| Comment Number: | EM-001351 |
| Received: | 2/25/2005 6:19:25 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 25, 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 21 years. I am a GS-14 manger and I am proud of my dedication and service as a civilian employee supporting our national objectives for security and freedom. The 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 influenced by favoritism rather than serving the civil concerns of the American people. I have carefully reviewed the proposed regulation and strongly disagree with DOD's proposed NSPS. Although the stated purpose is to reward performance, once you peel back the rhetoric, it is plainly obvious that the regulations were crafted with the main focus on how to easily penalize, punish, and/or fire employees with minimal checks and balances. Most disconcerting is the provision that "conduct", as well as performance is included as criteria for disciplinary action. At least with performance you can set measurable goals to gage an employee's performance against those metrics. The inclusion of "conduct and "behavior" leaves the door wide open to abuse by poor mangers whom view employee loyalty and subservience as more important than performance and serving the American public. Additionally, I view with extreme concern that the proposed regulations lack details defining the paybands and allocation of resources towards the bands. Without this information DOD civilians cannot make an informed assessment on how the system will impact their compensation and professional opportunities. If you recall, about this time last year DOD tried to shotgun, without public review and comment, a "pay for performance" implementation. Thankfully Congress stopped them. In DOD's initial attempt, they defined the paybands and how the available dollars would be allocated. It was plainly obvious that the system was skewed such that the pool of dollars set aside for those at the highest levels, SESs, would receive the greatest pay benefit. Since the total amount of dollars is fixed, the disproportionate amount set-aside for SESs reduced the amount available for the remaining workforce. I dislike being jaundiced, but one could only conclude that the system was designed by those in charge to reward themselves at the expense of others. The current proposed regulations are no different in that they severely limit employee rights and enable retribution and the potential for abuse by those writing the rules. 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. 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. Sincerely,