klmno
Active Member
I'm going to have to unload some of this before it takes me over but I'll have to do it gradually because boss has been so fickle this week, I can't even absorb it all enough to post it all at one time.Today alone- here's what happened:
A little background first- Boss had made issue to his others that we all should get to come in late if weather had the main property open late. He won that and told us all to come in when everyone else had to, even though we are contract employees. Yesterday, a man came by and said property would be opening 2 hours late today. Fine.
Today, I come in a few mins before the 2 hour delay was over, thinking I'm arriving on time. I realized that the typical 9:00am Thurs. conference call was already in progress so I call in and join it. It's about us all having to get seecurity clearances for next contract this comp[any is going after- I wasn't shocked because I'd already heard about that from boss and client's rep.
After phone call, boss gets on phone with someone else. I read letter just emailed to me from private company I'm actually paid by and work for, technically. The letter says I have to sign agreement to get security clearance so they can set me up for the online application. But it also says that all people in the job position will have to have their clearance approved because job description is changing so if it isn't approved, their "position may be terminated".
Now, my first issue & question about this is that, while it's one thing to say the person can't be on the next contract due to security requirements changing and I can understand that, it's an entirely different thing to change the job description in the course of a contract that is already underway then saying a person will be terminated if that can't meet the requirements of the new job description. So what I'm leading to about this- if my clearance doesn't get approved but boss knew when he hired me that I'd had one not go thru 18 mos ago and why, if they terminate me due to that when this wasn't a job requirement before, would I qualify for unemployment?
Actually, I think it has a good chance of getting approved this time since I filed for BK to deal with the outstanding credit problems and haven't gotten anything on credit since then- it's my understanding they care more about outstanding debt than credit score.
Next issue: Boss was still on phone after I read that letter so I went to security officer in building where I work, who I knew had access to online file on me that shows where I applied for a job and clearance 18 mos ago, and reason it was denied. He was real nice to me when I checked in this place to start work and we had chatted some about that previous employment attempt then. Today, I asked him how I should handle this, if it was possible to shorten some of this process by just updating previous application, and asked him how this whole process works when it's a private company trying to get clearances vs a government agency.
He explained and said it would still be a government agent that makes final determination if it's approved. (TG! I'd never want anyone in this company making decisions like that.) And he said I needed to tell them about previous app, tell them I need my password reset, and then just update information (BK, address, work history) and note on the app about previous denial and what I've since done to address it. It might not get approved but it's reasonably hopeful. It also helps that I've been working there for a few months and haven't done anything rash yet.
Security officer also said this sounded odd because it costs so much for just one clearance process and the way this company is going about it, they will have to foot the bill. (Client's rep told me last week that something didn't seem to be adding up right about all this for other reasons. Given that I had one in the past, I can whole-heartedly agree.) Anyway, he said since I'm already in the system, my process would go quicker and this should save the commpany some money.
So, I go back to my desk, print letter, sign it, scan it, email it to company with a copy going to boss and include in my message that I am already in the online application system but need my password reset so I can update info.
Boss gets off phone and I told him I had gone to security officer to get some info and had forwarded info to company and copied him. Boss goes OFF on me. First, he went off for speaking to security officer. (Hmmm....I think I can do that without boss's permission.) Boss was saying I should have come into office earlier and I'd had all those questions answered on conference call. I said "what questions?" He says "All your questions- why you shouldn't panic over applying for clearance, how to go about getting a clearance, what type of info you need to apply for one". (This is typical info most people want to know when applying for the first time but that was not my situation.) So I nicely said "those aren't the type of questions I asked him". Boss kept going off about why I'd pull these people into it- never mind that it's impossible to go thru this without these people ultimately being involved. And when it comes to me personally, they were involved along time before I'd ever even heard of this company.
But I kept my cool and just quietly and timidly said to boss that he didn't even know what I'd asked the security officer. Boss then went off about why I wasn't there earlier. I reminded him about the 2 hour delay. He went off then because of conference calll- saying I knew it was important to be there for this particular one. I asked how I was supposed to know that (nicely- not sarcasticly). He said because of his email. We then had to spend 5 mins proving that I never got that email because he sent it to everyone EXCEPT me. Uh Huh.
So then he calmed down enough to read the copied email saying that per security officer here, I'm already in application system and just need password reset so I can update and reapply and this should be much quicker and simpler for mine.
Geez...what a horrible thing I did "to" this company, right? I'm positive there is NO WAY they could have known I was in that system already or thought to check and save themselves a little of the half a million dollars they are going to have to spend if they actually go thru with this on everyone just to GET a contract. Most companies would wait until they HAVE the contract and then the government agency pays for the clearance process- after all, they can't and won't actually approve a clearance until they know the person needs access to protected information- which are a couple of the points client's rep and I were mulling over last week. I'm not too sure this company knows as much as they think they do, but I could be wrong. It just seems odd.
I'm not so sure how long I can deal with boss going off about people not asking questions, though, when he goes off about stuff like this before even asking a question himself- a question like what a person was really doing- instead of "why would you do that"- yelling, like it was stupid.
A little background first- Boss had made issue to his others that we all should get to come in late if weather had the main property open late. He won that and told us all to come in when everyone else had to, even though we are contract employees. Yesterday, a man came by and said property would be opening 2 hours late today. Fine.
Today, I come in a few mins before the 2 hour delay was over, thinking I'm arriving on time. I realized that the typical 9:00am Thurs. conference call was already in progress so I call in and join it. It's about us all having to get seecurity clearances for next contract this comp[any is going after- I wasn't shocked because I'd already heard about that from boss and client's rep.
After phone call, boss gets on phone with someone else. I read letter just emailed to me from private company I'm actually paid by and work for, technically. The letter says I have to sign agreement to get security clearance so they can set me up for the online application. But it also says that all people in the job position will have to have their clearance approved because job description is changing so if it isn't approved, their "position may be terminated".
Now, my first issue & question about this is that, while it's one thing to say the person can't be on the next contract due to security requirements changing and I can understand that, it's an entirely different thing to change the job description in the course of a contract that is already underway then saying a person will be terminated if that can't meet the requirements of the new job description. So what I'm leading to about this- if my clearance doesn't get approved but boss knew when he hired me that I'd had one not go thru 18 mos ago and why, if they terminate me due to that when this wasn't a job requirement before, would I qualify for unemployment?
Actually, I think it has a good chance of getting approved this time since I filed for BK to deal with the outstanding credit problems and haven't gotten anything on credit since then- it's my understanding they care more about outstanding debt than credit score.
Next issue: Boss was still on phone after I read that letter so I went to security officer in building where I work, who I knew had access to online file on me that shows where I applied for a job and clearance 18 mos ago, and reason it was denied. He was real nice to me when I checked in this place to start work and we had chatted some about that previous employment attempt then. Today, I asked him how I should handle this, if it was possible to shorten some of this process by just updating previous application, and asked him how this whole process works when it's a private company trying to get clearances vs a government agency.
He explained and said it would still be a government agent that makes final determination if it's approved. (TG! I'd never want anyone in this company making decisions like that.) And he said I needed to tell them about previous app, tell them I need my password reset, and then just update information (BK, address, work history) and note on the app about previous denial and what I've since done to address it. It might not get approved but it's reasonably hopeful. It also helps that I've been working there for a few months and haven't done anything rash yet.
Security officer also said this sounded odd because it costs so much for just one clearance process and the way this company is going about it, they will have to foot the bill. (Client's rep told me last week that something didn't seem to be adding up right about all this for other reasons. Given that I had one in the past, I can whole-heartedly agree.) Anyway, he said since I'm already in the system, my process would go quicker and this should save the commpany some money.
So, I go back to my desk, print letter, sign it, scan it, email it to company with a copy going to boss and include in my message that I am already in the online application system but need my password reset so I can update info.
Boss gets off phone and I told him I had gone to security officer to get some info and had forwarded info to company and copied him. Boss goes OFF on me. First, he went off for speaking to security officer. (Hmmm....I think I can do that without boss's permission.) Boss was saying I should have come into office earlier and I'd had all those questions answered on conference call. I said "what questions?" He says "All your questions- why you shouldn't panic over applying for clearance, how to go about getting a clearance, what type of info you need to apply for one". (This is typical info most people want to know when applying for the first time but that was not my situation.) So I nicely said "those aren't the type of questions I asked him". Boss kept going off about why I'd pull these people into it- never mind that it's impossible to go thru this without these people ultimately being involved. And when it comes to me personally, they were involved along time before I'd ever even heard of this company.
But I kept my cool and just quietly and timidly said to boss that he didn't even know what I'd asked the security officer. Boss then went off about why I wasn't there earlier. I reminded him about the 2 hour delay. He went off then because of conference calll- saying I knew it was important to be there for this particular one. I asked how I was supposed to know that (nicely- not sarcasticly). He said because of his email. We then had to spend 5 mins proving that I never got that email because he sent it to everyone EXCEPT me. Uh Huh.
So then he calmed down enough to read the copied email saying that per security officer here, I'm already in application system and just need password reset so I can update and reapply and this should be much quicker and simpler for mine.
Geez...what a horrible thing I did "to" this company, right? I'm positive there is NO WAY they could have known I was in that system already or thought to check and save themselves a little of the half a million dollars they are going to have to spend if they actually go thru with this on everyone just to GET a contract. Most companies would wait until they HAVE the contract and then the government agency pays for the clearance process- after all, they can't and won't actually approve a clearance until they know the person needs access to protected information- which are a couple of the points client's rep and I were mulling over last week. I'm not too sure this company knows as much as they think they do, but I could be wrong. It just seems odd.
I'm not so sure how long I can deal with boss going off about people not asking questions, though, when he goes off about stuff like this before even asking a question himself- a question like what a person was really doing- instead of "why would you do that"- yelling, like it was stupid.
