WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- -- The Air Force has deployed more than 39,000 employees to the National Security Personnel System. When fully implemented, NSPS will cover more than 128,000 Air Force employees and affect civilian employees, civilian supervisors and military members who supervise civilian employees.
The Air Force completed its first appraisal cycle under NSPS in
October 2006. Pay pools were held for covered employees in December
2006 and first payouts were made in January 2007.
"We are pleased with our progress and will continue to make
adjustments where necessary," said Brig. Gen. K.C. McClain, director
of force management policy. "We are already seeing a return on our
investment with greater communication between employees and
supervisors, people talking about results and mission alignment, and
increased flexibility in rewarding performance."
On May 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals decided AFGE (American
Federation of Government Employees) vs. Gates (formerly Rumsfeld),
ruling in favor of DOD. A summary of the findings are:
- The court rejected the unions' challenge on NSPS labor relations.
- The court found that the manner in which NSPS was designed and
implemented provided appropriate due process and employee
protections.
- Since DOD hasn't implemented the adverse actions and appeals
portions of the NSPS regulations, the ruling permits DOD to do so,
but leaves open the possibility that the unions can challenge
portions of these regulations once applied to DOD employees. The
court also noted that the extensive review process in the appeals
regulations "easily qualifies as fair treatment."
- The injunction remains in place until the court issues a mandate
to implement the decision, normally done 45 days after decision
rendered.
The unions filed a petition for review from the full Court of
Appeals July 2. The injunction will remain in place until further
notice.
Air Force officials currently are preparing for the next NSPS
deployments. Spiral 2.1b is scheduled for October 2007 and will
allow 'catch-up' for installation officials who have identified
employees who need to be converted. Spiral 2.2e is scheduled for
March 2008 and is scheduled to bring in Air National Guard
employees. Future spirals will be identified as implementation plans
firm.
"NSPS is critical to supporting the Air Force national security
mission," said Ms. B. J. Barger, deputy director of force management
policy. "The NSPS personnel management flexibilities are needed,
given the Air Force's role in preparing for and responding to
ever-changing national security threats."
A local base NSPS point of contact is available to answer questions
and provide direction to local resources.
For more information on NSPS, additional resources are provided:
- NSPS 101 is an online training course that provides information
about conversion, job classification, performance management,
compensation, merit promotion, and workforce shaping.
- iSuccess is an online training course in writing SMART job
objectives and self-assessments. Both are available from the DOD Web
site and from the AF Advanced Distributed Learning Service. An ADLS
account is needed to access this site.
- The Air Force NSPS Web site provides Air Force-specific NSPS
content. From this site you can also subscribe to the NSPS
Newsletter and read previous newsletters.
- The DOD NSPS Web site contains DOD-produced NSPS material.
Individuals can sign up for automatic e-mail alerts of updates to
this site.
- The Civilian Personnel Management Service HR-Bits Division site
provides information on NSPS data system functionality.
- The NSPS Readiness Tool contains all Program Executive
Office-developed NSPS training materials. All NSPS POCs and trainers
are allowed access to this site and must request access through
their major command NSPS Office.