The U.S. Office of the Special Counsel (OSC) is the latest arena for the right wing to try to roll back gains made by gays and lesbians. The obscure office is the lynchpin for protecting 1.7 million federal employees from discrimination and retaliation.
Scott J. Bloch was confirmed to the position by the Senate and began a five-year term on Jan. 5, 2004. He had worked on the Task Force for Faith-based and Community Initiatives at the Department of Justice. Prior to that had been a research fellow at the Claremont Institute, a vociferously antigay California think tank.
During his confirmation hearing Block convinced the senators that he would protect the rights of gay federal employees.
But within a month of Bloch taking office, the OSC had 'removed references to sexual orientation from its basic brochure, its complaint form, a two-page flyer entitled 'Your Rights as a Federal Employee,' and a set of training slides,' charged Federal GLOBE.
The organization is the umbrella group of GLBT employees in the federal government. It called the actions 'political pandering to the conservative right' that send 'a chilling message' to gay federal employees.
Bloch responded to press inquiries by saying that he was reviewing the non-discrimination policy. He believes his predecessors might have overstepped their authority. He told the Federal Times that action such as attending a gay pride event would be protected, but sexual orientation might not be.
Elaine Kaplin, his predecessor, strongly disagreed. She called his reasoning 'nonsensical.'
Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Joe Lieberman (D-Connecticut), senior members of the Government Affairs Committee, wrote to Block expressing their concern about this action being inconsistent with his testimony at the confirmation hearing.
'The action by the Special Counsel constitutes a dramatic rollback of basic protections,' said Log Cabin Republican executive director Patrick Guerriero in a March 18 letter to Bloch. 'Rolling back more than 30 years of protections for gay and lesbian employees is unacceptable.'
Guerriero asked Bloch to reverse his actions and called upon the Bush administration 'to remain true to their word' not to discriminate against gays and lesbians.