| Comment Number: | OL-10509052 |
| Received: | 3/15/2005 12:22:29 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:
My comments are general in nature and I wish to express my alarm about how this system will set us back 50 years. Many of the changes to the Civil Service System that have evolved into protections for federal employees will be done away with. I'm appalled to learn that so much power will be given back to management, since the potential for abuse is so great. Historically, if not held in check by a system such as the one now in place, abuse of authority eventually becomes the norm. It is especially dangerous in today's business climate, where there is so little regard for ethical standards. I shudder to think what it will do to the careers of women in male-dominated fields, who may eventually regress to being paid less than males for doing the exact same job, just as happens in private industry. Although abuse of the system by employees does exist, it is minimal when compared to the majority of federal employees, who are devoted workers and who are ready to serve their country when they are called to perform above and beyond their regular duties. Performance-based pay is a wonderful idea, but not at the expense of the protections that have served federal employees so well all these years. NSPS will mostly benefit those in power and their favorites. The present system is not a perfect system, but just like our form of government, it is the best around and the American people would be better served by making changes to it, rather than by doing away with it. I consider it extremely unfair of those in charge of the program to try to put it in place without having all the initial plans spelled out. It is obvious that they want to keep us in the dark about what will happen in certain areas of the system, so that they can force its implementation on us and leave us no recourse when we are faced with the reality of how it will affect us.