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Group Says OPM Must Do More to Recruit, Retain Hispanics

By Stephen Barr

A coalition of 40 Hispanic organizations yesterday faulted the Office of Personnel Management for failing to improve Hispanic hiring across government and called for congressional hearings on the issue.

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda gave the OPM an "F," saying that federal hiring of Hispanics has declined in recent years and that the percentage of Hispanics in the career Senior Executive Service appears to be on a downward trend.

Hispanics make up 7.4 percent of the federal workforce but are 13.5 percent of the nation's labor force, the coalition said. Hispanics are the only underrepresented minority group in the civil service, according to OPM data.

"These intolerable levels of underrepresentation are nothing short of systemic, institutional discrimination and must be addressed now," Gilbert Sandate , a recently retired federal executive, said at a news conference at which the coalition released a 30-page report on Hispanic employment trends.

A spokesman for the OPM said the agency had not seen the report and could not comment.

OPM reports portray the government as a leader in employing minorities. As of September, the government employed 125,419 Hispanics in full-time civil service jobs.

Leaders of Hispanic groups said a diverse federal workforce promotes public health and safety and enhances the delivery of programs and services. They also pointed to a long tradition of military service among Hispanics as a sign of their interest in public service.

"We are willing and able to serve if given the opportunity," said Janet Murguia , president of the National Council of La Raza.

Sandate said, "If we are good enough to defend and die for our country, we ought to be good enough to serve it as government employees."

(About 10 percent of the troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan are Hispanic, and they are 11 percent of all casualties, according to the Pentagon.)

Although hiring for most federal jobs is controlled by agencies and not the OPM, the coalition singled out the OPM for criticism because a 2000 presidential order requires the OPM to oversee minority recruitment and to recommend "actions that are appropriate to eliminate the underrepresentation of Hispanics in the federal workforce."

Gabriela Lemus , director of policy and legislation of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said that her organization has attended a series of OPM meetings to discuss Hispanic employment and that "the outreach is there, but at the end of the day, nothing happens."

Manuel Mirabal , president of the National Puerto Rican Coalition, outlined the report being sent to Congress by the 40 organizations. The report, he said, found that:

· The annual percentage of Hispanic new hires in the federal workforce has decreased in recent years, from 9.5 percent in fiscal 2002 to 8.3 percent in fiscal 2005.

· The percentage of Hispanics at the top of government appears to be declining. Hispanics were 2.5 percent of the career Senior Executive Service in 2001 and 2.3 percent in 2005. If the trend continues, fewer than 140 Hispanics will be in career SES jobs within a few years.

· The retention rates are not improving. More than 20,400 Hispanics have left the government since 2000, eroding gains in Hispanic hiring.

Mirabal said more studies are needed to understand why Hispanics leave the government and why more are not considered for promotion into the top ranks.

But Sandate, who heads the Coalition for Fairness for Hispanics in Government, said he has seen discrimination in hiring and promotions and federal managers who view diversity and equal employment opportunity programs "as a nuisance, something to be tolerated and marginally complied with."

In addition to congressional hearings, the report called for putting teeth into the presidential directive by requiring agencies to prepare annual reports on Hispanic hiring and recommended increased oversight of intern programs used to recruit young people and minorities.

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