Are they really ‘interns’?

A June 25 forum on the federal hiring process hosted by the Office of Personnel Management gave critics of the Federal Career Intern Program yet another chance to sound off.

Opponents say FCIP gives agencies a handy way to make an end run around traditional merit hiring and veterans’ preference.

Supporters of the program claim it helps agencies snag top new college grads who are put off by the normal federal hiring process, and that it helps expedite hiring for slots where abilities count more than time on the job.

The National Treasury Employees Union, for one, says use of the system goes far beyond its intended purpose. The union says that since 2003, Customs and Border Protection has “used FCIP as its exclusive method for hiring all incoming CBP Officers, and it has since expanded its use of the FCIP to hire all incoming Border Patrol Officers and Agriculture Specialists.”

Are some agencies sacrificing fairness to do things the easy way?