| Comment Number: | OL-10512207 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 11:42:26 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:
SUBPART H: APPEALS. Section 9901.807 (k)(3): The proposed regulations concerning discovery should be deleted. Currently, the Agency must provide to the Board the full file upon which it based its decision. It is the first thing the Agency has to do in a response. This is not reiterated any place in the proposed regulations. DOD appears to be introducing new limitations on discovery. It can limit the discovery response if it believes that a request is “privileged, not relevant .....or the information can be secured from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive.” This, along with the proposal that “discovery can also be limited through a motion if the burden or expense of providing a response outweighs the benefit is unnecessary”, is too limiting and may be easily abused. The proposed regulations regarding depositions are also unnecessary and should be deleted. Depositions are very expensive to conduct and parties will not usually hold them unless they are truly necessary. Two depositions is an arbitrary cut off number. Fact patterns can be complicated and a party may need more than two depositions to obtain an accurate understanding of the matter at issue. Discovery is also helpful to develop settlement options.