Dear DOD Office of Personnel Management, 

Please consider the following comments on the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) and delay implementation until the proposal is modified to address numerous issues stated below.  This proposal should have been collaborated with the federal unions before the NSPS proposal was released for public comment.  I believe the proposed NSPS regulations will not fix many of the issues that it attempts to address.  The proposed NSPS regulations need to be greatly revised and modified before implementation.  The current proposal will overall reduce pay, benefits and protections for DOD employees, which will decrease morale and lead to a less effective workforce.  Despite numerous meetings between the DOD and federal unions, few of the concerns of federal employees have been addressed in the NSPS.  Specifically I recommend changing sections:

Subpart B Classification - Section 9901.201 to 99901.231

NSPS will replace the current government job classifications by grouping them into a few occupational categories with pay being set in "bands" with the new categories. Individual employees will be unable to appeal these newly classified positions or the broad range of duties under the revised categories to a neutral arbitrator.

Subpart C Pay, Sections 9901.301 to 9901.373 

Defense Department employees should continue to receive the same annual pay and across-the-board adjustment that other GS workers receive. The individual pay increases for performance in the regulations should include guaranteed percentages so employees will understand the pay system and what their pay increase will be depending on their performance. 

Subpart D Performance Management - 9901.401 to 9901.409 

To ensure fairness and accuracy, Defense Department employees should be able to appeal any performance rating to an independent grievance and arbitration process as they can do now. 

Subpart F Workforce Shaping - 9901.6012 to 9901.611

The Defense Department should not change the current layoff/RIF rules, which give balanced credit to performance and the employees' valuable years of committed service. Moreover, under he proposed regulations employment disputes over such matters would be unfairly limited to the Merit Systems Protection Board. 

Subpart G Adverse Actions - 9901.701 to 9901.810 

The NSPS guiding principle on enhanced management flexibility would be undermined if the provision on mandatory removable offenses is retained. Due process and fairness demand that the independent body reviewing major suspensions and terminations be allowed to alter the proposed penalty if it deems deem the penalty to be unreasonable. The current standards approved by the courts to guide such bodies should be continued. 

Subpart H Appeals - Section 9901.801 to 9901.810

The Merit Systems Protection Board needs to be far more evenhanded and not limited to only three criteria for allowing it to correct government adverse action, as shown on page 7554 of the federal Register.   These limits need to be removed.  Over 25 years worth of case law will be discarded, where those precedents conflict with NSPS. This will eliminate the use of the Douglas factors, which third parties used to mitigate or overturn agency-imposed penalties.

Subpart I Labor-Management Relations - 9901.901 to 9901.929 

The labor-management law that has governed the employees' right to organize and engage in collective bargaining has worked well since 1978. There is no compelling reason to take away most of the collective bargaining rights or grievance rights.  The Defense Department should not create a "company-dominated dispute board." Management and the union should jointly select any dispute board.

					Sincerely,
					Douglas Moorcroft
					724 Stony Fort Road
					Saunderstown, RI  02874