Panel Criticizes DHS Personnel Practices

By: fedweek

The House Homeland Security Committee has said that since receiving authority to create a tailored personnel system, DHS “has failed to demonstrate that it is capable of creating a fair and flexible system.” A report issued by committee Democrats gave the department a grade of F on employee morale, citing recent government-wide survey results placing DHS at or near the bottom for several measures of talent management, leadership and job satisfaction. The report said DHS abandoned the “time-tested federal civil service system” for a system with “problematic standards for measuring employee success.” It suggested a moratorium on monetary awards or bonuses for employees in the SES and other upper management levels and diverting the money to reward front-line and non-supervisory employees. It further said DHS must do a better job in achieving racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in the workplace.