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Washington, D.C.—The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) wants to ensure that merit remains the foundation of the federal hiring process.

In testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia, NTEU said it supports the White House’s efforts to create a prompt and efficient federal hiring process, but wants reform efforts to reinforce the merit system and improve retention and promotion opportunities of current employees.

“Reforms to the competitive hiring process will accomplish little if agencies are permitted to continue to avoid competitive hiring by misusing excepted service hiring authority, particularly the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP),” NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley said. “Far too often, agencies have been abusing the FCIP by using it as a primary hiring tool in flagrant disregard of the original intent of the structured, two-year training and intern development program.”

The FCIP has become the hiring method of choice for agencies, the union noted. Its use has grown from 400 hires in its first year to 26,709 FCIP hires in 2009. Due to this rampant misuse, in January 2007, NTEU filed a federal court suit against Office of Personnel Management (OPM) challenging the legality of the FCIP regulations.

In an example of brazen abuse of the program, NTEU cited Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Inspector General’s report on April 26 which found a regional office had engaged in a prohibited personnel practice by giving several candidates for vacancies improper advantages during the hiring process under the FCIP. In an e-mail, an EPA hiring official cited the use of FCIP because they did not “want to risk losing the candidates we want to hire…who may get blocked by veterans via USAJobs.”

In commenting on the President’s hiring reform directive issued in a May 11 memorandum, the union said it does not object to the elimination of Knowledge, Skills and Abilities essays (KSAs) in the initial job application in favor of cover letters and resumes, but would caution that having valid and objective assessments of a candidate’s ability is vital. NTEU is anxious to learn more about new assessments tools proposed to replace KSAs.

NTEU offered recommendations to ensure adherence to merit-based principles:

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Elimination of the FCIP;

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A return to competitive hiring in the federal government;

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Meaningful reforms in federal hiring;

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A limited intern program for college students and recent graduates; and

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Retention and promotion opportunities for frontline employees.

The union also called for the preservation of veterans’ preference in the federal hiring process, particularly in the wake of charges by the American Legion that it is being unlawfully ignored by numerous agencies.

“New approaches to hiring, while often well-intentioned need to be scrutinized in terms of their realistic impact on our nation’s veterans, their opportunities to seek jobs in public service, and the law,” the union said.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.