[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 31 (Friday, February 14, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9007-9013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03284]
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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
Personnel Demonstration Project; Pay Banding and Performance-
Based Pay Adjustments in the National Nuclear Security Administration
AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Notice of approval of a modification to a demonstration project
final plan.
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SUMMARY: Title VI of the Civil Service Reform Act, codified in 5 U.S.C.
Chapter 47, authorizes the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to
conduct demonstration projects that experiment with new and different
human resources management concepts to determine whether changes in
policies or procedures would result in improved Federal human resources
management. On December 21, 2007, OPM published a document in the
Federal Register announcing final approval of a demonstration project
plan for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a
separately organized agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
In accordance with 5 CFR 470.315, this
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notice constitutes OPM's approval of a modification of NNSA's final
project plan, to make a participating organization change and to make
two employee coverage changes.
DATES: These modifications to NNSA's demonstration project final plan
are effective immediately upon publication of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: National Nuclear Security
Administration: Rosa Benavidez, Demonstration Project Leader, (505)
845-6683; Office of Personnel Management: Zelma Moore, (202) 606-1157.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
OPM approved NNSA's demonstration project final plan, and it was
published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2007 (72 FR 72776).
The demonstration project was implemented on March 16, 2008, and
modified to include three technical corrections to the final project
plan on July 31, 2008, as published in the Federal Register (73 FR
44786). On March 11, 2013, OPM authorized an extension of the
demonstration project to March 15, 2015, to provide time to validate
the results of the interventions tested under this project.
2. Statement of Purpose
The principal purposes of the NNSA demonstration project are to--
(1) Modify and simplify the General Schedule (GS) classification
system by establishing pay bands which may cover more than one grade;
and
(2) Modify the GS pay system to base pay increases on performance
distinctions made under a credible, strategically-aligned performance
appraisal program and thereby improve the results-oriented performance
culture within the organization.
The primary goals of the project are to:
(1) Improve hiring by allowing NNSA to compete more effectively for
high quality employees through the judicious use of higher entry
salaries;
(2) Motivate and retain staff by providing faster pay progression
for high-performing employees;
(3) Improve the usefulness and responsiveness of the position
classification system to managers;
(4) Increase the efficiency of administering the position
classification system through a simplified pay-banded application of
the current General Schedule grade structure, and reduce the procedural
steps and documentation requirements traditionally associated with
classifying positions;
(5) Eliminate automatic pay increases (i.e., annual adjustments
that normally take effect the first day of the first pay period
beginning on or after January 1) by making pay increases performance-
sensitive, so that only Fully Successful (known as ``Fully Meets
Expectations'' in NNSA) and higher performers will receive pay
adjustments, and the best performers will receive the largest pay
adjustments;
(6) Integrate with, build upon, and advance the work of several key
human capital management improvement initiatives and projects currently
underway in NNSA, including--
a. Advancing the ongoing refinement of NNSA's enterprise-wide
performance management program, including automated refinements,
b. Achieving greater parity, though not complete harmony, with
NNSA's mature excepted service pay-banded and pay-for-performance
system (e.g., will have a lower high-end pay band; no automatic pay
increases, etc.),
c. Building on the simplified position description (PD) format and
automated PD library that are already in place,
d. Continuing to develop improved performance management skills
among first-line supervisors through increased program rigor,
additional training, and better guidance materials, to better develop
standards that reflect differences in performance,
e. Establishing a system of career-enhancing career paths for the
purpose of developing, advancing, and retaining employees,
f. Building on the workforce analysis and planning system, already
in place, to identify FTE needs and competency needs and skills gaps,
to conduct a valid occupational analysis to construct meaningful pay
bands.
To accomplish these goals, NNSA modified and waived parts of the GS
classification and pay systems by identifying broad career paths,
establishing pay bands which often combined grade intervals, eliminated
longevity-based step progression, and provided for annual pay increases
based on performance.
3. Description of Changes to the Project Plan
NNSA amends the demonstration project final plan to make several
minor administrative changes, one participating organization change,
and two employee coverage changes.
(1) Participating Organization Change
Section II.D., ``Participating Organizations,'' of the final plan
identifies the scope of participating NNSA headquarters components and
field offices. One of the organizations cited in the final plan is the
``Service Center in Albuquerque, NM.'' As this organization was
disestablished by reorganization in June 2011, this organizational
reference is deleted (page 72787).
(2) Employee Coverage Changes
Section II.E., ``Participating Employees,'' of the final plan
identifies the universe of participating NNSA competitive service
employees.
(a) Bargaining Unit Employees
When the demonstration project final plan was approved, there were
16 bargaining unit employees at NNSA headquarters, the only bargaining
unit employees among a GS workforce of about 1,950 employees. These
employees were not covered by the demonstration project plan, and they
were not converted to pay banding when the project was implemented.
Subsequently on November 26, 2008, the President signed Executive
Order 13480 (73 FR 73991) amending Executive Order 12171, as previously
amended, exempting NNSA in its entirety from the Federal Labor-
Management Relations Program in the interest of national security. With
the issuance of the new executive order, NNSA's remaining bargaining
unit employees were excluded from the bargaining unit and were
converted to pay banding.
This change deletes the parenthetical explanation, ``The only
bargaining unit in NNSA is at headquarters, and currently includes 16
positions,'' in the ``Participating Organizations'' section of the
project plan (page 72787).
(b) Schedule D Employees
Through the issuance of a final rule (77 FR 28194) on May 11, 2012,
OPM implemented the Government's new Pathways Programs to streamline
hiring for student interns, recent college graduates, and Presidential
Management Fellows. Pathways hiring is conducted under the Schedule D
excepted appointing authority established under E.O. 13562.
This change adds a reference to Schedule D to the ``Participating
Employees'' section of the project plan (page 72787), which will allow
employees appointed under Schedule D to be demonstration project
participants. NNSA shall issue forthcoming policy through which to
implement the Pathways Program under the demonstration project. This
policy will be consistent with the Pathways Program Memorandum of
Understanding between OPM and DOE
[[Page 9009]]
(signed 8-31-12), and will adhere to the requirements of 5 CFR 470.313.
4. Notification Responsibilities
As required by 5 CFR 470.315, NNSA has the following notification
responsibilities for this project modification: Notify and make copies
of this Federal Register notice available to all employees affected by
the activities of the demonstration project.
Katherine Archuleta,
Director.
Approval
Pursuant to 5 CFR 470.315, OPM approves the following modification
to NNSA's final project plan.
Specific Textual Changes to the Project Plan
In FR Doc. 07-6144, published on December 21, 2007 (72 FR 72776),
make the following textual changes:
(1) On Page 72787: ``Participating Organizations''
Participating organizations is amended, as excerpted:
``Each headquarters and field organization in NNSA will
participate. This includes HQ program and mission-support components,
including NNSA's cadre of nuclear materials couriers, who are deployed
at various locations in the United States, eight geographically
dispersed Field Offices, and the Naval Reactors Laboratory Field Office
. . .''
(2) On Page 72787: ``Participating Employees''
Employee coverage is amended:
``The demonstration project will cover all non-bargaining unit
competitive service (GS equivalent) employees in the participating
organizations identified in the preceding paragraph. Included in the
coverage are Schedule A, B, and D Excepted Service employees. Not
included are Schedule C Excepted Service employees and Excepted Service
employees authorized under the NNSA Act, National Defense Authorization
Acts, and the DOE Organization Act. Table 1 (pages 72788-9) is amended
to show the number of employees by occupational series and pay band who
are participating in the demonstration project as of February 2013.''
(3) On Pages 72788-9: Updated Table 1
Table 1 is revised to show the number of employees who are
participating in the demonstration project as of February 2013; entries
are by occupational series and pay band.
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[FR Doc. 2014-03284 Filed 2-13-14; 8:45 am]
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