| Comment Number: | EM-023000 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 1:27:22 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 16, 2005 DoD NSPS Comments , DoD NSPS Comments: I'm writing to express my concerns about changes to the Department of Defense (DoD) personnel system. 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 been a federal employee for over 27 years. While I definitely see a need to make some changes, I don't see the need to pit one employee against the other in an effort to survive in the system. The only change I believe we need is a better way to handle 'uphappy, trouble' employees. These are the employees that float along in the system, passed from one organization to another to "get rid" of them. Most DoD employees work hard and are committed. I believe the new system will hurt our mission. I'm very upset by NSPS, one reason being the lack of details. This system will change the way workers are paid, evaluated, promoted, fired, scheduled, and treated and a lot of our questions are being answered with "that hasn't been decided yet." These rules would create a system in which federal managers are influenced by favoritism and no matter how much training is given the mindset of most managers will not change. While "proposed" changes to the pay schedule and appraisals are available and some of the details required to keep your own job, there is no mention anywhere of how we will compete for other jobs. Will everyone within a "pay band" get to compete for a new position? Where now you usually have to have one year in grade to compete for a higher grade, how will that work when multiple grades are put in one band? Under the current General Schedule employee pay was clear. It was funded by Congress and could not be taken away. However, the "pool" that we will be competing for has not been explained sufficiently. Are we at the mercy of the President (as with our COLA) to decide if we are worthy. How can employees feel confident that our salaries and bonuses will be funded in the future? With the new ?pay for performance,? the amount of a worker's salary will depend almost completely on the personal judgment of his or her manager. What happens to the employee who is an excellent employee for 25 years, and then gets struck down with an illness (say cancer). Are you doomed to receive the lowest appraisal, no pay raise, or possible loss of pay while you fight for your health because you were on leave or unable to participate/perfom to your fullest as in the previous year? Several charts speak of longevity as a dirty word, and I am totally insulted by that. How about employees who are in training positions? Are they doomed as well because they aren't the top performers? 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 may no longer have the best interests of their co-workers in mind. If your manager is "layed back and do as he's told" and not especially one to "go and get em," do the employees suffer as a result when it comes time to divide up the pool? Many more individual situations come to mind and none bode well with me to depend on one person for my welfare. It really feels like the current administration wants to turn us into contractors - constantly competing and in fear we may not be "playing" the pay for performance game correctly. And finally, what accountability for the managers has been set in place? Will managers be required to post everyone?s appraisal results somewhere so you know where you were classified within your office? Do we rely on the rumor mill to find out if we need to compete more effectively? Or if the bosses? smoking/golfing buddy got the biggest pay increase? And do these increases qualify you for a promotion to the next pay band? We?ve had one presentation on 2 Mar 05, with no questions allowed. Other than an email from our OC-ALC commander and a brief mention in her State of the ALC address at a luncheon on 8 Mar 05 (again no questions allowed), we?ve been on our own to decifer the huge NSPS document. Employees without computer access are just out of luck I guess. Sincerely,