| Comment Number: | OL-10509115 |
| Received: | 3/15/2005 1:00:54 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'm neither for or against the implementation of NSPS; however, I am concerned with how the initial conversion and pay bands will be set-up. I am a GS-12 supervisor, Step 6. My location is set to convert to NSPS in January 2006 and I am due a Step 7 increase in April 2006. At what pay step will I start? Additionally, the pay bands within the Federal Register are not very clear regarding existing grades. Will the pay bands be based on your existing grade, with categories of development, worker, expert, supervisor within that grade band or will the pay bands be open with specific work levels identified, in which a current GS-12 supervisor could receive the same pay as a GS-11 or GS-13 supervisor depending upon how rated. As a supervisor, I have always had a problem with an equally graded non-supervisory worker being the paid the same and I do have more concerns with the responsibilities the system will place on supervisors. Currently as a working supervisor the workload expected to be completed is more emphasized than supervisory and/or management relations, thus supervision occurs as needed or as required during feedback and appraisal sessions. If this new system is going to force even more work and accountability on the supervisors, I hope the pay bands are set to compensate appropriately; otherwise, failure of the system, in my opinion, is emminent. Another area of concern I have is with the money pools to support increases within pay bands. I work for a wing level Air Force organization with multiple headquarters on the installation. At the wing level, we are always begging for money to support our missions, but at the headquarters money always seems to be abundant. My concern is at our level each year the money allocated for performance awards is always much less than what our headquarters counterparts receive for the same or similar work. With pay bands, will tight budgeted wings truly get enough money for their pools to allow for fair increases in compensation, and if not, will management pay band recommendations for employees be denied due to funding? Finally, it would have been nice to see actual pay band proposals and figures within the Federal Register to better clarify how the system will work and how it will be set-up for comparisons to existing pay tables. As an example, using NSPS, it would be nice to know if a GS-12 supervisor could be compensated more than a GS-13 worker position, if given a promotion opportunity, assuming the GS-12 supervisor is rated a superior performer?