FederalDaily - June 29, 2006

Appeals Court Upholds Block on DHS MaxHR System

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that portions of MaxHR—the new pay-for-performance personnel system for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—are illegal and upholding an injunction imposed by a lower court. In particular, the court found that MaxHR’s limitations on collective bargaining violated statutory requirements and that the plan was “utterly unreasonable.” The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the lead litigator against MaxHR, celebrated the ruling. NTEU President Colleen Kelley said, “With this landmark victory, it should now be clear that any effort to strip a meaningful workplace voice from federal employees will fail.” Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, responded, “In light of today’s ruling by the court, I encourage the department to renew discussions with its employees over sections of the regulations enjoined by the court.”

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Forest Service Fails Audit

An internal review released this month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector general (IG) found that the Forest Service (FS) lacks the management controls to oversee maintenance of the agency’s infrastructure. According to the report, FS failed to implement five out of 11 recommendations previously offered by the IG. In addition, the agency could not guarantee the accuracy of data compiled on costs and project status for deferred maintenance—maintenance projects scheduled to be performed at a later date. Because of management difficulties, FS has a backlog of deferred maintenance projects but no strategy to overcome the backlog. Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonprofit watchdog group, said, “Once again, the Forest Service has shown it can’t explain how it spends its $5 billion annual budget.”

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Pay for Performance Employee Awards Proposed by OPM

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposed draft regulations to tie employee cash awards to performance on June 21, posted on the Federal Register Web site (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/E6-9797.htm). “This proposed change,” the draft says, “is designed to ensure that better performers receive greater recognition.” Under the new rule, employees would have to be rated fully successful or higher to be eligible for a cash award. In addition, an employee with a higher performance rating would receive a larger bonus (based on percentage of basic pay) than an employee with a lower performance rating. OPM noted that part 4505 (a), title 5 of the U.S. Code already establishes such a threshold. The new regulation would amend part 451, title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The proposed rule would not affect Senior Executive Service awards.

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