Comment Number: OL-10507541
Received: 3/14/2005 12:15:19 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:

As seen in the change of retirement system back in the early 1980's from CSRS to FERS, foundational changes to Federal Government are NEVER, NEVER, made to benefit the Employee. Every person in the old CSRS system is much better off than the new FERS program. Every person I have spoken to is glad they are in the old system, or wish they were not in FERS. Or how about the Medicare tax! I pay $53.23 a pay period and am not even eligble for the benefits. No choice in the matter, oh by the way lets see how we can s____ the Federal Employees, take another little chunk from them!!!!!!!!!!!! The performance appraisal process has been grinded up a few times in my 30 years of service, and the changes never really seemed to be effective in measuring individuals performance. The biggest concern is that a supervisor can have a direct impact on your salary,,,,,,that is not a fair labor practice. Whoever is reading this knows that sometime in their career they had a supervisor that they did not get along with (which has nothing to do with job performance), now that supervisor can adversely affect your standard of living. I foresee many law suits in the future filed by employees who's standard of living has been affected directly by a supervisor, due to an unfair and subjective evaluation. Along with this completly new personnel system comes hidden (fine print stuff) that no one knows about that can be even more damaging to an employee. So high level management wants to recruit and retain highly skilled people, yet wants to pay a college graduate GS-11 wages. You want professional's yet you want to pay them lower wages, and oh by the way (now) if you don't perform you get no pay raise to an already low salary,,,,,,,,thats a way to retain and recruit. I also retain the 5 point veterans preference, and really have no idea how that will be affected in a RIF or merit promotion. As a veteran I strongly object to any changes to the personnel system that would increase my chances of becoming unemployed, or decrease my chances of a promotion. The delema that has been around for years and years when balancing senority and job performance, this is not new. Private sector has been doing it for years, individuals with long careers getting close to retirement have been replaced by younger college graduates willing to take a lesser salary. They find a way to get rid of the employee in order to not have to pay retirement benefits to a person who has earned them by a long dedicated career. The Federal Government has always been a preferred place of employment due to certain guaranteed rights or priviledges, this is being taken away, or making Government employment less attractive. Every agency wants to reward high performers, but just because a person is at the end of a long career and cannot keep up with the younger workforce does not mean you need to change the whole personnel system. SUMMARY: Until the system is implemented and execution starts it is difficult to guess what type of adverse affect it will have on individuals,,,one thing you can count on, IT WILL!!!! But just like inflation, the little increase of salary (we sometimes get) is already consumed by numerous things. Why don't you revise the current personnel system keeping some of the foundational principles Government Service use to guarantee us. It seems the baby is going out with the bath water. Maybe you could point out to me a change to Federal Government employment policies that have benefited me as an employee. Its always about the "SYSTEM", and how to attempt to make the Government better, its never about the employee or how to make life a little more managable, and the workplace a better place to work. Go ahead,,,,,,,,,take another little chunk out of us,,,,,,,,,what choice do we really have anyway&^#@$^&^#$@%^@$^$