| Comment Number: | OL-10509857 |
| Received: | 3/15/2005 7:39:45 PM |
| Subject: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Title: | National Security Personnel System |
| CFR Citation: | 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 |
| Attachment: | PART 2 - NSPS Comment Submission.doc Download Adobe Reader |
Comments:
PART 1 I wish to express my serious concerns regarding the changes being proposed for DoD employees in the NSPS published in the Federal Register on Feb 14,2005. A copy of this response will also be shared with my Congressional representative. I AM ANGRY that these proposed rules treat me and my fellow DoD employees (who help defend our country) as an enemy! We work hard not only to support our service men & women who put their lives on the line to defend our freedom, but also to defend against fraud, waste & abuse for our country's stakeholders--John & Jane Taxpayer. Pay Raises/Friend of the Supervisor Pay System: Mistreating DoD's employees will not only hurt the mission of the agency, but it will also destroy our ability to remain objective for the interest of the public good. NSPS destroy's objectivity in the way workers are paid, evaluated, promoted, fired, scheduled and treated by creating a system in which federal managers are influenced by favoritism, rather than serving the civil concerns of the American people. DoD employees take an oath to protect & serve the interests of the American people---and with the Civil Service protections we are able to do so independent of whether or not "a cooperative behavior" with regard to Managers' desires were in conflict. Under NSPS our pay checks will be determined by a Manager's subjective opinion as to "my value" toward the "mission". Under the General Schedule (GS), employee pay is funded by Congress and cannot be taken away. However, NSPS will take away this certainty---leaving my livelihood in the hands of the subjective opinion of a single Manager. DoD did not fund its awards program last year, and given the Agency's terrible record on the fairness of the awards, how can we employees feel confident that our salaries and "bonuses" will be funded and distributed fairly in the future?---Even the proposed rules are silent as to HOW. With the new patronage pay system, which DoD calls "pay for performance", the amount of a workers salary will depend almost completely on the personal judgement of his/her manager. This system will force workers to compete with one another for pay raises, which will destroy teamwork and reward short-term outcomes. There is no guarantee that even the best workers will receive a pay raise, or that the pay offered will be fair or competitive. This system will create a situation in which workers are in conflict with one another and afraid to speak out about harassment, violations of the law and workplace safety problems---because it will affect their pay-----follow the purse! The issue will no longer be what's right or wrong, but how much do I want to get paid.