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May 17, 1991
MEMORANDUM
TO: All Department of Justice Employees
FROM: Dick Thornburgh
Attorney General
SUBJECT: Worklife Policy
Since my return to the Department, two and a half years ago, I have had the opportunity to visit with many of you in your offices in 37 states and 22 countries. It is clear to me now -- as it was when I served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and later as the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division -- the greatest resource of this Department is our people.
We serve in a Department with a great tradition of professionalism and excellence. There are now 83,000 of us who are privileged to work for the Department of Justice: 32,000 in law enforcement, 16,000 in immigration, 19,000 in corrections, 12,000 in legal activities and the remainder in management, administrative and other activities. How well we do our jobs affects the quality of life of all Americans.
When I returned to the Department in August 1988, many of you expressed concerns about worklife issues. Compensation, of course, was a major issue, but by no means the only issue. You were concerned about the myriad of other worklife issues which affect our ability -- not only to recruit -- but to retain a quality workforce. Throughout the Department, you expressed concerns about our ability as an employer, to meet staff needs for flexibility in work schedules and place of work, part-time job opportunities, family leave for child and elder care and for other family commitments, day care, opportunities for volunteer work, fitness opportunities, improved office space and so on.
I want to take this opportunity to relate what we have been doing to address compensation and worklife issues over the past two years. I also want to announce the Department's policy on family leave, part-time employment, job sharing and flexiplace.
Frankly, some of these issues were being addressed even before I returned to the Department -- but not in a comprehensive, cohesive fashion. A year ago, I established three task forces to deal definitively with issues related to our attorney workforce. The three task forces addressed compensation, recruitment and retention, and worklife and reported back to me with a lengthy agenda of practical suggestions for improvement. This work has led to much of the progress that I will describe.
We are making headway in the compensation area. The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and I all served on the National Advisory Commission on Law Enforcement (NACLE), a Commission which made a number of significant recommendations to address longstanding pay and benefits issues for the government's law enforcement workforce. The Commission's recommendations were ultimately incorporated in the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990. This legislation made sweeping improvements in compensation not only for law enforcement but for many other categories of employees as well. The 1990 Act represents the first major government-wide pay reform in almost 30 years.
Within the Department, my Compensation Task Force dealt with pay issues affecting attorneys. The Task Force recommendations included accelerated promotions and shortened time-in-grade requirements, as well as increased use of cash awards. I am pleased to report that all the recommendations of this Task Force, for which the Department has existing authority, have been adopted in full. The one remaining recommendation -- the extension of the administratively determined pay system now used for U.S. Attorneys and U.S. Trustees and their assistants, to all attorneys in the Department -- requires approval outside the Department. We included this change in our FY 1992 budget request, but it was not approved. However, I will continue to press for approval of this important proposal in future years. I also recognize that many of you will not benefit from recent compensation reforms. I pledge to continue to look for other ways to improve your compensation as well.
Compensation for a job well done comes in many forms. I do not believe that any employer -- government or private -- can compete with us in terms of the variety and importance of the work that we do. Certainly, no law firm can compete with us in terms of the issues we represent -- nor in terms of our clients. We are unique in our ability to adopt as a guiding principle -- to do what is just and right, not only what our clients dictate.
But this is not enough in today's world. As I travel throughout the country and worldwide, staff and managers raise worklife issues. We as a society have seen what happens when we ignore or short-change our own needs or those of our families. We, and society, need to recognize the importance of balance in our professional and personal lives.
As we look to the 21st century, this balance will become ever more important to everyone. Women, who in the past have been the traditional family care-givers in our society, will form a major portion of the new entrants into the workforce. Between now and the year 2000, two-thirds of the new entrants are expected to be women under the age of 40. Men, too, are recognizing the importance of balance in their professional and personal lives. Men are increasingly involved in family care. This role is expected to grow dramatically over the next decade. We need to acknowledge the future by starting to accommodate it now.
The Department already leads the way in Federal professional recruitment, and is second to none in career satisfaction. But I want the Department to be at the forefront of the emerging national recognition that times have changed and improved quality-of-life must be brought to the workplace now. Accommodating our quality-of-life needs will enhance recruitment even more, and will help us retain our best. We all share the deepest interest in achieving this result. But, perhaps even more important, our evolution to a kinder and gentler society demands that we offer tangible understanding and support.
Let us make clear our values in this area so that no one is left to speculate.
Effective today, the policy of this Department is to encourage the granting of up to six months leave to meet family needs. Those needs include, but are not limited to, infant and child care and elder care.
Many of you have asked for definitive "rules" on what is and in not allowable in terms of leave. Well, unfortunately, life is not predictable. Nor are the needs of our Department. Family needs for extended leave must be balanced with the Department's operational needs. "Flexibility and responsibility" are the hallmarks. For some, this may mean that the work of an office cannot be accomplished with six months of leave for a key employee. But, I call on our supervisors to use ingenuity to try to best meet the needs of individuals as well as the Department. For those of you who are requesting or considering leave, I call on you to make your requests responsible and reasonable -- always thinking of how to respond best to the needs of your organization.
Job sharing -- filling one position with two part-time employees -- provides flexibility to the individuals and the Department alike. Despite these advantages, job sharing has been used only to a limited extent within the Department. I call upon each manager to identify additional opportunities for part-time employment and for job sharing.
Furthermore, a government-wide pilot program which permits employees to work at home or other approved worksites has just been initiated. This pilot program called "Flexiplace" provides a means of responding to the demographic, societal and technological changes affecting today's workforce. Flexiplace, like flexitime (a program which allows different work schedules), and job sharing, will help employees balance work and family life. I encourage each supervisor not only to consider the benefits of flexiplace to your staff -- but to your organization as a whole. The Justice Management Division will be sending information on each of these programs to you shortly.
Day care is another issue which you raise repeatedly in our meetings. I am pleased to report to you that the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., will have its own day care center -- opening this fall. I am as proud of this accomplishment as I was in winning my first case!
While I recognize that one day care center will not meet the needs of all 83,000 employees, it in my policy for the Department to incorporate day care facilities wherever possible in future building acquisitions.
There are many other worklife issues in which we are making headway. These include improved office space planning. We have persuaded the General Services Administration to provide additional space beyond their "average" allocations to accommodate the "related space" needs of our attorney workforces -- for libraries and conference facilities. Similarly, we are incorporating fitness facilities wherever possible and encouraging enhanced preventive health programs. I invite you to visit the recently opened facility in the Judiciary Center Building or the recently renovated facility in the Main Building. We are also making great strides in our planning for improved accessibility for our handicapped employees and starting this year we will begin actual construction on improved access at Main Justice, starting with the Great Hall.
One of the areas where we have made the most dramatic improvements in in the provision of computer support. It has been my goal to provide each Assistant United States Attorney with an EAGLE computer and by the and of this calendar year, EAGLE computers will be installed in nearly every U.S. Attorney's office.
While litigating divisions have enjoyed the benefits of computerization for a longer time, we are now providing additional resources to expand and upgrade their systems. Finally, as a major initiative, we are developing a unified, Department-wide case tracking system so that we can monitor our progress from investigation to prosecution, through judgment to recovery. Enhancement of computer systems in the components to lighten our burden and to make our work more efficient is a major activity as well. Department-wide, we now dedicate nearly 7 percent of our entire resources -- over $600 million -- to this important area.
We are systematically addressing all of the other recommendations made by my three task forces. At the request of many of you, we are revisiting our regulations on pro bono or volunteer work to ensure that we encourage volunteer work wherever possible with only the most essential constraints to avoid conflicts of interest. We will explore opportunities for rotational and developmental assignments and improved training and expand programs to provide for the upward movement of underutilized talent within our workforce. We will take steps to improve the representation of minorities, women and persons with disabilities in our workforce. The Department is in a leadership role for implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We must assure that we are a model employer as well.
We in Justice enjoy interesting work involving important issues affecting all Americans. We work with a top-flight, dedicated workforce. Now, it is time to become a leader in another area by providing a supportive work environment which makes the lives of our most important resource -- our people -- productive, flexible and enjoyable. The Department of Justice should be in the forefront. I look forward to working with each of you to make this happen.
Last Updated February 21, 2001
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