bonneville dam.JPG
The Bonneville Power Administration sells power generated at Bonneville Dam and other dams in the Columbia River. Bonneville Dam is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
(AP Photo)
The Bonneville Power Administration has reached confidential settlements with four employees who filed whistleblower complaints after bringing the agency's veterans hiring scandal to light in 2013.
The settlements are more fallout from investigations and audits that the Portland-based federal power agency manipulated its hiring processes to exclude veterans, who are entitled by law to preference rights in federal hiring. Federal investigators found that BPA human resource employees were manipulating the lists of best qualified applicants for open positions.
Bonneville said it has settled all outstanding complaints by whistleblowers, but the agency still faces lawsuits filed by veterans and other who contend they were discriminated against by the agency.
BPA admitted the mistakes, but said it intended to make the hiring process more efficient. Whistleblowers, however, told federal investigators that the agency had developed a management culture and practices to actively discourage veteran hiring.
The hiring problems and the agency's bumbling response created a political uproar in the region. The Northwest depends on the cheap federal hydropower power that BPA sells and zealously guards against federal meddling that threatens that access. But the discrimination issues prompted a heavy handed federal response from the U.S. Department of Energy and left regional stakeholders with little leverage.
BPA was stripped of its hiring authority and the Department of Energy took control of its general counsel's office. BPA Administrator Bill Drummond and Chief Operating Officer Anita Decker were suspended amid allegations of whistleblower retaliation. They ultimately resigned rather than accepting reassignment within the Energy Department.
In a news release last week, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said that the responsibility for the hiring problems rested with a few BPA employees, and primarily with BPA's former human resources director, Roy Fox. Emails released earlier to the Oregonian/OregonLive confirmed that Fox, who retired just as the scandal became public, was a major player in the drama.
Yet an investigative report from the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General, released in 2013, said the practice of deflecting oversight by the Department of Energy was baked into BPA's culture. It found that agency officials spent considerable effort distancing themselves from department procedures and processes that they considered unnecessary. BPA's reluctance to seek any external advice on policy matters, the report said, "reflected a level of hubris that appears to be the underlying cause of the current crisis."
The report said management didn't adequately oversee personnel and recruitment functions, failed to ensure adequate human resources training, relied on informal, undocumented practices, and failed to follow though on safeguards such as quarterly audits.
It went on to say that Bonneville's management team tolerated, or failed to address, a culture of intimidation and mistrust in the human resources operation. Employees reported that they were compelled to take actions they didn't agree with or face retaliation. Performance reviews were used to force conformity from staff.
Bonneville's response to the problems included a revamp of its human resources and hiring functions and the reconstruction of more than 1,200 hiring cases. It eventually made 135 employment offers and hired 65 individuals who affected by the earlier screening methods.
The Office of Special Counsel Counsel said it worked with BPA to discipline two supervisors who were involved in the hiring violations.
BPA spokesman Doug Johnson said the agency has strengthened compliance and human resources activities, as instituted ways for employees to report potential violations of BPA's Code of Conduct and other concerns.
"We are much better prepared to avoid the problems referenced in the Office of Special Counsel release," Johnson said.
- Ted Sickinger
tsickinger@oregonian.com
503-221-8505; @tedsickinger