| Comment Number: | EM-010801 |
| Received: | 3/2/2005 8:41:14 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 2, 2005 DoD NSPS Comments , DoD NSPS Comments: I am writing to express my deep concerns about changes to the work rules in the Department of Defense (DoD) that will remove the checks and balances in our current system, allowing discretionary powers that can only result in abuses. 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 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 influenced by favoritism rather than serving the civil concerns of the American people. In the area of labor-management relations, NSPS tilts the playing field so extremely twoard management that it opens the door to abuses of power. Abuses of power can adversely affect employee morale, endanger the public that is serviced by this department, and waste the public's money. 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. Public employees are proud to serve our country, but they are also responsible for caring for their families and personal obligations. Subpart G states that the Secretary has the sole, exclusive and unreviewable discretion to identify mandatory removal offenses and to mitigate their penalities. It also states that the department can remove employees for additional offenses. Essentially, it appears that the department can remove employees for any offense of its choosing. This offers no protection to employees, or to the public they serve, against abuses of power. Subpart H states that the department has the sole, exclusive and unreviewable discretion to determine whether an employee's return to the workplace is impracticable or unduly disruptive; that a department's action cannot be reversed based on the way the charge is labeled or the conduct characterized. This unnecessarily and unfairly limits the employee's rights. It provides no protection against exaggerated, obfuscated, and mislabeled charges, and does not guarantee the employee the sufficient information to prepare a defense. This subpart goes on to state that the department's determination regarding penalties will be given great deference and cannot be modified unless it is wholly without justification. In other words, if a penalty is wrong and quite substantially without justification, it cannot be mitigated while the slightest kernel of justification exits. This also places the burden of proof on the employee, where it does not belong. 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,