| Comment Number: | OL-10509087 |
| Received: | 3/15/2005 12:42:55 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:
Comment #1: 9901.607(4): Tie breaking procedures are included here as part of the creditable service: "Creditable civilian and/or uniformed service …and 5 U.S.C. 3502(a)(A) and (B). The Department may establish tie-breaking procedures when two or more employees have the same retention standing." Tie Breakers will only be needed if the tenure, vets pref, rating of record AND SCD are all the same. If the SCD is tied, but none of the other retention factors are the same, there is no tie on the retention list (i.e., there is no tie as long as any one of the retention factors is different among competing employees on the retention list). Suggest tie breaking procedures be excluded from 9901.607(4) and be made it its own paragraph (9901.607(5)). Comment #2: 9901.603 & 9901.607(a)(1): The supplement (pg 7563) states categories of employment are simplified in that employees are defined as either career or time-limited. 9901.504 then defines time limited employee as including a term employee. 9901.603 defines Tenure Group as a group of employees with a given appointment type and and identifies that employees are placed in a tenure group then ranked according to retention factors. 9901.603 then defines a competing employee as including an employee on a term appt. Why? If term employees are time-limited just as temp employees are, why are they included among competing employees? To include them as a competing employee for RIF means that if there is a need to let a term employee go before the expiration of their time-limited appointment, they must be let go under RIF procedures. This continues the complicated nature of term appointments. They should be treated the same as any other time-limited appointment or the process under which they are terminated prior to the NTE date should be simplified. Suggest change 9901.603 definition of competing employee to: ""Competing employee means a career employee (including an employee serving an initial probationary period), and other employees as identified in DoD implementing issuances." Change 9901.607(a)(1) to: "Tenure, with career employees (including employees serving an initial probationary period) listed first, followed by other employees as identified in DoD implementing issuances."" Change 9901.608(b)(2) to: ""The Department may not release a competing employee from a retention list that contains a position held by a time-limited employee (e.g., a competitive service temporary position)."