DoD Seeks Relatively Minor Changes

DoD has sent its annual request for changes in civilian personnel policies, a document that sets the stage for the annual DoD authorization bill. The request this year seeks relatively minor changes, overall, and notably does not seek to undo any of the changes made to the national security personnel system in the fiscal 2008 DoD authorization. DoD asked for: increasing the number of allowed positions in the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service from 594 to 694; making permanent the "voluntary RIF" authority that allows an employee who would not be affected by a RIF to take the place of one who would be, and gain most RIF-related benefits; allowing waivers of the general prohibition against additional retirement credit for those who retired under discontinued service retirement and then were rehired; allowing hiring into certain health care positions without competition under the "direct hire" authority; and extending until 2014 DoD’s authority to pay severance payments in lump-sums rather than biweekly installments.