| Comment Number: | OL-10502933 |
| Received: | 3/3/2005 1:31:01 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:
Intro: The government is trying to save money at the expense of the employees. Part of the stability is the knowledge that if you perform satisfactorily, you will receive a step increase even if your boss is lazy or unfair. It's easier to not write a good appraisal than to take the effort to give people a fair evaluation. Sometimes people are good politicians, but their work is done poorly. No one notices until they leave, but they won awards right and left. I don't believe in gold brickers, but honest hard work. Unfortunately, this isn't a perfect world so extra steps need to be in place to protect the honest hard worker. Evaluation Ratings and Pay: What happens if you end up with a supervisor that is never satisfied. I had a military supervisor that rated me mid-stream even if all my past evaluations were rated outstanding. I requested my evaluation to be reviewed for a more fair assessment, but the commander was not civilian oriented and didn't see any value so the rating remained. There were no controls in place to ensure civilians got a fair rating, but the military bend over backwards to find something good to write for their appraisals simply because they can not give a bad evaluation (reflects poorly on the supervisor/commander). Every evaluation after I left the supervisor has been rated outstanding with awards. The plus side was I still received my step increases because she had no documentation to rate me below satisfactory, she just didn't have to do any extra work to rate higher than a satisfactory. I'm in the contracting field. Most of my career has been spent in Systems or Operational. These areas are not valued as much as Specialized. I fear me and my comrades will not be treated fairly. Deployments: I briefly reviewed the document and didn't find where civilians would be expected to go out in the field, but have read union feedbacks that state we would with the new requirements. I am a civilian worker, that is why I didn't stay in the military. I have family responsibilties with a spouse that works a traveling job. If I am deployed, my spouse risks losing his job. As I've become older, I also have medical problems that would make it difficult for me to be in field conditions, but I am able to perform my professional responsibilities at the work place. Would it be fair to rate me lower because I am not deployable? To me this is age discrimination. We already have enough stress covering for deployed members. The military take home grand paychecks with free health insurance, tax free benefits even if they don't deploy, and retirement within 20 years. My daughter made $100 less than me within 3 years as an Enlisted member while I had 18 years in civil service as a GS-11. My position requires a Bachelor's degree while her job only required on the job training. Where's the equity if we are expected to deploy and should we be short changed because we are not able due to family obligations or health reasons? Someone has to hold down the fort at work. Isn't the children/family important? Should our pay be penalized since we pick up the slack while others deploy? Age Discrimination: We need consideration for age and longevity. Would you want to be put out on the street at age 60 with 25 years of service because you aren't as fast as your younger counterparts coupled with disappearing Social Security? The consolation prize is you have over 20 years and meet the age requirements. What if you are trying to save for your retirement to not be a burden on society and your children? If there tends to be a run for the older personnel to end up shorted on their pay or lose jobs from a RIF, several lawsuits will eminent. Conclusion: Civilians are an important part of the civil service whether we work from home or in a deployed situation. We are important whether we have 5 years or 25 years. I want to be paid fairly and feel I was measured fairly against my counterparts.