Evening star., 1953-04-27
New U.S.. Job Loyalty Program
And Reopening Of All Cleared
Cases Ordered by Eisenhower
Review Bourd to Be
Abolished, Leaving
Task to Departments
BY Joseph Young

President Eisenhower today
announced a new and broader
security program for Govern
ment employees.
A pre- Dental directive
ordered completely new investi-
cation of Federal workers cleared
in previous loyalty and security
checks and extends to all depart
mentS and agencies authority to
fire workers on security grounds.
The order also sets forth more
specific security standards on
which employees may be fired in
the interest of national security
It combines security and loyal
ty cases into one program and
aboliShes the Federal Loyalty Re-
view Board effective in 80 days.
All Departments Affected.
All department and agency
heads will have authority to fire
employees summarily in the in
terest of national security. The
old program limited security-fi fir
ing authority to the So-called
sensitive agencies, such as the
Defense and State Departments,
Central Intelligence Agency,
Atomic Energy Commission and
a few others.
In explaining the new program
to the press today, Attorney
General Brownell said it was a
considerable improvement over
the old one.
Mr.. Brownell said the new
program would give the Govern
ment greater protection, since it
applies to all agencies.
Secondly, it sets up standards
that make it easier to determine
if an employe is a security risk.
More Protection Seen.
Thirdly, employees will receive
more protection in the hearing
rights accorded them, Mr..
Brownell declared.
Fourth, the standardized rules
and hearings will permit all cases
to be cleaned up by fall, so that
Federal employees. after that
date, will no longer have cloud
over them"
Employees in all cases will have
the right to a hearing before a
panel in their agency which
would be composed of not less
than three members. Those
members would be Government
workers, but not employees of the
agency hearing the case.
Employees serving on panels In
security cases will be selected
by their agencies which will
choose them because of their
aptitude for the job. Their names
will be sent to the Civil Service
Commission, which will set up a
Government wide roster of
names of the panel members. In
any particular case, the head of
an agency will choose the panel
members, subject only to the re-
quirement that the members are
not employees of their agency.
Will Have Right to Counsel.
Accused employees will have
the right to receive written
charges, subject to the interest
of national security. They also
have the right of counsel at the
hearing. the right to present wit
nesses in their behalf and the
privilege of crosS-examining ac-
cusing witnesses. Mr.. Brownell
said the right of cross-examina-
tion was one denied Federal en-
ployes in loyalty cases.
Mr.. Brownell did not have the
figures regarding how many en-
ployes would be reinvestigated
under the new program, but he
said the number would be small.
Other Government officials eSti-
mated that there would be sew
eral thousand of these cases
where employees previously re-
ceived full-scale Investigations
on loyalty or security charges
and subsequently were cleared.
AS for the rest of the Govern
ments employees. Mr.. BroWnell
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