Tim Hannapel is assistant counsel in the office of general counsel at the National Treasury Employees Union here in Washington, which has been invited to participate in oral arguments in the case:
The case involves a challenge by Mr. Gingrey, who is a 30% disabled veteran, that’s the highest level of veterans preference that can be considered for hiring purposes. It involves his challenge that he was not selected for 3 different auditor positions with the Department of Defense. That he was found to be well-qualified for, in favor of employees who were hired under the Federal Career Internship Program. What he claims is that he was not provided the full veterans preference that he would have been entitled to if those positions had been filled through the competitive service.
The NTEU has been highly critical of the increase in the number of workers that numerous agencies hire through the FCIP, and is challenging the practice in a separate lawsuit, NTEU v. Springer.
FederalNewsRadio requested a comment on the case from the Office of Personnel Management, which, along with the Justice Department, is representing the Pentagon in the appeal.
Officials at OPM deferred comment to Justice Department attorneys, who traditionally withhold comments in the case until delivery before the appeals court judges.
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On the Web:
NTEU Press statement: Appeals Court to Hear Argument from NTEU In Case Addressing Key Federal Hiring Issue
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