NSPS Policies Continuing–at Least for Now

DoD has said that many aspects of NSPS will continue as usual while the Obama administration conducts a review of the program. The review, to last several months, will be conducted by DoD and OPM and led by an official to be determined. In a follow-up to its initial announcement, the Pentagon said that "with new leadership under a new administration, it is appropriate and important for senior leadership to conduct a review of the program, its underlying policies, and how it operates." Employee organizations see this as their opportunity to present their criticisms to a more receptive audience than they found under the Bush administration and that the review could ultimately lead to significant changes or even repeal of NSPS. However, DoD has said that for now, those hired into affected positions will continue to be put in NSPS and that the remaining conversion into NSPS of some 2,000 positions has only been delayed–it didn’t speak of cancelation. In addition, a notice said, for employees who have interim performance reviews coming up, those reviews should go ahead and employees are encouraged to write a self-assessment in preparation. Ratings officials also must continue to carry out their responsibilities under NSPS, it said, including engaging in ongoing performance discussions, completing closeout assessments if the rating official changes during the performance cycle, completing early annual appraisals for employees who leave before the end of the performance cycle, and completing annual appraisals.