| Comment Number: | EM-001331 |
| Received: | 3/1/2005 12:24:07 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:
March 1, 2005 DoD NSPS Comments , DoD NSPS Comments: I am very concerned about the changes in our upcoming personnel system, the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), for the Department of Defense (DoD) employees. Why does everything these days have to be quick and sweeping and work out the details of implementation later? This approach has been in effect since the early 1990s and it has been detrimental to our military members? pay and subsequently affecting their families. Now you are going to affect the civilian government workers and their families. There are so many people out of work and struggling to make ends meet. Especially young kids and we are trying to support them and help them. I guess your plan is to kill people in the process of trying to implement systems and programs without thorough analysis and testing. You don?t just say ?do this? and establish a timeline and then expect it to happen exactly as you planned and in the timeframe you established. Nothing, absolutely nothing, gets done within unrealistic timeframes accurately. I?m not saying everything has to be totally accurate, but at least with enough accuracy that it isn?t too painful. I have worked for the federal government for 28 years. I served in the military and was a civilian supervisor for many years. I received awards as a supervisor and was recognized for many accomplishments in these 28 years, as I completed one highly visible project after another. In the old days, we were given enough time to analyze requirements and test systems, parallel, modify requirements, etc.? but that is never done today? talked about? but never done. A sound methodology works for systems and programs alike. Thorough analysis, time to implement, analysis along the way, modifying where necessary, testing, admitting mistakes where mistakes were made, etc. No one wants to operate this way anymore. They want everything yesterday and will never admit that anything was wrong until it is too late! If you don?t read anything else, please read this: You are playing with people?s lives! People who have dedicated their lives to serve and support the government. There are still a lot of problems with Homeland security and their personnel problems. I understand some changes should be made. As a supervisor, it is frustrating to deal with all of the paperwork and effort required to "fire" a non-performer, but it has been done. If there is a problem with a non-performer, it is the supervisor?s responsibility to do something about it. This is where you have the problem, so fix that part of the system! Make it easier but don?t give the supervisor total control over their employee?s salary and lives! There are a lot of supervisors that should not be supervisors for a number of reasons; they bully, they harass, they already think they are invincible and know everything (when they really don't have a clue about everything you do) and now you are going to put those people in positions of great power! If you aren?t a so-called friend of that supervisor, you better start looking for another job, and this might not be the best thing for the government. We have lost so many people. We are now doing the work of 3 or more, as we have downsized. Now if you think the agency/government can afford to lose that person who is doing a great job of 3 people but the supervisor dislikes that person, well go ahead and put them in power. You may say that this is a rare instance, but I am telling you that it isn?t. The people who are the bullies had the ambition to make it to the top and they made it many years ago? and these people don?t want to leave the government.. and there is nothing that is going to make them leave. There is no guarantees 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. However, I believe the supervisor?s should make more money. They have to put up with more conflict; they are squeezed between the employee and upper management. They have to deal with problems from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed. 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. Why has the government worked so hard for so many years to put legislation in place to help people care for families and now we are going to go backwards? Please rethink this proposal and implement change slowly. My recommendations would be to give the supervisor?s more pay but also make them do their jobs and follow procedures to "fire" the non-performers. But don?t give them total control of their employee?s pay and lives! Sincerely,