Thank you Dave. As I had noted, the language still contains a statement that US nationality may be required. I have had employment for state and local Government (New York State and City) as a contractor and FTE including critical transportation and other infrastructure and never once was nationality ever a consideration. I was not a US citizen at that time, but I did have a green card. I've passed background checks for that employment without issue. I agree that we should have discussed this with FEMA/DHS and taken guidance from them. Ria N2RJ On Thu, Aug 12, 2021 at 2:16 PM David Propper <k2dp@charter.net> wrote:
HI All,
I also would agree with Fred and the language proposed by the CT counsel.
As Fred noted below, Foreign Nationals can be credentialed by the US Government to obtain various types of security clearances.
Requiring the ability to be credentialed is not discriminatory, but simply a requirement of the job. Many positions across aerospace, defense contracting , R & D, government service, etc, are advertised as “ability to obtain a US Government Security Clearance is required.”
Obtaining a clearance is not just dependent upon the candidate’s nationality. Many other factors are considered in a “background investigation.” Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the collection of “adverse” information about the individual “nominated” for the particular level of clearance. "Adverse information” can fall into many different categories, such as “drug and alcohol abuse, prior criminal convictions, personal behavior and character, financial position, such as a bankruptcy filing, etc.” The purpose of the evaluation of “adverse information” is to assess the nominee’s susceptibility to coercion and temptation to reveal or share “classified” information with someone who does not have a “need to know.” One should also understand that there are many different levels of security clearances, ranging from “confidential” to “top secret” and “special access programs/ special access required”. Please also note that all US Government Security Clearance Background Investigations are the responsibility of the Defense Investigative Services (DIS) and not the FBI.
I hope that this clarifies some of the mystique surrounding Security Clearances. However, most importantly, I would suggest that David Minster discuss with his counterpart at FEMA/DHS, the type and level of clearance a potential ARRL employee might require in this position so as to be able to fully participate in all FEMA/DHS events as required.
73 and best regards to all,
Dave, K2DP
Dave Propper, K2DP ARRL Midwest Division Vice Director 314-225-5167
On Aug 12, 2021, at 10:20 AM, Fred Hopengarten <hopengarten@post.harvard.edu> wrote:
I agree with the language proposed by CT counsel.
“Able to be credentialed by our served agencies” is not discrimination based on national origin. Examples: Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger (born German), and Madeline Albright (born Czech). Martin Indyk-Pres. Obama’s Middle East Envoy and twice US Ambassador to Israel - he and I share common great grandparents, (born British, with parents from Poland). There are many examples of foreign nationals who obtain security clearances.
-Fred K1VR
From: arrl-odv [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Dale Williams Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2021 9:16 AM To: Minster, David NA2AA (CEO); arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:32669] Re: EmComm Director - requirements issue
David,
I truly agree with Director Norris,
In my own experience with my local county government and the appointments I hold there, and with my term as SEC while operating from the Michigan State EOC, I was by the very nature of being present, exposed to discussions that were restricted to those in attendance who were US citizens with background checks.
The same holds true today, while I may not necessarily be a party to the specific discussion, as a committee member, I am in the room while others hold those conversations.
US citizenship is entirely appropriate for the position of EMCOMM Director. That person will certainly be attending meetings where the topics are of a very sensitive nature.
73,
Dale Williams WA8EFK Director Great Lakes Division
On 8/11/2021 5:45 PM, Minster, David NA2AA (CEO) wrote:
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
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