OhMyGov! has received numerous comments from our readers alleging significant problems with the Department of Defense's (DoD) new pay-for-performance system, the National Security Personnel System (NSPS).

On May 22, 2008, DoD and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued proposed joint regulations revising NSPS that will govern how classification, compensation and performance management flexibilities will be implemented through an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in 2008.  These proposed regulations are now open for a 30-day public comment period.

Specifically, the proposed amendment will:

• Bring NSPS under government-wide rules for:
• labor-management relations
• disciplinary and adverse actions and employee appeals of adverse actions
• workforce shaping (reduction in force, furlough, and transfer of function)
• Exclude Federal Wage System (blue collar) employees from coverage under NSPS
• Extend and expands exclusion from NSPS coverage for certain DoD laboratories through October 1, 2011
• Require DoD to collectively bargain when implementing NSPS for DoD bargaining unit employees
• Require advanced congressional notification for OPM/DoD jointly-prescribed NSPS regulations
• Mandate that all employees with a performance rating above "unacceptable" or who do not have current performance rating receive no less than sixty percent of the annual Government-wide General Schedule pay increase (with the balance allocated to pay pool funding for the purpose of rewarding employees with pay increases based on their performance), and
  
• Require that all NSPS employees with a performance rating above "unacceptable," or who do not have current performance rating, receive locality pay in the same manner as General Schedule employees.
  

In addition to making regulation changes resulting from NDAA 2008, additional updates that adjust and clarify other NSPS principles include:

• Enabling NSPS coverage for employees appointed for less than 90 days
• Providing a conversion/movement out process for employees moving to GS positions, to ensure consistent pay setting practices for NSPS employees
• Allowing employees to request reconsideration of an individual job objective rating, in addition to the ability to request reconsideration of the overall final rating of record
• Grandfathering GS pay retention timelines for employees covered by GS grade or pay retention rules at the time of their conversion to NSPS
  

The NSPS proposed regulation may be accessed on the Federal Register .  The public may submit written comments in the next 30 days through two methods:

1. Electronically through the Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov
2. Via mail to: DOD/OPM/NSPS Public Comments, P.O. Box 14474, Washington, DC 20044

Following the 30-day comment period, remarks will be collected, analyzed and considered for incorporation in the regulations. Final publication is anticipated this fall.  For more information, visit the DoD site for their scripted Q&A.

Currently, NSPS covers approximately 180,000 DoD civilian employees.  DoD states NSPS remains on schedule and will continue implementation throughout the department. The next DoD organizations will convert into NSPS in the late 2008 - early 2009 time frame.

Also interesting:

The National Security Personnel System (NSPS): New Insight from our DoD Readers
DoD agency launches investigation in response to OhMyGov! coverage
A lesson to learn from pay-for-performance