Change Could Have Repercussions

The change in plans at DHS could have an effect on the administration’s other efforts to apply similar principles elsewhere. The White House in its recent budget proposal once again urged passage of a proposed Working for America Act that would among other things scrap the general schedule in favor of pay banding and pay for performance. DoD meanwhile is in the process of putting in place its national security personnel system with many of the same elements as the original DHS plan. There, too, a court order has blocked the labor relations and appeals right provisions, although unlike DHS, DoD has pushed ahead on the other elements, applying them to nearly 80,000 non-union employees and planning a further expansion in the spring. The DoD case remains pending on appeal, and the Pentagon has said it might ask Congress for new legislation if it loses. The Pentagon also has said it might ask for an extension of the special labor relations law at DoD, which is due to sunset in 2009. While the DHS, DoD and government-wide initiatives are not tied to each other in law, as a practical matter they are seen as a package and the DHS decision to step back could undercut efforts to expand such initiatives elsewhere.