| Comment Number: | EM-001245 |
| Received: | 2/22/2005 12:16:04 PM |
| Subject: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Title: | National Security Personnel System |
| CFR Citation: | 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
February 22, 2005 DoD NSPS Comments , DoD NSPS Comments: I write to express my concerns about changes to work rules in the Department of Defense (DoD). The proposed regulations, known as the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), were printed in the Federal Register on February 14, 2005. This message will be sent to both DoD and my representatives in Congress. I have worked for DoD for 17 years and the federal service for a total of 23 years. I am angry that these proposals seem to treat the employees who help defend our country as the enemy. Most DoD employees work hard and are committed. I believe that mistreating the employees will hurt the agency?s mission. I am very upset by NSPS. This system will change the way workers are paid, evaluated, promoted, fired, scheduled, and treated. These rules would create a system in which federal managers are more influenced by favoritism rather than serving the civil concerns of the American people. Which happens to be the most prevalent flaw in the current system that is not being attempted to be corrected. NSPS effectively promotes an increase of corruption in the management of the federal workforce. The greatest disadvantage of the current personnel system is the poor training and lack of accountability of supervisory and managerial employees. NSPS will provide increased authority to those same individuals in management who currently unfairly and inappropriately exercise their power over their subordinates. Annual Pay Raises Under the General Schedule and FWS, employee pay was clear. It was funded by Congress and could not be taken away. However, NSPS will take away this certainty. Salaries and bonuses are funded by DoD. In the past ? as recently as just last year ? DoD did not fund its awards program. Given the agency?s miserable record on this issue, how can employees feel confident that our salaries and bonuses will be funded in the future? ?Friend of the Supervisor? Pay System With the new patronage pay system, which DoD calls ?pay for performance,? the amount of a worker's salary will depend almost completely on the personal judgment of his or her manager. This system will force workers to compete with one another for pay raises, which will destroy teamwork, increase conflict among employees, and reward short-term outcomes. There is no guarantee that even the best workers will receive a pay raise or that the pay offered will be fair or competitive. This system will create a situation in which workers are in conflict with one another and afraid to speak out about harassment, violations of the law, and workplace safety problems. Furthermore, there will be no impartial appeal system to assure that everyone is treated fairly. As an employee in the trenches; it is my opinion that managers and supervisors are consistently permitted to treat employees unfairly. When found to have done so, through the current review system, managers and supervisors are not held accountable for their inappropriate actions. NSPS increases the ability for managers to inappropriately punish and reward employees based on personal biases instead of "performance". Schedules and Overtime NSPS will allow managers to schedule employees to work without sufficient advance notice of schedule changes. This will make it extremely difficult for working parents to care for their children and family. It will also mean that abusive managers could harass employees with bad schedules or short notice. Overtime rotations can be canceled, which means that employees may not be able to plan adequately for childcare and other important responsibilities. Civilian Deployment Federal employees could be assigned anywhere in the world, even into a war zone, with little or no notice. I am proud to serve my country but I am also responsible for caring for my family and my personal obligations at home. We signed up for a civilian job. We did not enlist in the military. Today?s volunteer system works well. America is at war. We are fighting for democracy abroad. But the regulations are an attack on workers? basic rights. Furthermore, NSPS will divert the attention of defense workers from the soldiers? welfare to protecting themselves from abuse on the job. I urge you to force DoD to rethink this proposal. We need work rules that preserve fairness, serve the American people, and respect the rights of Defense Department workers. The proposed NSPS personnel system will take the federal workforce and public service back in history to a time preceding the development of the Federal Civil Service. The proposed plan will reinstate an empire enterprise system that empowers a few to reward employees who personally benefit the supervisor in power and punish those who challenge or otherwise fail to reward their superior(s). Just one example of the flaws that will be further exploited in NSPS is a current investigation being conducted regarding a supervisor in the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWCDD). The supervisor is being investigated for allegedly misappropriating funds to the benefit of a contractor, which this supervisor happens to maintain a private business relationship. This same supervisor also has allegedly provided subordinate employees gifts, paid out of government funds, approved excessive questionable overtime, and provided cash awards all to encourage employees in keeping quiet about the appearance of inappropriate business conduct. This conduct has likely been on going for several years, so the fact that it has finally surfaced for investigation does not support any claim that the current system prevents such action. More likely someone couldn't be paid off and reported the concern outside of the local investigative sources. NSPS, as it is proposed, will degrade the federal service and increase the potential for corruption through elimination of checks and balances of power. Therefore, the proposed NSPS is NOT in the best interest of the American, taxpaying, public. Please refuse to implement this devastation to our government service.