Marine Corps awards contract to assist in personnel reforms

The Marine Corps awarded a $675,000 contract to help implement personnel reforms at its headquarters and other offices in the Washington area, the company awarded the work announced Thursday.

Alabama-based FPMI Solutions Inc. will support implementation of the Defense Department's National Security Personnel System for the offices. NSPS is a Pentagonwide initiative, authorized by Congress in 2003, and replaces the General Schedule with broad paybands that are supposed to be more flexible and performance-based.

FPMI is a human resources consulting firm that works primarily with federal agencies. Unlike the $24.8 million contract awarded in December by the Air Force to Centre Consulting of Vienna, Va., for NSPS implementation, this one-year contract is not for training.

Instead, FPMI said its work will include identifying supervisory position descriptions that will be moved into nonsupervisory pay groups.

FPMI also will develop a timeline for revision of position descriptions in general. One problem Defense officials have said they want to address with NSPS is the overabundance of position descriptions. Positions may be revised to fit within the new paybands.

In addition, FPMI will prepare workforce statistics to help with the reforms and review "career-ladder positions, temporary promotions and other special circumstances to determine changes needed as a result of conversion to NSPS."

The Washington-area Marine Corps offices that fall under the contract are: the Marine Corps Headquarters, Marine Corps Barracks/Marine Corps Institute; the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle Program Office; Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Base Quantico; and the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Activity. FPMI has an office in Alexandria, Va.

The NSPS program office referred questions about the contract to the Marine Corps, which did not respond to requests for confirmation and further information.

The cost of implementing NSPS has been a subject of debate. Defense officials have given an estimate of $158 million through 2008, but the unions representing federal employees have said that number is far too low. The Government Accountability Office is conducting an investigation into the program's costs.

The personnel reforms, which include major changes to the labor relations structure and limit the collective bargaining authority of the unions, have been stalled multiple times. A lawsuit initiated by a coalition of unions has put the introduction of the payband system on hold until at least March 1, when a judge is expected to issue his ruling.