Posted in Civil Service, Higher Education, Layoffs, Notable Quotables, Transparency on March 28, 2012| 4 Comments »
“The layoff is being proposed because the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 eliminated the origination of new loans under the Federal Family Education Loan Program.”
–Melanie Amrhein, executive director of the Louisiana of Student Financial Assistance, in a March 19 letter to Louisiana Civil Service Director Shannon Templet explaining the reasons for the proposed layoff of 47 LOSFA employees to become effect on June 30.
Posted in Civil Service, Governor's Office, Layoffs, Privatization on March 28, 2012| 6 Comments »
Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Privatization Express continues to roll on at the expense of 47 employees of the Louisiana Office of student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) scheduled to lose their jobs next June.
The State Civil Service Commission is scheduled to consider the layoff plan of LOSFA Executive Director Melanie Amrhein when it meets Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
The Civil Service Commission in January rejected a plan to lay off about 60 information technology employees at the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) because of questions about a proposed privatization contract for those services.
Similar action by the commission could throw the LOSFA schedule off just as it did with DHH.
Certain administrative positions are scheduled to be retained but Amrhein said her agency does not yet have a complete list of those who will be retained.
The cover letter to Civil Service Director Shannon Templet, however, did say that two unidentified student financial aid administrators have been exempted from the layoffs and will remain on a temporary basis.
“Because we are moving all operations under a contracted vendor, the experience and guidance of these employees, who have combined 40 years of experience, will be essential to the smooth and successful transition of these operations,” Amrhein said in her letter.
LOSFA administers several programs, including the state’s Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), TOPS Teacher, Go Grants, State Matching Funds Grants and the Guaranty Agency which handles the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), among others.
Nineteen employees in the FFELP Outstanding Loan Portfolio, which administers loans totaling more than $1.6 billion, are among the 47 who will lose their jobs. The remaining 26 to be laid off work with the FFELP’s Outstanding Default Portfolio which has more than $251 million in defaulted loans.
New originations of FFELP ceased on June 30, 2010 and all new federal Stafford and PLUS loans have been originated under the federal William D. Ford Direct Loan Program since July 1, 2010.
The proposal to be considered by Civil Service says that loan processing and issuance fees paid on new loans have resulted in a $1.4 million per year loss.
Following the invitation to bid that went out in February, bid submissions for a new privatizing contract are scheduled to be reviewed in April and the contract awarded sometime after that with layoffs scheduled for June 30.
“We have a contract with Sallie Mae Guarantor Services for utilization of software to operate the loan program in compliance with federal laws,” Amrhein said. “This contract will be terminated once the transition to the successful bidding contract is complete.”
The proposal that will be submitted to Civil Service next week notes that the agency has “finite revenues” because no new loans are being originated.
In attempting to justify the privatization contract, the proposal said that:
• a reduction of overhead was necessary to maintain support to state programs;
• an attrition of staff leads to ineffective administration and further strain on generating revenue;
• contracting services will potentially result in higher performance on portfolio while allowing the agency to retain a higher net income with reduced overhead;
• the timeline provides an orderly conversion from in-house functions to managed contractor operation;
• adversely affected employees will be given time to fine new employment.
Just as with the Office of Risk Management—the only state agency to actually be privatized thus far—and the Office of Group Benefits, none of the justifications given for privatization provided any specifics as to how contracting services will benefit anyone other than the contractor.
In the case of Risk Management, the state paid F.A. Richard and Associates (FARA) more than $68 million to take over that office. About seven months into its contract, FARA sought and was approved for a $6.8 million contract amendment, bringing its fee to just under $75 million.
Two weeks later, it was learned that FARA had been sold to an Ohio company. Last fall, a third company took over the contract in apparent violation of the state contract that specifically prohibited any transfer of contractual services without “prior written consent” from the Division of Administration (DOA).
A public records request by Capital News Service for a copy of written approval on either transfer resulted in an email from DOA saying that no such document existed.
Following Civil Service’s rejection of the proposed contract calling for the University of New Orleans to take over information technology services from DHH, UNO President Peter Fos said he was disinclined to sign the proposed contract until his concerns “are addressed and resolved to my satisfaction.”
The IT workers were informed in a December meeting that their jobs would be gone in January. Upon returning to their work stations, they found they had been locked out of their computers. Access to the computers was restored after the Civil Service Commission’s actions but the IT employees then found that their requests for leave were receiving blanket denials by supervisors.
Posted in Civil Service, Governor's Office, Health Care, Layoffs, Notable Quotables, Transparency on March 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »
“I appreciate your cooperation with these policies and appreciate the work you do on behalf of the people we serve.”
–Carol Steckel, in memorandum to IT employees at DHH in which she announced the discontinuance of flext time for the office.
Posted in Civil Service, Governor's Office, Layoffs, Notable Quotables, Teague on March 9, 2012| 2 Comments »
“I have had discussion with our attorneys concerning a citizens’ organization rally outside of the hospital. I am directing all employees and physicians not to attend this event either on or off the clock. There are potential serious legal issues with our participating in such an event. Violation of this directive may result in discipline (sic) action against you.”
–Larry Dorsey, administrator of University Medical Center in Lafayette, in a February 1 email to UMC employees directing them to not attend a public rally protesting the elimination of 130 positions at the hospital by the Jindal administration. (We suspect this directive actually came through Dorsey from higher up the food chain.)
Posted in Civil Service, Governor's Office, Layoffs on March 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Just so state employees are clear about their rights, the recent directive of the University Medical Center director notwithstanding, here is a bulletin re-issued last month by Shannon Templet, director of the Louisiana Department of Civil Service:
GENERAL CIRCULAR NUMBER 2012-004 UPDATE
DATE: February 9, 2012
TO: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resources Directors
SUBJECT: State Classified Employees’ Rights to Address Members of the Legislature
As the 2012 Legislative Session approaches, there are many bills that are being filed that may have an impact on state employees, both classified and unclassified. Questions have arisen such as does a state classified employee have the right to address members of the legislature.
Classified employees are prohibited from engaging in efforts to support or oppose a candidate, party or faction in an election. These constitutional restrictions do not prohibit a classified employee from expressing themselves either privately or publicly on issues that may be pending before the legislature or other public body.
However, the Lobbying Act, R.S. 24:56 does prohibit any state employee classified or unclassified “in his official capacity or on behalf of his employer” from communicating with a legislator in an attempt to influence the passage or defeat of legislation. This prohibition does not apply to an elected official or his designee, nor does it prohibit the giving of factual information to the legislature, whether the employee is acting in his official capacity or not.
The act of expressing matters of personal concern in a personal capacity are not prohibited, but if an employee wishes to express these matters during duty hours, it must be done while on annual leave.
Below are a few questions we have recently received from employees and answers that I believe will be helpful.
Do I have to tell my supervisor (appointing authority) why I am requesting annual leave?
No, you do not. However, a supervisor (appointing authority) is not required to approve a request or requests for annual leave. If you do not have approved annual leave in advance of your absence, your appointing authority may place you in a leave without pay status.
Can I go to the legislature or other public body or public official to express my view on matters?
Yes, you can. You must be on approved annual leave status if you want to go and express your views during normal duty hours.
Can I get in trouble for expressing myself publicly?
Maybe. The United States Supreme Court has held that although government employees have a right to free speech like any other citizen, when the government is the employer it (the government) has an interest in regulating the speech of its employees that differ significantly from the interest it has in regulating the speech of the citizenry in general. The standard that the Supreme Court has set to determine if the government can regulate the speech is “If an employee’s speech does not relate to a matter of public concern then the government’s interest in efficiency, work place harmony and satisfactory performance will usually trump the employee’s interest in free speech.” Therefore, when speaking publicly, make sure you are addressing matters that are of public concern and not personal to your particular work environment.
Can I write a letter to the editor of a newspaper to express my views on an issue?
Yes, you can. However, as stated above, make sure your letter concerns a matter of public interest and not your personal work environment.
Can I go to public rallies on issues and carry a sign, cheer and boo?
Yes, you can. But the same standard applies to expressions at rallies as it does before a public body.
Can I contact my legislator, personally, by letter or email?
Yes, you can. As a private citizen you have the right to contact your legislator concerning any issue that is of personal concern to you or concerning any issue before the legislature. Do not use your state issued work equipment to communicate matters of public concern to a member of a public body. Please use your private equipment.
Can I be a member of an organization that lobbies before the legislature?
Yes, you can. You as a state employee cannot lobby before the legislature in your official capacity as a state employee, but that does not prevent you from being a member of an organization that lobbies the legislature on matters of public concern, such as the American Federation of State, County or Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Retired State Employees Association (RSEA), State Employees Association of Louisiana and the Louisiana Association of Public Employees’ Retirement Systems.
If the Retired State Employees Association were holding a rally on the steps of the State Capitol, could active state employees who are RSEA members participate?
Yes, you can. However, if the rally is scheduled during normal duty hours, you must be on approved annual leave. Additionally, the standard stated above concerning expressions will apply at rallies.
Would attending a rally be considered lobbying?
No, it would not. A rally is a gathering of people to inspire enthusiasm for a cause.
Can I place a sign in my yard supporting or opposing proposed legislation?
Yes, you can. Proposed legislation that you may support or oppose is an issue and not the support or opposition of a party, candidate, or faction seeking an elected office.
Can I sign a recall petition?
Yes, you can. However, due to the prohibition of supporting or opposing a candidate, party or faction, you cannot start a recall petition, solicit signatures for a recall petition or actively participate in a recall of an elected official.
Can I use my work computer to express my personal opinion on an issue of public concern?
No, you cannot. Your work computer is for work purposes. If you wish to communicate a matter of public concern to a member of a public body via electronic mail, please use your private computer.
If you have any questions about what you can or cannot do, please contact your Human Resource office or feel free to contact me.
s/Shannon S. Templet
Director
$2.50 each or three for $6.00
Louisiana Voice 