Council for Excellence in Government Fellows Program

The Council for Excellence in Government, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, DC., is currently accepting applications for their fall Excellence in Government Fellows program.

This program provides hands-on executive training for talented GS 14 and 15s and exceptional 13s (or their equivalent in other pay systems). During the 12-month program, Fellows remain in their full-time jobs and spend about three days every six weeks with their “coaching teams” working on issues critical to their own development and to achieving their agencies’ mission goals.

The program meets the interagency training requirements necessary for OPM-approved candidate development programs and is designed to complement the core qualifications for members of the Senior Executive Service. Concentrations are available in: Acquisitions, IT/e-Government and the newly added Financial Management, sponsored by Association of Government Accountants (AGA).

The Fall 2008 Excellence in Government Fellows program begins October 20, 2008, and the Council is accepting applications on a rolling basis until October 10, 2008. For more information, go to www.excelgov.org. or contact Samantha Donaldson, Outreach and Communications Director, The Council for Excellence in Government, at 202.530.3244 or sdonaldson@excelgov.org.

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With the upcoming Congressional and presidential elections approaching, it's not a bad idea for Federal employees to review the Hatch Act . . .

The political activity of government employees has been a concern of government officials since the earliest days of the Republic. Thomas Jefferson, the nation’s third president, was among the first to express concern about this issue. In response to Jefferson's concern, the heads of the executive departments issued an order which stated that while it is “the right of any officer (federal employee) to give his vote at elections as a qualified citizen…it is expected that he will not attempt to influence the votes of others nor take part in the business of electioneering, that being deemed inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution…”

In 1939, Congress approved landmark legislation known as the Hatch Act. Congress determined that partisan activity by federal employees, employees of the District of Columbia government and certain employees of state and local governments must be limited for public institutions to function fairly and effectively. The courts have held that the Hatch Act is not an unconstitutional infringement on employees’ first amendment right to freedom of speech because it specifically provides that employees retain the right to speak out on political subjects and candidates.

In October of 1993, legislation which substantially amended the Hatch Act was signed into law. The Hatch Act Reform Amendments of 1993 permit most federal employees to take an active part in partisan political management and partisan political campaigns. While federal employees are still prohibited from seeking public office in partisan elections, most employees are free to work, while off duty, on the partisan campaigns of candidates of their choice.

For more info, a Hatch Act pamphlet and video training tools, go to www.osc.gov/hatraining.htm.

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Executive Forum participants (left to right): Jeff Sargent, Oregon FEB; Bill McNamee, DHS-CIS; Layne Frambes, DHS-FPS; Steve Reinbrecht, DHS-CIS; Toni Albano, USPS; Dave Drummond, VA Medical Center; Steve Borgen, U.S. Attorney's Office.

Over 75 local federal employees gathered at the Doubletree Hotel Lloyd Center in Portland on the morning of June 3rd to hear local federal experts share their insight on an issue none of us hope to face: workplace violence.

The Oregon Federal Executive Board organized and hosted this Executive Forum event. Understanding that it was impossible to thoroughly cover such a topic as workplace violence in a single morning session, the objective was to emphasize the importance of sound workplace violence policies and procedures, and of training managers and general staff on how to recognize the signs of potential workplace violence.

Bill McNamee, Director of the local Citizenship and Immigration Services office and Chair of the Oregon FEB, opened the session. Dr. David Drummond of the Portland VA Medical Center followed with his observations on the myths and actual trends in workplace violence. Steve Borgen, U.S. Attorney’s Office, then shared advice on legal issues to consider with respect to the hiring and retention of potential problem employees. Dr. Drummond returned to address the challenges of risk assessment, followed by Steve Reinbrecht of the Dept. of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Toni Albano, U.S. Postal Service, offering their perspective on plans, programs and policies.

The tight agenda continued with Layne Frambes, Federal Protective Service, offering advice on incident management and Toni Albano highlighting key issues with respect to 'the aftermath" of an incident. A 20 minute question and answer session with the panel concluded the morning. Attendees left with a packet containing a CD of all presentations and a wide variety of additional documents and resources for further study.

Evaluations from the session were overall quite positive, although several attendees suggested that they would have welcomed even more time on the subject. The FEB is considering future training that would focus in on one or more aspects of workplace violence prevention, such as the establishment of a threat assessment team or how to evaluate an agency's capabilities to respond to an incident.

To obtain a copy of the presentation CD, contact Jeff Sargent of the Oregon Federal Executive Board at jsargent@pcez.com 503-326-3030.