Evening star., 1946-10-31
Civil Service
ToAid 0usted
reerWorker
Seeks Ruling on PIon
For Years FurIough .
On 20-Yeor Group
By Joseph Youne


has taken steps to aid the thou
sands of career employees in Gov
ernment who are being fired
during the current reduction
in-force program, The Star
learned today.
Disturbed by conditions under
which Government workers with
more than 20 years of service have
lost their jobs, the commission will
seek a ruling on a plan to place
these employees on a one-year fur
Tough basis to make it easier for
them to find other jobs in the Fed
eral service.
The commission's plan, which will
be submitted within the next day or
two to the Controller General for
a ruling on its legality, would make
1t possible for these employees with
permanent status to get other jobs
in their respective agencies without
going through any of the procedures
that applicants for Federal jobs must
undergo.
without Pay Basis.
Under the plan, those career en-
ployes who lose their jobs would be
allowed to remain on the Federal
rolls for year after they are dis
missed. Although this period would
be on a without-pay basis, 1t would
prevent the break in service" that
results under the present system
when an employe is dismissed.
During the year, these employees
could step into jobs that opened up
in their former agencies without the
necessity of taking any test, filing
any applications, submitting to ply
sical examinations or any other pro-
cedure. It would automatically place
them ahead of any other applicants
for the jobs.
Although Federal agencies are dis
missing thousands of employees,
there are jobs always opening up in
the service, and these dismissed
career employees would get first
crack at them. The plan would not
apply to war service employees.
Chief Reason for Custer.
Chief reason for the custer of
these career employees is the super
seniority privileges accorded mill
tary veterans under existing legisla-
ton. For example, two persons are
employed in the same agency. One,
Mr.. A, has been there Is years. Mr..
B served only five years when he
left to join the armed forces during
the war.
The agency would like to retain
both men, but Congress has decreed
that Government employment must
be reduced by 100000 employees by
next July. In addition, 100000 ad-
ditional employees are expected to be
fred by July, 1948. ..-.
In order to meet the employment
ceilings set up by the Budget Bu-
reau. the agency head fil1ds that the
personnel cut Is so severe that either
Mr.. A or Mr.. B must be fired, not
withstanding the fact that both of
them have permanent status. Under
the law, the agency has but one
choice. Mr.. A must be dismissed,
since Mr.. B, being a military vet
eran, has super-seniority rights.
The other day The Boston
Traveller carried story which said
that thousands of civil service en-
ployes in New England-many with
upward of Is years tenure-were be-
ing fired to make room for World
War II veterans. Some of the old
timers were being dismissed only a.
few months before they would have
acquired the full pension rights they
had been looking forward to all of
their working lives.
"All Too Accurate"
Civil Service Commission spokes-
men acknowledge that the Boston
papers account was "all too &C
curate." That is why the commits
sion is readying its new plan.
The commission feels it is only
proper that war veterans be given
every possible advantage, but they
feel that Federal employees with
many years of service to their credit
should also be taken care of.
At present, each Federal depart
ment and agency has its own sys-
tenn for aiding dismissed employees.
Some agencies grant their employees
90-day furlongs, other give 80 days,
while some agencies don't grant any
time at all for their employees to
find other jobs