The Office of Management and Budget’s recently released
draft of its government-wide personnel reform bill — the
so-called Working for America Act of 2005 — details a
performance management system roughly based on those
being put in place in the Departments of Defense and
Homeland Security.
According to subchapter II — “performance appraisal for
the general workforce” — performance would be rated
generally once each year, and supervisors and managers
would be held accountable for effectively managing the
performance of employees under their supervision.
Supervisors and managers would be held accountable for
clearly communicating expectations and holding employees
accountable, making meaningful distinctions among
employees, fostering and rewarding excellent performance,
addressing poor performance, and assuring that employees
are rated.
The White House proposal is just draft legislation that
hasn’t even been introduced yet, and its chances of being
passed at all, let alone this year, are questionable.
Civil service leaders on Capitol Hill have been
non-committal in their reactions. However, hearings are
expected in the fall.
