| Comment Number: | OL-10510206 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 7:46:44 AM |
| 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:
As a manager with DoD, I understand the need to streamline the civilian personnel system. However, as both a manager & an employee with DoD & a non-DoD agency for many years, I am also very concerned about lessening the appeal rights of employees in adverse action situations. I have seen employees adversely affected over the years simply because of personality disagreements with their supervisors. As a manager, I have been put under undue pressure to fire an employee simply because he had seen a counselor because of stress. (I refused to do this, as there was no legitimate reason to take any adverse action, much less removal.) These types of things can happen anywhere. But, some (clearly NOT the majority nor even a large minority, but unfortunately, a minority that impacts the workforce & DoD work), some in the military seem to think that this is a fiefdom in which they have complete control to do anything, including discriminate against employees. (I have been told, when I have pointed out that certain comments were sexual harassment) that they were not because he was the commander & so, as such, he would decide what was sexual harassment, even though I was showing him the AIr Force pamphlet that clearly defined those statements as sexual harassment. Therefore, because of this small minority of people who abuse their power, I worry that lessening the appeal rights will only reinforce their actions & intimidate others from coming forward to provide true statements about what occurred because of the threat of reprisal to themselves. Therefore, these unlawful actions will likely increase. Unsafe situations may be ignored & so continue because people may become afraid to point out the problems. More efficient ways to do the job or to obtain better results will be ignored if the employee fears that the supervisor will take action against them because the suggestion was not the supervisor's suggestion or the suggestion was to do a way different than the supervisor had suggested. In the long run, this will then adversely hurt DoD from properly performing its duties. Therefore, I recommend that the appeal procedures not be lessened & that employees still be afforded the same degree of appeal as they currently have.