An arbitrator has ordered the Bureau of Customs and
Border Protection to rescind grooming regulations it
introduced last fall for uniformed officers.
The arbitrator ruled that the agency violated an
agreement with the National Treasury Employees Union, by
setting rules on issues such as hair color and mustache
length, as well as outlawing beards, all without having
exhausted its bargaining obligations.
However, the order has been stayed pending the outcome of
a “negotiability appeal” with the Federal Labor Relations
Authority, also filed by NTEU, aimed at forcing the
agency to negotiate over specific proposals modifying the
grooming standards.
The agency argued the standards are necessary for a number
of reasons including security, health, safety, because
earlier standards were not sufficiently enforced, and that
they improved employee morale.
However, the arbitrator refuted these claims. For example,
he wrote that the agency”s claim to improved morale was
“based on unsupported hearsay and is contradicted by union
witnesses.”
Indeed, union President Colleen M. Kelley criticized the
agency for focusing on “trivial pursuits” at the expense of
training, funding and staffing issues, and complained that
this sort of management directive has contributed to low
employee satisfaction ratings at the Department of Homeland
Security in general.
