| Comment Number: | OL-10505124 |
| Received: | 3/10/2005 3:05:21 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 believe the proposed NSPS is excessive and will undermine the Civil Service and hurt the mission of the DoD employees. A few of my main concerns are: A. Labor Relations – Subpart I 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. DoD should not create a “company dominated” dispute board. Any dispute board must be jointly selected by management and the Unions. B. Performance Management – Subpart D The proposed system repeats many of the current system’s themes, except it eliminates procedural safeguards. Federal agencies have been struggling to attain credible performance systems for decades. Nothing in this proposal suggests that DoD will be able to avoid the current credibility problems which will become even more pronounced when linking employee pay to their performance ratings. C. Employee Appeals – Subpart H It is unfair to eliminate the right of a union to submit serious adverse actions imposed against bargaining unit employees to an arbitrator. It is unfair to reduce an employer’s burden of proof in adverse actions cases to a standard that would require DoD’s decisions to be upheld even if they are more likely than not to have been improper. It is unfair to impose a higher standard of review for an employee to prevail in a grievance challenging a performance rating, which is used as a determinant of an employee’s pay under the new system. D. Pay and Pay Administration – Subpart C The pay-for-performance system does not provide an equitable method for appraising and compensating employees. It is unfair and will become political tools of the supervisors to reward their friends and punish their enemies. I suggest that the proposed NSPS regulations be withdrawn, and a more thorough and collaborative process be initiated between management and labor representatives.