Because of language in the law regarding “certification”
of SES performance evaluation systems, the Office of
Personnel Management has determined that agencies that
received “provisional” certification this year will lose
that authority at the end of calendar year 2004. Agencies
are certified when their evaluation systems are judged by
OPM and the Office of Management and Budget to make
meaningful distinctions based on relative performance.
Certification means an agency may pay its executives and
certain other senior employees up to executive schedule
level II, rather than level III.
Currently, 18 agencies have provisional certification:
Health & Human Services, Interior, Transportation,
Treasury, Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection
Agency, Social Security Administration, Federal
Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of National
Drug Control Policy, Railroad Retirement Board, Merit
Systems Protection Board, Housing and Urban Development
(inspector general office only), NASA, Commerce,
National Endowment for the Arts, and Small Business
Administration. Two agencies have received “full”
certification: the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
(which has no SES employees but does have senior level
employees) and the General Services Administration.
OPM officials say they will allow agencies with
provisional certification to pay higher salaries to their
top-performing executives and senior level employees,
up to executive level II (currently $158,100) in January
even if they don