Thread: New Pay System

The Pentagon announced yesterday that 60,000 civil service employees working at Defense Department bases across the country have been selected for the first phase of a new pay and personnel system.

Congress approved creation of the National Security Personnel System last year after Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld testified that the Pentagon needs more flexibility in how it pays and deploys civil service employees.

Spiral One, as the Pentagon calls the launch of the NSPS, will roll out in three phases over 18 months, starting in July. By the time Spiral One is finished, about 300,000 Defense civil service employees will have left the decades-old General Schedule pay schedule for a performance-based system that will revamp how they are paid, promoted and disciplined.

The department has 746,000 civil service employees, and most of those not included in Spiral One will shift to the NSPS in Spiral Two. The timing of that shift will hinge on an evaluation of the first wave of conversions and whether adjustments are required.

The Pentagon estimates the new system will be in full operation by January 2008.

The Spiral One announcement drew criticism from the United DOD Workers Coalition, a group of 36 unions that represent Defense employees. Matt Biggs, the coalition spokesman, said the announcement created unease among union members because "we have no clue what this NSPS is going to look like."

Pentagon officials have said the new system will revamp pay, performance management, employee appeals and labor relations, but they have not spelled out details that would allow employees to judge how they might fare under the new system.

In a news release yesterday, the Pentagon said proposed regulations for the NSPS "will appear in the Federal Register this winter." After a public comment period, "the department will develop more specific implementing regulations" next year, the release said.

The Pentagon, in the news release, said the department decided to announce the first wave of participants at this time in order to provide ample planning time for Defense organizations to "look ahead to help prepare DoD employees for the conversion. This will include training in what are called 'soft skills,' such as interpersonal communication, team building, and conflict management, to help people adjust to the change."

The Office of Personnel Management has worked with the Pentagon on the design of the new system and George Nesterczuk, a senior adviser to OPM Director Kay Coles James, welcomed yesterday's announcement as a key step in Defense's transition.

Although employees may not know the details of how their occupation is paid on a new salary scale, the department can provide generic information about "pay bands," performance ratings and other aspects of the NSPS that will speed the transition next year, Nesterczuk said.

"When the details and regulations come out, there will be much less for the workforce to absorb," he said.

Bush administration officials have signaled interest in moving more agencies off the General Schedule and into systems in which management has more discretion over pay decisions. Nesterczuk noted that Defense and the Department of Homeland Security are undergoing workplace transformations, adding "we intend to bring that experience to other government agencies downstream. It is part of the big plan."

Navy Secretary Gordon England, who oversees the NSPS, announced the changes yesterday. The Pentagon's Web site posted lists, by state, of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and other defense organizations selected for Spiral One.

Most employees selected for the transition work under the General Schedule, a 15-grade pay and classification system that primarily covers white-collar workers. Yesterday's announcement did not include any Defense employees covered by the Wage Grade, or blue-collar, system.

The first phase includes Defense civilians in the Washington area who work for the major military services and for Pentagon agencies. The lists, for example, includes employees who work at Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County, Fort Myer in Arlington, Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and the Maryland naval bases at Indian Head, Patuxent River and Saint Inigoes.

"We will gain experience with the procedures we put in place, and I am counting on you to provide feedback in identifying any improvements as we implement the system to the entire workforce," Mary Lacey, the program executive officer for NSPS, told Spiral One employees yesterday.