197433

I am a disabled veteran, working as a contractor for the Army. In my agency, there are 3 contractors and 9 GS employees all performing the same duties. Recently, one of the three contractors was offered a GS position and accepted. The supervisor that opened the position has stated that they did not post the job and did not have to because the had "direct hire authority". I've since learned that DHA does not grant the authority to hire someone in lieu of allowing for other applicants to compete for the position. I have reason to believe that it was done this way to guarantee the position to the person whom it was offered, because the supervisor was well aware that I was interested in the position and the most recently fired contractor, was also veterans preference eligible and would have likely applied as well. The third contractor, inquired with HR about why it wasn't posted and did not receive an email response, however the next morning, the same supervisor called her and told her that it would "be wise not to continue asking questions" and that the raising a complaint "would go nowhere".