President Bush has signed into law (P.L. 110-181) the fiscal 2008 DoD authorization bill that repeals the labor relations, disciplinary action and appeal rights authorities under the national security personnel system. Because of that action, the American Federation of Government Employees has dropped an appeal it had filed at the U.S. Supreme Court that challenged an appeals court’s ruling last year that generally upheld those provisions. The DoD authorization leaves the NSPS pay banding and pay for performance elements in place, with some new restrictions, and also continues the authority for national-level bargaining there.
