Legislation (S-2484) to reform certain pay-setting practices
for Department of Veterans Affairs doctors could be a sign of
things to come in other agencies seeking to make their
compensation more closely reflect market conditions and
employee performance. The measure recently cleared the Senate
Veterans Affairs Committee and has the support of the Bush
administration, which requested the changes, arguing that
VA is having trouble competing for doctors despite existing
pay flexibilities for them–the same argument that numerous
other agencies are making in the context of some of their
own employees.
Currently, the pay system for VA medical personnel is a mix
of more than half a dozen special pay components in addition
to basic pay. Despite those authorities, VA argues that its
pay rates are more than a third behind the private sector
market in certain specialties, making “recruitment almost
impossible and retention becomes more difficult.” The current
system also does not adequately recognize disparities in pay
among specialties, VA argues. “Without the flexibility to
adjust pay in response to market pressures and improve its
competitive position in recruiting and retaining physicians,
the department will be unable to meet the demands of its
increasing workload” and will be forced to rely more on
contract doctors, the agency said in a message to Congress
requesting the reform.
For nurses, the reform envisions greater variety in work
schedules plus special pay to the nurse executive at each VA
medical center.
For doctors, the reform envisions a three-tiered system of
base pay, market pay, and performance-based pay. There would
be a broad pay band, with starting salary set according to
qualifications, market-based pay determined according to
geographic area, specialty, assignment, personal
qualifications and individual experience, plus performance
pay of up to $10,000 a year to recognize achievements in
quality, productivity, and support of agency goals.
The Department of Homeland Security earlier this year
proposed a similar multi-level pay system for its employees,
a plan that is still being tweaked as DHS works on final
rules to carry out its idea. Congressional willingness to
accept such a system at VA could indicate similar concurrence
with the DHS idea–which federal unions have criticized as
too complicated for the agency to administer and for
employees to accept.
