| Comment Number: | EM-001258 |
| Received: | 2/20/2005 11:22:00 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 20, 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 3 1/2 years as a DOD civil servant and spent 20 years on active duty. I am angry that these proposals seem to treat civil service employees who help defend our country as the enemy. Of my 20 years active duty, I had the opportunity to work closely with civil servants for 17. Most DoD employees work hard and are committed. I believe that mistreating the employees will hurt the agency?s mission and ultimately the Nations defense. I am very upset by NSPS. This system will change the way workers are represented, paid, evaluated, promoted, fired, scheduled, and treated. These rules would create a system in which federal managers may be influenced by favoritism rather than serving the civil concerns of the American people and National Defense. 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, with NSPS this certainty will be take away; DoD will be funding salaries and bonuses. 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, or workplace safety issues. Furthermore, there will be no impartial appeal system to assure that everyone is treated fairly. The whole deal smacks of ?Union Busting?. 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 and I did for twenty years worldwide; now, my personal obligations are at home. I signed up for a civil service job, at a location of my choosing. I did not reenlist in the military. 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 soldiers, sailors and airmen?s welfare to protecting themselves from abuse on the job. I urge you to force DoD to rethink this proposal. We need defined work rules that preserve fairness, serve the American people, and respect the rights of Defense Department workers; not ambiguity that smacks of "We'll make the rules up as we go along?. Sincerely,