FederalDaily - May 8, 2006

Alternative to Working for America Act Proposed

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, announced on Wednesday his intent to introduce legislation that would enhance the performance appraisal system for federal employees but hold off on linking federal pay to performance ratings. According to documents provided to federaldaily.com by Voinovich’s office, the senator plans to introduce the 2006 Federal Workforce Performance Appraisal and Management Improvement Act—currently in draft status—later this month. The bill only adds a modern appraisal process to the general schedule, as opposed to the full personnel overhaul and paybands called for in the Working for America Act. Agencies would need Office of Personnel Management approval to implement the new evaluation system. If an employee did not receive at least a “successful” rating, they would not be eligible for annual or within grade increases. However, the bill would require that agencies manage the new system for at least one year before linking pay and performance.

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FBI Not Forthcoming About Problems, Senators Say

Testifying at a recent U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing, FBI Director Robert Mueller presented a “distorted picture” of a critical inspector general (IG) report by selectively reading unclassified paragraphs, according to a May 3 press release from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Grassley said he was disturbed by allegations that critical portions of the IG report had been improperly classified. At Grassley’s request, the IG had examined the bureau’s supposed turf battles with the Department of Homeland Security in a 2005 terror financing case. During the hearing, Mueller pledged to provide a more thorough, declassified summary of the IG report. “If a true reflection of the entire report is finally made public, then that will be a big step in the right direction,” Grassley said.

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OPM Retirement System Contract Awarded

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced last Wednesday the awarding of the Retirement Systems Modernization (RSM) contract to Hewitt Associates, a Lincolnshire, Ill., technology firm. In a prepared statement, OPM said that RSM—an electronic, paperless benefits management system—would improve the storage, retrieval and transfer of employee retirement information. In addition, employees, retirees and authorized officials would have immediate online access to benefits records and be able to make real-time calculations. OPM Director Linda Springer said that RSM will improve the quality and timeliness of services. “With the ability to get a complete online look at retirement-related data, employees and HR officials have the advantage of planning for various milestones in an employee’s career, including retirement,” said Springer.

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Services Should Be Wary of Military-Civilian Job Conversion Costs

Between 2005 and 2007 the military services intend to convert a total of 5,507 health care positions from military personnel to civilians, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned them to keep a careful eye on the costs associated with the transitions. In a report released May 1, to ensure that full costs of the conversions are reported, GAO urged the Department of Defense (DoD) to use the same cost data methods used in the department’s Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation. Those methods, the report said, would guarantee that costs such as training are included and that military-civilian cost comparisons are accurate. DoD agreed with GAO’s recommendations. To read the report, go to www.gao.gov/new.items/d06642.pdf.

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