Federal Manager's Daily Report

Criticisms that the SES system does not make meaningful distinctions among its relatively small population of about 8,000 are commonly used as an argument for reforms that in turn could lead to a greater emphasis on performance for federal employee pay levels in general. Also, there has been particular interest on Capitol Hill in pay and bonus issues related to the SES for the last several years, due primarily to scandals at GSA, VA and IRS involving senior execs.

Several bills are pending in Congress, starting with the VA and with the potential to expand outward and downward from there. For example, under one bill, only 30 percent would be eligible to receive top-level performance ratings and their later annuities would be reduced–by denying credit for certain years of service–if they are convicted of a crime related to their official duties. Another would allow the VA to require repayment of awards previously paid to all employees who later are found to have committed certain types of misconduct and a third would make it easier to discipline anyone who retaliated against a whistleblower.

Also expected is reintroduction of bill the House passed last year to widen the grounds for taking disciplinary actions against SES members, shorten their appeals process, double their standard probationary period to two years, and end pay retention for those demoted.

Said GAO, “According to OPM officials, in 2015 OPM plans to convene a cross-agency working group that is to revisit the SES certification process. As part of this effort, it will be important for OPM and the working group to consider whether—given the continued high SES performance ratings—the new system is contributing to making meaningful distinctions in performance ratings and awards, and if not, what refinements are needed.”