http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49392-2004Feb17.htmlGay Rights Information Taken Off Site
New GOP Head of Agency Says He Is Reviewing Material
By Stephen Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 18, 2004; Page A17
A newly arrived Republican appointee has pulled references to sexual orientation discrimination off an agency Internet site where government employees can learn about their rights in the workplace.
The Web pages at the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency whose mission is to protect whistleblowers and other federal employees from retribution, has removed references to sexual orientation from a discrimination complaint form, training slides, a brochure titled "Your Rights as a Federal Employee" and other documents.
Scott J. Bloch, the agency head, said he ordered the material removed because of uncertainty over whether a provision of civil service law applies to federal workers who claim unfair treatment because they are gay, bisexual or heterosexual.
... Bloch, who assumed office last month following Senate confirmation, had served as deputy director and counsel to the Task Force for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the Justice Department. He was a partner in a law firm, specializing in civil rights and employment law, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Kansas School of Law.
... Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said she was especially concerned because Bloch removed an agency news release posted last year describing an investigation at the Internal Revenue Service that found an IRS supervisor denied a job to an applicant because he was gay.
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