Checking Employees: How Charities Are Complying With New Rule

Many nonprofit organizations participating in this year’s on-the-job solicitation campaign for

federal workers have failed to comply with a controversial new government requirement, according to a spot check of about a dozen groups.

The new rule requires nonprofit organizations to certify that they do not knowingly employ individuals or give money to groups found on three so-called government watch lists of suspected terrorists. One of the lists is 143 pages long and includes thousands of names.

The Chronicle called 18 nonprofit groups to see how they were handling the rule. Here are excerpts of what the 11 that responded said.

Aid to Children, Youth, and Families
(Colorado Springs)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: Approximately $30,000

Total income in 2003: Approximately $1-million

How it complied: Signed certification but has not checked employees’ names or groups it works with against government watch lists. “We know our people intimately and the churches they’re a part of,”says Hank Paulson, president of the organization. “If there’s a loose connection of any kind, red flags would go up and we would check things out then.”

Catholic Charities USA

(Alexandria, Va.)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: $682,926

Total income in 2003: $9.7-million

How it complied: The organization used a computer-search function to check the names of its 45 employees against the three government watch lists for suspected terrorists, completing the process within an hour. Because Catholic Charities does not contribute funds to other organizations, it says it was not required to check anything else.

Center for Constitutional Rights

(New York)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: $6,000

Total income in 2003: $2.3-million

How it complied: Plans to withdraw from the federal campaign in 2005 because of objections to having to check the government lists. “We didn’t realize that we had signed the certification for this year and we wouldn’t have done so,” said Jen Nessel, a spokeswoman. “No one with programmatic decision-making capabilities signed the application, so it slipped right by without a check. That’s nothing we would comply with.”

Dr. Laura Schlessinger Foundation

(Westlake Village, Calif.)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: $97,000

Total income in 2003: $4.5-million

How it complied: Stephen Flanigan, deputy director of the organization, says he signed the application after looking briefly at one of the government’s lists of suspected terrorists to make sure that none of his eight employees was on it. “We didn’t have a problem signing off on it because it really doesn’t apply to our foundation,” says Mr. Flanigan. “We know that none of our employees is a member of a terrorist organization.”

Doctors Without Borders

(New York)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: $1-million

Total income in 2003: $53-million

How it complied: Signed the certification but did not check the lists. “We initially felt comfortable signing the agreement because we certainly do not knowingly employ any persons on the government’s lists,” says Kris Torgeson, a spokeswoman. “But we are concerned about recent discussions about the government’s rules becoming more stringent.” The group plans to review the issue again before deciding whether it will participate in the 2005 campaign.

Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund

(St. Louis)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: $13,000

Total income in 2003: $1.1-million

How it complied: “We would not knowingly hire someone on the list and I don’t have a problem certifying that,” says John F. Schlafly, treasurer of the organization. “But I admit I don’t even know where the terror watch list is, and I don’t know how to check it.”

Human and Civil Rights Organizations of America

(Corte Madera, Calif.)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: Its 60 affiliated charities brought in about $1.1-million

How it complied: The organization has one part-time employee and a volunteer board. “When you have as small a budget as our group does, you sort of know whether you’re in the business of supporting terror or not,” says Marshall Strauss, the group’s president. “You don’t need the government to tell you.”

Independent Sector

(Washington)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: $788

Total income in 2003: $5.6-million

How it complied: Diana Aviv, president of the organization, says the group checked its employees’ names against the government’s watch lists, but that recent news events have led the organization to question its participation in the on-the-job campaign for federal workers. She called on the government to attach a consolidated “watch list,” rather than three lists, to the application next year.

Izaak Walton League of America

(Gaithersburg, Md.)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: On average, raises about $50,000 a year from its on-the-job campaigns, the bulk of which comes from the Combined Federal Campaign

Total income in 2003: $3.5-million

How it complied: The organization signed the list but a representative says that it doesn’t recall being asked by the federal government to certify that it does not knowingly employ anyone or give money to any group on the terror watch lists. “It’s crazy, that document is 143 pages long,” says Richard Hoppe, a spokesman. “My guess is that for some larger charities, this is an enormous time sink.”

Oxfam America

(Boston)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: $230,000

Total income in 2003: $30-million

How it complied: After it retained lawyers to make sure it could comply with the regulation, the organization says that two employees took three days to check all staff members’ names and groups Oxfam works with against the three watch lists. It takes about 15 minutes to check each new employee or grant recipient, says Janet Van Zandt, director of institutional support. “We’re disturbed by the requirement and feel that it could potentially hold up humanitarian assistance for people who need it,” she says. “We have to do a lot more internal thinking about whether we can continue to comply with the rule.”

United Way of America

(Alexandria, Va.)

Amount raised in 2003 campaign: $400,000

Total income in 2003: $35-million

How it complied: Signed the form but did not certify that its 180 employees were not on the watch lists. Instead, checked one of the watch lists to certify that the 19 large charities that it works with are not suspected of supporting terrorist activities.