From the June 3, 2008 NTEU E-Bulletin

Programs Threaten Merit-Based Hiring
A recent Office of Personnel Management (OPM) report found the number of federal employees hired under eight special hiring authorities, including the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP), rose almost 50 percent from FY 2004 to FY 2007. These results indicate that government agencies continue to move away from merit-based hiring in favor of more relaxed standards that allow greater discretion by hiring managers.

“This presents a danger that hiring decisions become based on factors other than a candidate’s qualifications and that weakens the merit-based federal civil service,” President Kelley said.

The FCIP is the most egregious, and fastest-growing, example of how federal agencies are departing from statutorily-mandated competitive examination and selection requirements. From FY 2004 to FY 2007, new hires under the FCIP rose 147 percent—6,800 to 17,000—while the total number of new merit-based hires increased by less than 2 percent, 236,000 to 240,000.