| Comment Number: | OL-10509016 |
| Received: | 3/15/2005 12:03:01 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:
I am writing to express my concerns with the proposed NSPS. In theory there is some advantage to a system based on performance and flexibility. As with many theories, the devil is in the details and there are very few details available to DoD employees at this point on which to form an unbiased and unemotional analysis. My main concerns are with the size of the pay bands (undefined), lack of provision for cost of living raises, performance ratings based on one supervisor (a human being) without an acceptable system of recourse and the possibility of being required to move as a condition of employment. Most government workers have families, homes and other responsibilities in an area and being required to move would be a hardship, in some cases causing an experienced employee to quit government service. At the very least there should be some restriction on the number of moves, their frequency and the area (overseas?) where the move will take the employee. Under NSPS the procedure for removing employees with unacceptable performance is a plus providing there is a way to keep personal conflicts from ruling the decision. Because of it being easier to remove employees who are not productive, I believe the remaining employees should be entitled to cost of living increases that are not dependent on having one of the highest rating numbers in the office. Bonuses, although welcome, do not contribute to computation of pension at retirement time. I am also concerned that office politics will become much more important and that some employees will feel forced to tolerate some inappropriate behaviors in order to increase the chance of receiving a higher rating and therefore presumably a higher pay check.