Employee Rights Remain a Hang-Up

The primary difference on the Homeland Security Department proposal continues to focus on the issue of employee rights. The Senate version would allow revoking current union rights only when jobs are significantly changed and the new duties involve investigation of terrorism; the House bill would allow union rights to be revoked “where the President determines in writing that [those rights] would have a substantial adverse impact on the department’s ability to protect homeland security.” The House bill would allow the agency, working with the Office of Personnel Management, to design a “flexible” and “contemporary” personnel system for itself, although merit principles, anti-discrimination law and many other basic employee protections would continue to apply. The Senate version contains no such authority; instead it incorporates a government-wide set of civil service reforms in hiring, retention and other policies.