TRAINING FOR RE-EMPLOYMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-00261R000300030035-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2000
• Sequence Number: 35
• Publication Date: May 24, 1965
• Content Type: MF

Approved 'For ReIWe 2 x1 141014k P81-00261800 0030035-2
aY L..l ??i? y y bO L..~
*OGC Has Reviewed*. OGC 65..0927a
a. Employee A. ? On 29 January 1965, the Secretary
of the CIA Retirement Board notified this Career Employee
that he should prepare to retire under the Civil Service
Retirement System, in accordance with Agency policy
effective 15 February 1970 when he will be 62 years old and
will have completed 15 years of Federal Service, all with
this Agency.
(1) May the Agency prior to 15 February I968
continue to pay E mployee A's salary while excusi
him from duty for a period of six months to pursu
full-time course of education which would enable him
to complete requirements for an M. A. degree in
Education?
? .I.C L !?.L ?i p K?w
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MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Personnel
SUBJECT:
Training for R.e-employment
1. By merroranduxn of 12 February you have requested our
opinion as to the legality and propriety of this Agency!s spending appro._
priated funds to provide education and training for prospective retirees
in order to improve their qualifications for outside employment. The
following quotation from your memorandum sets out several additional,
specific questions:
4. In order to frame the issue more clearly, I would
appreciate your answering the following questions in relation
to the hypothetical circumstances of employees A, B, and C as
described below.
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(2) If the answer to Question 1 is.yes, may
the period of such excused absence continue for as
long as one year?
(3) If the answer to Question 1 is yes, may the - -
end of the period of excused absence coincide with
the effective. date of the employee's retirement?
b. Employee B. This Career Employee's positioi._
was.abolished effective 15 December 1964. It has been
determined subsequently that the Agency can offer hirn no
other suitable assignment, and he plans to retire on a
discontinued service annuity under the Civil Service Re--
tirement System based upon his 26 years of Federal Service
of which 12 were in the military and 14 were in this Agency.
(1) May the Agency continue to pay Employee. B's
salary while excusing him from duty for a period of
2 months to atterd full-time training in a technical
school in preparation for opening his. own business
as a TV and Radio repairman?
(2) If -the answer to the above question is yes.,
what would be the maximum period for which the
Agency could; excuse such absence with pay?
c. Employee C. -This Career Employee has notified
the Agency of his intent to retire optionally under the Civil - -
Service Retirement System effective 15 March 1966 when he will
be 55 years of age and will have completed 30 years of Federal
Service - 18 with this Agency.
(1) May the Agency continue to pay Employee Cis
salary while excusing him from duty for a period of
6 months to pursue a full-time course of education _
which will enable him to complete requirements for
the M. A. degree in Education?
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(2) If the answer to the above question is yes,
May the period of such excused absence continue
beyond 15 March 1966, thus having the effect of
extending the date of Employee C's retirement?
(3) If the answer to Question c. (1) is'yes,
what is the maximum period- during which the A;,e;a.cy
can arrange such excused absence?. '
d. Under any of the above circumstances in which
you indicate that the Agency may continue payment of salary,
while excusing an employee from duty:
(1) at is the Agencyts obligation to approve
the specific training objective of the prospective
retiree?
(2) Would the time spent in such periods of
absence from duty be credited to the employee for
retirement purposes?
(3) Would the employee accrue annual and sick'
leave at his normal rate during such periods of absence
from duty?
e. How would your answers to the questions under
subparagraphs b and c, above, differ if the employee were
eligible to retire under the CI~3. Retirement System instead
of the Civil Service Retirement System? -
2. Authority available to the Government generally, the Govern-
ment Employees Training Act, establishes a program under which the
various departments provide training in Government and non.-Government
facilities for selected employees. However, the Act defines the training
authorized thereunder as the process of providing for and riaking available
to an employee a program of instruction or education in "fields which are
or will be directly related to the performance by such employee of official
duties for the Government, in order to increase the knowledge, proficiency,
r ? .
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 '^o ter. 7 -
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ability, skill and qualifications of such an employee in the performance
of official duties" (emphasis supplies'.). In view of the purposes and the
intended operation of the proposed Agency program, we believe the
program could not be authorized under the authority of the Government
Employees Training Act.
3, The National Security Act of 1947 provides "That the Director
of Central Intelligence shall be responsible for protecting intelligence
sources and methods from unauthorized disclosure. it The CIA Act of
1949 provides that "sums made available to the Agency by appropriation
or otherwise may be expended for purposes necessary to carry out its
functions. " We understand the objective in providing training for persons
scheduled for retirement is founded in the main on security conSider a ions.
We believe this consideration would permit a decision by the. Director to
establish and operate a training program based upon the authority provided
by the .two statutes. Whether and to what extent the program should be -
discussed with congressional committee leaders, the Bureau of the Budget
or the General Accounting Office would be a matter for policy determination
only.
4. Experience of other Government departments with related prob-
lems also may be of interest. The Department of State, whose Foreign
Service employees, like those of CIA, may possess a great deal of highly
classified information but who unlike their CIA colleagues may take into
retirement a title, a visible record, acrd an ability to discuss much of q?
their Foreign Service background, has sought, unsuccessfully, to obtain
legislation authorizing training for prospective retirees. There is statutory
.authority permitting the Government to furnish training for military person-
nel. This authority is not directed only to prospective retirees.but i prac-
tice is used extensively for that purpose,
5. While we have no doubt L~at a program of training for prospective
retirees, founded on security considerations, properly may be authorized,
we would think also that a program lavish, extreme, or unreasonable would
be outside the bounds of propriety. It might be in order to provide training
only for certain employees, to restrict the period of training, to base it on
the number of years of employment, the employee's grade or his type of
work, to confine training to off-duty hours, or to apply other standards.
It might be in order also to require the employee to pay a percentage of
costs..It might be in order also to require a finding by the Director of
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Personnel that the individual has no readily salable talents and training
would tend to cure this defect, or that he is so rusty in his profession or
skill that he would need retraining to make him marketable. Or training
might be made available only to persons wbo retire under the CIA Retire-
ment Act. It seems likely, in any 'vent, that it will prove difficult to
establish any fair and workable standards by which employees are to be
selected. Your attention is called to the Comptroller General ruling of
1951 holding that the Agencyts special authorities under section 8 of the
CIA. Act are not to be used to ?tdi.sregard... any control with respect to
the normal administrative or operating problems which confront the
ordinary government agency. We believe this ruling could be the
guideline by which the various duties and standards concerning the pro..
gram are reached,
6. Two questions posed by your memorandum are:
a. whether an employee may be excused from his normal
duties and assigned to training duties on a full-time basis, and
b. whether the training period may extend beyond his
retirement date.
As to the former, we believe it would not be correct to regard these em-
ployees as excused from duty while pursuing a full-time course of education
or training. Rather, the training should be considered the duty required
of them for the periods involved. It would mean also that it would be
appropriate to require the employee to perform at least 40 hours of duty
per week, which could be a combination of hours of work at his normal
duties plus the hours devoted to attending and preparing for classes. This
situation, it may be noted, could present troublesome FECA questions onn,
which the advice of BEC might be desirable prior to the institution o$ the
program. As to the latter question, we agree with the suggestion in your
question c. (2) that continuation of an employeexs salary while he engages
in training beyond his scheduled retirement date would have the effect of
extending the date of retirement. We have ho legal difficulty with this
result, assuming the retirement date is a date earlier than the date the
employee reaches the mandatory retirement age. In this connection,
consideration might be given to the establishment of a post-employment
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retirement program, in which the retiree would be afforded a grant
for training purposes, perhaps in the amount of his salary plus the
training costs, less the amount of his annuity. This approach would
have the virtue of avoiding FECA problems and the question of assigning
an employee no duties other than attending and preparing for training
classes and would lessen administrative costs to the Agency And require
a smaller out-of-pocket cost to the Age-
6 .
7. At this stage we would prefer to respond to your other que'stians
in general terms only. We think the Agency would be obligated to approve
the specific training objectives of the prospective retiree and, in addition,,
would be obligated to monitor the retiree's performance. Training, which
because it is ill chosen or badly performed, would not accomplis:^. the
purpose of assisting the retiree to obtain new e nployxnerat and thus would,.
not fall within a security-based decision to provide training. During the
periods of training the individual would continue to be an employee and the
time devoted to training therefore would figure in his eligibility for retire-
ment. During this period also he would continue to earn annual and sick
leave. Finally, we perceive no distinction in these matters as between
retirees under the Civil Service and the CIA Retir
E R. HOUSTON
General Counsel
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