Compliance Follow-Up Review: Targeted Review of Leadership and Management at the National Passport Center

Summary of Review
OIG conducted a compliance follow-up review (CFR) of the Department of State’s (Department) implementation of recommendations made in OIG’s 2018 Targeted Review of Leadership and Management at the National Passport Center (NPC) in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.¹ The report identified extensive employee concerns regarding inappropriate behavior, including harassment and “bullying,” prohibited personnel practices, and selective non-compliance with policies and regulations. OIG found that communication was ineffective at all levels within NPC and that the center’s leadership would not or could not engage effectively with employees.

In this review, OIG found that the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA), and specifically NPC, undertook various initiatives to implement the 12 recommendations in OIG’s 2018 report, but some deficiencies OIG previously identified had not been fully addressed. Among the actions undertaken in response to the 2018 report, the bureau referred discrimination and harassment complaints for investigation, instituted coaching and training, conducted an organizational assessment, and enhanced internal communication regarding passport issuance procedures and workplace policies. However, in an example of a recommendation where additional work remains, OIG concluded that the full intent of the recommendation directing CA to implement an effective model for providing human resources services to NPC management and staff was not met. Specifically, OIG found continuing deficiencies in employee relations, as supervisors told OIG that they did not receive timely and comprehensive support from employee relations staff in CA’s Executive Office, which, in turn, made it difficult for supervisors to effectively manage employee performance and conduct issues.

At the conclusion of the CFR, six recommendations from the original report remained closed. OIG closed one additional recommendation and issued one new recommendation. Additionally, OIG reissued five recommendations but determined that CA was making progress toward full implementation of these recommendations. In its comments on the draft CFR, CA agreed with five CFR recommendations and neither agreed nor disagreed with one CFR recommendation. OIG considers all six recommendations resolved. The bureau’s response to each CFR recommendation and OIG’s reply can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The bureau’s formal written response is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.

_{1 OIG, Targeted Review of Leadership and Management at the National Passport Center (ISP-I-19-13, November 2018).}