Comment Number: OL-10502679
Received: 3/2/2005 3:18:24 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:

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. I have worked for DoD for 5 years, and I have served in the Army for 21 years prior to civil service. I am concerned that these proposals seem to threaten the employees who help defend our country and takes away from retaining the best and most qualified personnel within the Department of Defense. I am proud to have served in the Army, and to continue to serve my country, and the American people. It is my feeling that any damage to this country is going to come from within. These types of changes seem to be a good start at that final out come. Destroy the Department of Defense from within. This system will change the way workers are paid, evaluated, promoted, fired, hired, scheduled, and treated within the work place. These rules would create a system in which federal managers are influenced by favoritism, racism and buddy, or good old boy system rather than serving the civil concerns of the American people. The General Schedule pay was clear and assured. NSPS will take away this certainty. How can employees feel confident that our salaries and jobs be secured in a Friend of the Supervisor Pay System that 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 type system would force team members to compete with one another for pay raises, which will destroy teamwork, and increase conflict among employees. There is no guarantee that even the best workers will receive a pay raise or that it is fair or competitive. There will be no impartial appeal system to assure that everyone is treated fairly, or even be able to express your concerns, and afraid to speak out about harassment, workplace misconduct, violations of the law, or have any conflict with your supervisor without sufficient assurance of not being fired. Just because they can. What is to stop a manager from firing an employee, just to open up a place for a family member that is not even qualified to fill that position? Part of the challenge is to guaranty a fair appraisal of an employee’s performance of the same tasks and not a supervisor’s opinion of that person. Under classification gives the manager more flexibility to assign employees new or different work. This allows your supervisor to assign tasks that you are not trained for, and can evaluate you on those tasks. Currently they are required to establish performance goals and expectations that are tied to the mission. With this change they can mandate to you without any input or appeal form the employee. Reduction in force with this change will give management greater emphasis on performance that they have given to a select group over seniority in retention. Therefore, if other employees are not given the opportunity to work on special projects that could influence their performance rating they could become an underachiever without any chance to prove their worth. And this change establishes new hiring authorities; use direct hire from the private sector for shortage/ critical needs which will give the supervisor the ability to fire to hire anyone of there choosing, even those that are not qualified for that job. I’m sure everyone’s primary concern with the implementation a system that is going to safeguard all parties and the Nation. This is the purpose of the National Security.