DOD's National Security Personnel System: Provisions of Law and Implementation Plans

Publication Date: March 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Military and defense

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Abstract:

Title XI of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2004, P.L. 108-136, includes provisions on a National Security Personnel System (NSPS) for the Department of Defense (DOD) and provisions on personnel management that are applicable government-wide. The law was enacted on November 24, 2003.

Title XI, Subtitle A, of the law authorizes the Secretary of Defense and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish a new human resources management (HRM) system for DOD's civilian employees and to jointly prescribe regulations for the system. The Secretary and the Director are authorized to establish and adjust a labor relations system and are required to provide a written description of the proposed personnel system or any adjustments to such system to the labor organizations representing DOD employees. A collaboration procedure must be followed by the Secretary, Director, and employee representatives. The Secretary is authorized to engage in any collaboration activities and collective bargaining at an organizational level above the level of exclusive recognition. The Secretary also is authorized to establish an appeals process that provides fair treatment for DOD employees covered by the NSPS. Regulations applicable to employee misconduct or performance that fails to meet expectations may not be prescribed until after the Secretary consults with the Merit Systems Protections Board (MSPB) and must afford due process protections and conform to public employment principles of merit and fitness at 5 U.S.C. §3201. A qualifying employee subject to some severe disciplinary actions may petition the MSPB for review of the department's decision. The board could dismiss any petition that does not raise a substantial question of fact or law and order corrective action only if the board finds that the department's personnel decision did not meet some prescribed standards. An employee adversely affected by a final decision or order of the board could obtain judicial review.

Subtitle C of Title XI includes amendments to the government-wide policies for the federal employee overtime pay cap, military leave, and Senior Executive Service pay, and creates a Human Capital Performance Fund to reward the highestperforming and most valuable employees in an agency.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld named Navy Secretary Gordon England as the DOD official who is responsible for negotiating with labor organizations on the personnel reform effort. The most recent timetable for the new system, which was released by Secretary England on December 15, 2004, anticipates a phased implementation beginning around July 2005 with some 60,000 employees. Implementation of the labor relations component of the new system is anticipated by summer 2005. DOD and OPM jointly issued proposed regulations in the Federal Register on February 14, 2005. Many details have yet to be decided. The regulations state that issuances to implement the regulations will be prepared by DOD.

This report discusses each of the provisions in Title XI of P.L. 108-136 and plans to implement the law.