| Comment Number: | EM-023191 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 10:29:58 AM |
| 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:
Department of Defense Bradley Bunn Dear Department of Defense Bunn, I feel the proposed National Security Personnel System (NSPS) regulations will undermine the civil service. You're hurting Defense Department employees' ability to acheive their personal and agency's mission. Please delay final implementation until the proper steps have been taken to effectively involve the elected representatives of Defense Department workers. Subpart B Classification - Section 9901.201 to 99901.231 Replacing the current government job classifications by grouping them into a few occupational categories with pay being set in "bands" means that individual employees will be unable to appeal these newly-classified positions or the broad range of duties under the revised categories to a neutral arbitrator. Subpart C Pay, Sections 9901.301 to 9901.373 Defense Department employees should must be allowed to receive the same annual pay and across-the-board adjustment that other GS/FWS workers receive. Individual pay increases for performance in the regulations should include guaranteed percentages. This enables employees to understand the pay system and what their pay increase will be depending on their performance. Subpart D Performance Management - 9901.401 to 9901.409 Fairness and accuracy are at stake, Defense Department employees should be able to appeal any performance rating to an independent grievance and arbitration process as they can do now. Subpart E Staffing and Employment - 9901.501 to 9901.516 Allowing the Defense Department to arbitrarily develop and administer new rules on staffing and employment and replacing long standing regulations that have not been available for public comment . This is especially troubling given the proposal to engage in non-citizen hiring to positions within NSPS. Our national security would surely be put at risk if Defense Department managers were able to exercise such hiring flexibilities. Subpart F Workforce Shaping - 9901.6012 to 9901.611 The Defense Department should not change the current layoff/RIF rules, which give balanced credit to performance and the employees' valuable years of committed service. Subpart G Adverse Actions - 9901.701 to 9901.810 Due process and fairness demand that the independent body reviewing major suspensions and terminations be allowed to alter the proposed penalty if it deems deem the penalty to be unreasonable. Current standards previously approved by the courts should be continued. Subpart H Appeals - Section 9901.801 to 9901.810 Over 25 years worth of case law will be discarded, where those precedents conflict with NSPS. This will eliminate the use of the Douglas factors, which third parties used to mitigate or overturn agency-imposed penalties. Subpart I Labor-Management Relations - 9901.901 to 9901.929 The labor-management law that has governed the employees' right to organize and engage in collective bargaining has worked well since 1978. There is no compelling reason to take away most of the collective bargaining rights or grievance rights. The Defense Department should not create a "company-dominated dispute board." Any dispute board must be jointly selected by management and the union. Please believe me as I myself am experiencing the same unbearable changes causing more and more government workers to work under an iron thumb which waivers with each political change. Sincerely,