This is a follow-up to the posting about
the search we are doing for the Director, Emergency
Management.
In the posting, a requirement listed was
for US Citizenship. I received emails within minutes from 2
Directors concerned about this requirement.
I will be rewording the requirement, but I
have worked with CT counsel and here’s the short of it:
- It is not
illegal to require US Citizenship for a position
- The
requirement must be tied to a legitimate reason or cause
- The reason
or cause must be documentable and defendable
My assessment was confirmed by counsel.
The reasoning is this:
- The first
two served agencies examined (FEMA, DHS) -REQUIRE- US
Citizenship for employment. Although there are “rare
exceptions”, they require citizenship.
- These
requirements are public and well documented.
- It is not
unreasonable to expect that our EmComm Director, in order to
attend meetings of a sensitive nature or clearance, would be
held to the same standards.
- It is not
unreasonable to expect that if our EmComm Director did not
meet these standards, these agencies could quietly or
overtly exclude ARRL from those meetings.
It is my intention to add the following
language to the job description after having passed it through
counsel:
“Must be able to be credentialed by our
served agencies, who may require US Citizenship and an FBI
background check.”
If you have an issue with this, please
contact me directly, ASAP.
Thanks.
David