Government watchdog accuses Homeland Security officials of trying to bend hiring rules
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Office of Special Counsel says three Customs and Border Protection human resources employees tried to manipulate the hiring process to give three politically connected applicants an advantage.
In complaints filed Tuesday and announced Wednesday, the Office of Special Counsel says two employees are accused of discrimination in favor of political appointees who had ties to then-Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin and the Obama administration in 2010. A third is accused of trying to help manipulate the process.
The Office of Special Counsel, an independent government investigative and prosecutorial office, accuses the employees of "political burrowing" to try to convert political appointees to career workers at Customs and Border Protection.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bersin was not named in the complaints.
Customs and Border Protection says it is cooperating with the case.