Comment Number: OL-10507696
Received: 3/14/2005 2:03:27 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:

COMMENTS REGARDING PAY SUBPART C - Pay and Pay Administration General Comments Satisfactory and higher performing employee’s pay could be frozen. Nothing in these regulations prohibit management from freezing the pay of fully successful, highly satisfactory, excellent, or other successful employees. One way to freeze a fully successful employee’s pay is with “control points”, which can be implemented in each pay band to freeze salaries at a certain level. Section 9901.342(d)(3) states: “DoD may provide for the establishment of control points within a band that limit increases in the rate of basic pay. DoD may require that certain criteria be met for increases above a control point.” The regulations also state on page 7560: “An example of such a control point is a requirement for the employee to have achieved the highest performance rating.” If a control point exists that requires employees to receive the highest rating to receive a pay increase, employees who get the 2nd highest rating and lower would receive nothing, and their pay would be frozen, possibly for the rest of their career. Another way that the DoD can freeze satisfactory employee’s pay is by not increasing the minimum rate of a pay band. Section 9901.322(d) states: “DoD may adjust the minimum and maximum rates of a pay band by different percentages. Section 9901.323(a) states: “… employees with a current rating of record above “unacceptable” will receive a percentage increase in basic pay equal to the percentage by which the minimum of their rate range is increased.” If the DoD does not increase the minimum rate of a particular pay band, fully successful employees in that pay band could receive nothing. This is clearly unfair, and would result in distrust of management, decreased morale, and lower productivity, ultimately harming national security. No changes should be made to the current pay system used by DoD agencies until complete and detailed proposals are provided, and a full comment and review period is completed, followed by a full collective bargaining process with the unions representing DoD employees. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS REGARDING PAY (LOCALITY PAY) Subpart C - Pay and Pay Administration Page 7582, Section 9901.333 - Setting and adjusting local market supplements. This section states that DoD has the sole and exclusive discretion to set and adjust local market supplements, which if implemented, will replace the current locality pay system. Currently, locality pay is set and adjusted using salary data and input from OPM, OMB, the Labor Dept., and the Federal Salary Council, which includes employee representatives. This system has, for the most part, resulted in reliable, fair, accurate, and competitive locality pay rates, which have allowed the DoD to hire and retain qualified employees in every job category all across the country. Replacing this reliable system with a sole and exclusive decision by DoD to set local market supplements seems arbitrary, unfair, and irresponsible. It will likely result in uncompetitive pay rates in critical jobs in many areas, decreasing the DoD's ability to retain qualified employees, and impacting national security. I recommend that the current locality pay process be retained to ensure fair, reasonable and competitive pay rates based on valid data.