Comment Number: OL-10512256
Received: 3/17/2005 1:17:13 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:

I wish to express my concerns about changes to work rules in the Department of Defense (DoD). The proposed regulations, known as the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), were printed in the Federal Register on February 14, 2005. This message will be sent to both DoD and my representatives in Congress. I have worked for the Federal Government, including both DOD and non-DOD, for over 20 years. I am very disappointed that these proposals seem to treat the employees who help defend our country as second class.. Most DoD employees work hard and are very committed, many are former U.S. military veterans. I believe that mistreating the employees will hurt the agency’s mission. I am very upset by NSPS. This system will signicantly change the way workers are paid, evaluated, promoted, fired, scheduled, and treated. These rules would create a system in which federal managers are influenced by politics and favoritism rather than serving the public concerns of the American people. Annual Pay Raises Under the General Schedule and FWS, employee pay was clear. It was funded by Congress and could not be taken away. However, NSPS will take away this certainty. Salaries and bonuses are funded by DoD. In the past – as recently as just last year – DoD did not centrally fund its civilian awards program, it was up to each command , some got awards and some didn’t depending on the budget situation Given the DOD’s terrible, miserable record on this issue, how can employees feel confident that our salaries and bonuses will be funded in the future? Political “Friend of the Supervisor” Pay System With the new patronage pay system, which DoD calls “pay for performance,” the amount of a worker's salary will depend almost completely on the personal judgment of his or her manager and office politcs. This system will force workers to compete with one another for pay raises, which will destroy teamwork, increase conflict among employees, 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 cutthroat 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. Furthermore, there will be no impartial appeal system to assure that everyone is treated fairly. In addition, the active duty military will continue to get full tax-free cost of living increases each year while their civilian civil service co-workers will not. Schedules and Overtime NSPS will allow managers to schedule employees to work without sufficient advance notice of schedule changes. This will make it extremely difficult for working parents to care for their children and family. It will also mean that abusive managers could harass employees with bad schedules or short notice. Overtime rotations can be added or canceled, which means that employees may not be able to plan adequately for childcare and other important responsibilities. Civilian Deployment Federal employees could be involuntarily assigned anywhere in the world, even into a war zone, with little or no notice. I am proud to serve my country but I am also responsible for caring for my family and my personal obligations at home. We signed up for a civilian job. We did not enlist in the military. We do not get the benefits the active duty military get, such as tax free base pay in a combat war zone. Change the tax and regulations laws to allow deployed civil service workers to get tax-free base pay, such as we now do for active duty military and contractors in war zones overseas. Today’s volunteer system works well and would work even better if we did this. America is at war. As we are fighting for democracy abroad, the proposed regulations are an attack on DOD civil service workers’ basic rights.