DoD says that there “may be some modest changes that will
be necessary” as the NSPS system matures. Once it reaches
the 300,000-employee figure, the Pentagon will have to
certify that the system meets certain standards set out in
the law creating NSPS before it will be allowed to move
on to “spiral two”–most of the rest of the department,
including wage grade employees–and a potential “spiral
three”–DoD laboratories already operating under special
personnel authorities.
“Our experience with China Lake, our first demonstration
project, and the subsequent acquisition and laboratory
demonstration projects, has given us a wealth of valuable
experience to rely upon in rolling out NSPS, and we expect
that any system changes will be modest in scope. For
instance, we may identify better ways for training the
workforce and may decide to modify training plans,” the
DoD document says.
However, many in employee organizations and on Capitol
Hill expect much more significant changes than what is on
the order of tinkering with training plans. NSPS will
involve significant changes in the way jobs are classified
and employees are paid, they note, and likely will raise
issues regarding fairness and equal application of ratings.
A series of congressional hearings is expected, potentially
beginning soon after DoD publishes the proposed rules.
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