| Comment Number: | OL-10500645 |
| Received: | 2/18/2005 11:29:56 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:
February 18, 2005 Hello, I am a new employee to DoD, specifically Tobyhanna Army Depot. Let me tell a little story. Previously, I worked in the private sector at a gas station. I was there for the better part of ten years. In the end I was only making $6.50/hr with no benefits or possibilities of raises. When I did get a raise it would be only 5 or 10 cents every few months. So, if anyone knows how to survive on less it would be me. I did it for two and a half years. When I became employed at the Depot, I was aghast at the amount of money I would be making . I was also amazed at the fact that I was guaranteed a raise after so long as this wasn’t the case with my situation for many years. I don’t plan to change the way I live for a long time; however, as we all know, the more you make, the more you spend. There’s also the matter of the $21,000 student loan, which has been in forbearance and/or deferment for 10 years. Eventually, they will want me to start paying on it, especially when they find out I have a better paying job. At $21,000, that’s a large amount of money out of my check- not to mention all the bills I already have plus anything else they might deduct from my pay (I don’t get paid for a month, so I don’t know). The point of my letter is that I think paybands will be hurtful in the short run and counter productive and unfair in the long run. In my last job I worked 6 or 7 days a week doing everything. I was the highest paid employee they had, and I knew my job inside and out. I’m a damn good worker once I know what I’m doing. However, the learning curve might be longer for me than for another person. I was hired under the handicapped program. Why should my performance be tied to another persons expectations, especially when I may be working to the best of my ability given what I know at the time. There are a lot more things tied to performance than just another person’s expectations. And what happen if your supervisor, for whatever reason, takes a dislike to you? In conclusion, I think the proposed payband is unfair, will be detrimental, hurtful, and counter-productive to the average, hard working employee, and in the long run will undermine the whole hiring process. Sincerely Clint Wirth,Gs-05 supply tech