After pvaldois posted his blog entry: JPL scientists fight against HSPD-12
I decided I wanted to share my personal HSPD-12 experience. First of all, I am so proud of the JPL employees who filed the lawsuit and are standing up for their rights. I tried to do something similar at JSC but people here were too scared to lose their jobs. I tried to get in touch with a some lawyers and tell my story – but no one was interested. In the end I relented and signed the forms allowing NASA and the government to perform financial and medical background checks on me whenever they wanted. Through my research I discovered that employees at various local companies were dismissed immediately if they refused to sign the forms. My company gave me 2 days to make a decision.
There is a JSC HSPD-12 blog but it’s been very quiet over the years due to fears.
I hope that the JPL scientists are successful and that NASA is required to re-do how they implement HSPD-12 at all of their centers.
June 2007 – Homeland Security
Ugh. Let me repeat that. Ugh.
Homeland
Security issued a directive that all federal employees and contractors
must undergo a security clearance. Ok. But they are not telling the
agencies how deep the background check should go (as far as I know).
NASA
of course is taking it to mean that every single employee (ok no big
deal) should fill out the entire form (7 years of data of where you
lived, and a reference for each place, and a reference for each school
you went to, and 3 people who know you really really really well – oh
and they want to do a consumer credit report on you if they have the
desire.) That’s as far as I got before I refused to sign the form. That
part wasn’t told to me. My job does not need a secret clearance. My job
just requires the basic low-level clearance. I don’t
understand why they would want to do a credit check on me. I don’t even
know what else they wanted to look into. Where are my privacy rights?
Do I have any as a U.S. citizen?
Granted, I’m no expert at this stuff. But I have read enough over the past few months to know this isn’t quite right.
TSA doesn’t require their employees to fill out the entire form. Just the necessary information required for their jobs.
Check out this link
for all of the people standing up at different NASA sites about this
directive. California congressmen and women have gotten involved and
are investigating. This is how I first learned about it and then a
coworker experienced it when she got hired by NASA.
And here’s a Congressman Letter to the Secretary of Commerce asking questions about what certain agencies are doing.
What
I really don’t like is that JSC said I had until this Friday to make up
my mind and sign the paperwork. Well, that’s not enough time for me to
actually pay attention and figure things out for myself. I haven’t
seriously looked into this, just been following along. The Presidential
Directive says we have until Oct 31st and my company has a window until
next week to get us “bulk” processed. So why the Friday deadline? Am I
special or something?
The process is also supposed to be
voluntary. But, if I don’t do it I will get denied my NASA badge. If I
don’t have a NASA badge, I won’t be able to do my work. If I can’t do
my work, I won’t have a job.
I asked my company to declare it
mandatory (which I don’t think they can legally do) or let me have more
time to investigate what is going on.
July 2007 – HSPD-12 at JSC
So, I was reading an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) document which is available on the web (and off of NASA’s website) that says the following:
“Develop,
implement and post in multiple locations (e.g., agency intranet site,
human resource offices, regional offices, provide at contractor
orientation, etc.) your department’s or agency’s identification privacy
act statement/notice, complaint procedures, appeals procedures for
those denied identification or whose identification credentials are
revoked, and sanctions for employees violating agency privacy policies.”
Well,
isn’t that interesting. The agency – NASA is supposed to have all of
these things readily available to all people going through the HSPD-12
badging process. So why then was I screwed and forced to sign when NO
ONE told me the process, or even provided the forms that I was to sign
a head of time. I was just told it was voluntary and if I didn’t sign
it I would lose my NASA badge. That surely isn’t full disclosure!
Where
is the intranet page describing all of this? I should be able to access
it work. Where are the appeals procedures? What about the privacy
policy? None of this has been shared with us.
Why in this document
(same one linked above) does it say it’s mandatory to do this process
to have a badge and work for the government, but yet NASA is telling us
it’s voluntary?
I even asked JSC Security if there was a FAQ page about the process. They said no. Well, NASA (as in HQ) has one.
I just found it today, weeks after going through this ordeal. I find it
interesting on their FAQ page that they say they are having people fill
out two different versions of the form; 85 and 85P. The 85P form
requires the financial and medical releases. So, NASA is saying there
are two different forms for the agency to use, and yet NASA JSC said
everyone (from the guy who mows the lawn to those who send commands to
the space station) have to fill out the same form. Hmmm….why is there
a disconnect?
August 2007 – I’m not the only one up in arms about the Government’s Badging
Requirements. Here are two sites kept up by workers at NASA JPL; wiki and website.
Isn’t it interesting that NASA has 30
days from the time OPM opens your file to deliver the information.
Meanwhile NASA JSC told me if I didn’t sign the paperwork that day they
would take my badge away. So much for being allowed to find answers to
my questions.
Noivember 2007 – HSPD-12 Strikes Again at NASA
Here’s the latest in the HSPD-12 news; an email
sent out to Glenn Research Center managers.
From: Bilinovich, Michael A. (GRC-CX00)
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 6:30 PM
If you are receiving this email, you have been identified as a
supervisor of an employee who has failed to comply with a Homeland Security
Presidential Directive 12 requirement and deadline regarding a
background re-investigation. This re-investigation is necessary before
a new HSPD 12 compliant NASA badge can be issued. Without the new NASA
badge, the employee will be unable to gain access to NASA facilities
and Information Systems.
Please direct the below listed employee to complete their background
investigation by providing the required information by Monday, November
26, 2007. Any questions concerning completion of the background
investigation forms can be directed to Jessica Roberts at x3033. If
this is not accomplished by November 26th, please retrieve their
current NASA badge and call Dan Humphrey at x2153 who will arrange for
an officer to take possession of the subject badge. Once the badge is
retrieved, the employee should be directed to the Main Gate Badge
Issuance Office where they will be provided with a five day temporary
badge to use for accessing the Center until completion of their
background investigation application.
Thank You for you cooperation and assistance.
Mike Bilinovich
Chief of Security
