Proposed Personnel Overhaul Gets a Hearing

The Bush administration’s proposal for government-wide civil service reforms involving pay for performance, reduced union rights and streamlined appeals rights has received a hearing in the House federal workforce subcommittee, but prospects for action on the plan—this year, at least—appear questionable. At the hearing OPM director Linda Springer argued that the government has sufficient experience with alternative personnel systems to apply them more broadly. However, federal unions argued that agencies can’t be counted on to carry out such a system fairly. Unions also objected to the proposed changes in employee appeal and union rights, saying the administration has failed to make the case that such changes are needed. Members of the subcommittee also expressed various concerns about the proposal and there was no indication that the plan even will be formally introduced as legislation anytime soon. One idea floated at the hearing was to split the proposal in two, with the pay and performance elements dealt with first, and any changes in union and appeal rights dealt with later.