| Comment Number: | OL-10510847 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 12:25:26 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:
As drafted, the proposed NSPS regulations do not provide sufficent protection for disabled employees or employees injured on the job. NSPS has a systemic issue that ignores ADA and FECA rights. NSPS penalizes injured or disabled employees due to their injuries or disabilities. MSPB inital jurisdiction removal places injured or disabled employees at risk to management control. The performance emphasis for pay assumes that performance is completely within the employee control. Acting out, assumed behavior issues, misunderstood behavior is assumed to be not team work oriented when in fact it may be due to job or work related injuries. If the deficit is preemployment then it ADA covered as well as FECA covered protection that NSPS removes. NSPS directly causes reduced compensation due to injury or disability. Performance measurement that does not place an adjustment floor at the pay pool average adjustment for the injured or disabled. This is discrimination. NSPS does not protect disabled or injured employees from discrimination due to performance deficits due to injury or disability. The lack of protection is in fact de facto discrimination on the basis of the injury and/or disability i.e. the source of reduced performance or capability. NSPS does not protect injured or disabled employees from retaliation, management lawyers are free to remind employees they can be fired in "safe harbor" alternative dispute resolution sessions. Removing MSPB as the point of inital appeal places the protection of the injured and disabled employees entirely within the realm of management control. The injured and disabled employee no longer has an orginial jurisdiction that is independant of management for protection. NSPS places veterns preference at risk. Injured or disabled veterns have no protection from discrimination on the basis of their injury or disabliity. Thus injured or disabled veterns will see their rights for employment, fair compensation and retention protected under ADA, FECA and Veterns Acts at risk or threatened. I know these risks to be real. I am a current disabled NAVSEA employee that has filed a discrimination complaint within the NAVSEA Acquistion Demo Program. I was injured while employed by NAVSEA and required the use of MSPB to regain employment. Current management has reduced my future compensation due to reduced performance caused by job related injuries that are current disablilities. I was threaten with termination by a NAVSEA lawyer during a "safe harbor" alternative dispute resolution.