The Waiting Game

Labor union representatives are doubtful that the Homeland Security Department will release its final proposal for overhauling its personnel system before the Nov. 2 presidential elections.

Officials at the American Federation of Government Employees said Wednesday that DHS representatives had promised to release the final proposal by Oct. 15. As that deadline nears, however, union officials are becoming skeptical that the document will be seen before the hotly contested election next month.

Officials at DHS did not immediately return calls seeking comment on the status of the personnel overhaul.

Union officials also said that DHS was supposed to share language with union representatives on portions of the overhaul that had been agreed to.

"That hasn't happened yet either," said AFGE spokesman Kurt Gallagher.

The legislation creating the Homeland Security Department authorized it to scrap the decades-old General Schedule system and install a revamped personnel system. In February, officials laid out a plan to transfer 8,000 employees to a performance-based pay system in fiscal 2005.

Ultimately, the department plans to transfer 110,000 of its employees to the new system, in which personnel would be grouped into pay clusters focused around similar jobs. DHS officials expect to form between 10 and 15 of these groupings. Those clusters would be further broken down into four pay bands.

Under the new system, employees would continue to be eligible for base and locality pay adjustments, but would not receive any raise if they failed to score "fully successful" or better on their performance reviews.

Initial plans for the overhaul would also involve streamlining the appeals process for disciplinary procedures.

At the Defense Department-which is also revamping its personnel system-representatives from the government and the unions both seem satisfied with the progress. Last month, union officials said the Pentagon was prematurely ending negotiations, but both sides have agreed to keep talking.

On Wednesday, an AFGE official said the development of the new Defense personnel system is still in the "concept" stage.

In a recent speech to representatives from the American Legion, a top official from the Office of Personnel Management said Pentagon officials are taking workers' concerns seriously.

"Defending merit system principles, guarding against prohibited personnel practices and honoring veterans' preference governmentwide, especially for qualified and disabled veterans, are top priorities," said George Nesterczuk, OPM senior adviser on the Defense Department overhaul effort. "OPM is working with [Defense] to ensure that federal workers who will fall under the new system are fully protected by these foundational principles."