| Comment Number: | OL-10511287 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 2:54:10 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:
Have been in Federal Service for more than 30 years. During this time, have had a number of good supervisors and a number of bad ones. Under President Carter, he also wanted the supervisors to have more say in employees being hired and fired. The result was that Performance Appraisals became more important, and are used in the Reduction In Force process. There are times when appraisals seem to be more subjective than objective, and have seen where management found a way to drive a good or bad employee out of the system and no due process. With this new system, am worried that management has more direct control with fewer protections for the good employee. There have been a number of supervisors I have had that should never have need in their position, and would have suffered if they decided my pay. The good supervisors would have been fine, and they would reward the employee fairly. Until there are better methods of chosing, training, and checking on supervisors, there will continue to be problems with letting them determine employee salaries. There needs to be some system to rate supervisors. It seems that employee polls rate supervisors as one of the largest problems. Too many do not treat employees fairly or even know what they are doing, or what work is suppose to be done. Have not seen anything in this new proposal that would ensure that supervisors are fair, reliable, ensure that work is accomplished, and take care of good employees. Believe that in this day and age, one of the factors of Federal Service is employee loyality, whereas the private sector does not have this loyality as the employee can be fired today due to not enough work and rehired next week when the work load picks up. Loyality is a two way street. Agree that the hiring process is too slow and cumbersome, most of that is due to senior leadership deciding to centralize and the process at personnel, not the current employment system. Not sure that the pay system is outdated, new is not always better. Most places I have worked have not been hampered by "rigid, inflexible rules", and most government workers have made adjustments when necessary to accomplish the task, if they believed in the task. Too often management has decided to do something quickly or in the wrong manner, then wonder they the employees are not willing to suffer big inconveniences to cater to management's desire, when the work could have been done at a more normal pace, and correctly, costing the taxpayer much less money.