Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory (STRL) Personnel Management Demonstration Project, Department of the Navy (DON), Naval Air System Command (NAVAIR), Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division (NAWCWD) and Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), 55160-55198 [2010-22172]
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Send comments on or
before the comment due date by mail to
Ms. Betty A. Duffield, CPMS–PSSC,
Suite B–200, 1400 Key Boulevard,
Arlington, VA 22209–5144; by fax to
(703) 696–5462; or by e-mail to
Betty.Duffield@cpms.osd.mil.
ADDRESSES:
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
Science and Technology Reinvention
Laboratory (STRL) Personnel
Management Demonstration Project,
Department of the Navy (DON), Naval
Air System Command (NAVAIR), Naval
Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division
(NAWCWD) and Naval Air Warfare
Center, Aircraft Division (NAWCAD)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
AGENCY:
Notice of proposal to design and
implement a personnel management
demonstration project.
NAVAIR: Mr. Richard Cracraft, Naval
Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division
(NAWCWD), Code 730000D, 1
Administration Circle, Building 00464,
China Lake, CA 93555–6100.
DoD: Ms. Betty A. Duffield, CPMS–
PSSC, Suite B–200, 1400 Key
Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209–5144
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Office of the Deputy Under
Secretary of Defense (Civilian Personnel
Policy), (DUSD (CPP)), Department of
Defense (DoD).
ACTION:
Section 342(b) of the National
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for
Fiscal Year (FY) 1995, Public Law (Pub.
L.) 103–337 (10 U.S.C. 2358 note), as
amended by section 1109 of NDAA for
FY 2000, Public Law 106–65, and
section 1114 of NDAA for FY 2001,
Public Law 106–398, authorizes the
Secretary of Defense to conduct
personnel demonstration projects at
DoD laboratories designated as Science
and Technology Reinvention
Laboratories (STRLs). The above-cited
legislation authorizes DoD to conduct
demonstration projects to determine
whether a specified change in personnel
management policies or procedures
would result in improved Federal
personnel management. Section 1105 of
the NDAA for FY 2010, Public Law 111–
84, 123 Stat. 2486, October 28, 2009,
designates additional DoD laboratories
as STRLs for the purpose of designing
and implementing personnel
management demonstration projects for
conversion of employees from the
personnel system which applied on
October 28, 2009. The NAWCWD and
the NAWCAD are listed in subsection
1105(a) of NDAA for FY 2010 as two of
the newly designated STRLs. These two
STRLs will be the participants in the
demonstration project proposal
described in this Federal Register
Notice (FRN).
SUMMARY:
The NAWCWD and NAWCAD
demonstration project proposal may not
be implemented until a 30-day comment
period is provided, comments
addressed, and a final Federal Register
notice published. To be considered,
written comments must be submitted on
or before October 12, 2010.
Implementation of this demonstration
project, once approved, will begin no
earlier than February 1, 2011 and no
later than April 28, 2011.
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1. Background
Since 1966, many studies of
Department of Defense (DoD)
laboratories have been conducted on
laboratory quality and personnel.
Almost all of these studies have
recommended improvements in civilian
personnel policy, organization, and
management. Pursuant to the authority
provided in section 342(b) of Public
Law 103–337, as amended, a number of
DoD STRL personnel demonstration
projects were approved. These projects
are ‘‘generally similar in nature’’ to the
Department of Navy’s ‘‘China Lake’’
Personnel Demonstration Project. The
terminology, ‘‘generally similar in
nature,’’ does not imply an emulation of
various features, but rather implies a
similar opportunity and authority to
develop personnel flexibilities that
significantly increase the decision
authority of laboratory commanders
and/or directors. The STRL Personnel
Management Demonstration Projects
involve broad-banded pay systems and
simplified classification; compensation
linked to performance, including
contribution-based pay; recruitment and
staffing changes; and enhanced training
and development including critical
skills training, Voluntary Emeritus
Corps, and sabbaticals.
This demonstration project involves:
(1) Two appointment authorities
(permanent and modified term); (2)
extended probationary period for newly
hired employees; (3) pay banding; (4)
streamlined delegated examining; (5)
modified reduction-in-force (RIF)
procedures; (6) simplified job
classification; (7) a mission aligned
objectives and compensation based
appraisal system; (8) market based
starting salaries; (9) academic degree
and certificate training; (10) sabbaticals;
and (11) a Voluntary Emeritus Corps.
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2. Overview
The covered organizations
transitioned to the National Security
Personnel System (NSPS) late in 2008.
Subsequently, section 1113 of NDAA for
FY 2010, Public Law 111–84,123 Stat.
2486, required all employees to exit
NSPS by no later than January 1, 2012.
Another section of NDAA for FY 2010,
section 1105, identifies NAWCAD and
NAWCWD as STRLs and requires them
to convert to an STRL demonstration
project within 18 months of enactment
of NDAA for FY 2010. This FRN
provides notice of the proposal to
design and implement an STRL
demonstration project plan for the
covered organizations.
3. Access to Flexibilities of Other STRLs
Flexibilities published in this Federal
Register shall be available for use by the
STRLs previously enumerated in section
9902(c)(2) of title 5, United States Code,
which are now designated in section
1105 of the NDAA for FY 2010, Public
Law 111–84, 123 Stat. 2486, October 28,
2009, if they wish to adopt them in
accordance with DoD Instruction
1400.37; pages 73248 to 73252 of
volume 73, Federal Register; and the
fulfilling of any collective bargaining
obligations.
Dated: September 1, 2010.
Mitchell S. Bryman,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison
Officer, Department of Defense.
Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary
II. Introduction
A. Purpose
B. Problems With the Present System
C. Changes Required/Expected Benefits
D. Participating Organizations
E. Participating Employees and Union
Representation
F. Project Design
G. Personnel Management Board
III. Personnel System Changes
A. Pay Banding
1. Occupational Families
2. Pay Band Design
3. Above GS–15 Positions
B. Classification
1. Occupational Series
2. Classification Standards and Position
Descriptions
3. Fair Labor Standards Act
4. Classification Authority
5. Classification Appeals
C. Mission Aligned Objectives and
Compensation
1. Overview
2. Individual Mission Objectives (IMO)
3. Rating Benchmarks
4. Performance Feedback and Formal
Ratings
5. Pay Pools
6. Performance Payout Determination
7. Base Pay Increases and Bonuses
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8. Extraordinary Achievement Allowance
(EAA)
9. Pay Growth Within a Pay Band
10. Awards
11. General Pay Increase
12. Requests for Reconsideration
13. Adverse Actions
D. Hiring Authority
1. Qualifications
2. Delegated Examining
3. Distinguished Scholastic Achievement
Appointment Authority (DSAA) for
Scientific and Engineering Positions
4. Legal Authority
5. Expanded Term Appointments
6. Extended Probationary Period
7. Termination of Probationary Employees
8. Supervisory Probationary Periods
9. Volunteer Emeritus Corps
10. Direct Hire Authority for Scientists and
Engineers With Advanced Degrees for
Scientific and Engineering Positions
11. Non-Citizen Hiring
E. Internal Placement
1. Employees Hired From Outside the
NAWC STRL
2. Promotion
3. Reassignment
4. Demotion or Placement in a Lower Pay
Band
5. Simplified Assignment Process
6. Details and Temporary Promotions
7. Exceptions to Competitive Procedures
F. Pay Administration
1. General
2. Locality Pay
3. Pay and Compensation Ceilings
4. Pay Setting for Appointment
5. Pay Setting for Promotion
6. Pay Setting for Reassignment
7. Pay Setting for Demotion or Placement
in a Lower Pay Band
8. Staffing Supplements
9. Educational Pay Adjustment
10. Developmental Promotions
11. Pay Retention
G. Employee Development
1. Expanded Developmental Opportunity
Program
H. Reduction-in-Force (RIF) Procedures
1. Competitive Areas
2. Assignment Rights
3. Crediting Performance in RIF
IV. Implementation Training
V. Movement Into and Out of the
Demonstration Project
A. Conversion From NSPS to the
Demonstration Project
1. Placement Into Demonstration Project
Pay Plans and Pay Bands
2. Pay Upon Conversion
3. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Status
4. Transition Equity
5. Converting Employees on NSPS Term
and Temporary Appointments
6. Probationary Periods
B. Conversion From Other Personnel
Systems
C. Movement Out of the NAVAIR STRL
Demonstration Project
1. Termination of Coverage Under the
NAVAIR STRL Demonstration Project
Pay Plans
2. Determining a GS-Equivalent Grade and
GS-Equivalent Rate of Pay for Pay Setting
Purposes When a NAVAIR Employee’s
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Coverage by a Demonstration Project Pay
Plan Terminates or the Employee
Voluntarily Exits the NAVAIR STRL
Demonstration Project
3. Supervision and Management Pay Band
VI Employees
4. Employees With Pay Retention
5. Within-Grade Increase—Equivalent
Increase Determinations
D. Personnel Administration
E. Automation Support
1. General
2. Defense Civilian Personnel Data System
(DCPDS)
F. Experimentation and Revision
VI. Project Duration
VII. Evaluation Plan
A. Overview
B. Evaluation Model
C. Evaluation
D. Method of Data Collection
VIII. Demonstration Project Costs
A. Cost Discipline
B. Developmental Costs
IX. Required Waivers to Law and Regulation
A. Waivers to Title 5, U.S.C.
B. Waivers to Title 5, CFR
Appendix A: NAWCAD and NAWCWD Duty
Locations
Appendix B: Occupational Series by
Occupational Family
Appendix C: Intervention Model
Appendix D: Individual Pay Band Level
Rating Benchmarks Examples
Appendix E: Career Stage Rating Benchmarks
Examples
I. Executive Summary
NAWCAD is an organization within
NAVAIR dedicated to maintaining a
center of excellence for fixed- and
rotary-wing aircraft and their propulsion
systems, avionics systems, training
systems, take-off and landing systems,
and associated support and equipment
including air traffic control and
communications and ship/shore/air
operations. NAWCAD has three primary
locations: Patuxent River, MD;
Lakehurst, NJ; and Orlando, FL. These
facilities support research,
development, test, evaluation,
engineering, and fleet support of Navy
and Marine Corps air vehicle systems
and trainers. NAWCAD is a world
leader in Naval aviation whose products
and services include: Aircraft, avionics,
air-launched weapons, electronic
warfare systems, cruise missiles,
unmanned aerial vehicles, launch and
arresting gear, training equipment and
facilities, and all other equipment
related to Navy and Marine Corps air
power. The mission of the NAWCAD is
to be the Navy’s principal research,
development/test, evaluation,
engineering, and fleet support activity
for naval aircraft, engines, avionics,
aircraft support systems, and ship/
shore/air operations. NAWCAD is the
steward of the ranges, test facilities,
laboratories, and aircraft necessary to
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support the Fleet’s acquisition
requirements.
NAWCWD is an organization within
NAVAIR dedicated to maintaining a
center of excellence in weapons
development for the DON. NAWCWD
has two locations: China Lake, CA
hosting the land test range and Point
Mugu, CA hosting the sea test range.
NAWCWD is a world leader in
Research, Development, Acquisition,
Test, and Evaluation (RDA, T&E) of
guided missiles, advanced weapons and
systems, complex software integration
on tactical aircraft, energetic materials,
and subsystems. It is also a Center of
Excellence for weapons and armaments
and live-fire survivability testing. The
mission of the NAWCWD is to provide
Navy and Marine Corps warriors with
effective, affordable, integrated warfare
systems, and lifecycle support to ensure
battlespace dominance. The NAWCWD
is the steward of the ranges, test
facilities, and laboratories necessary to
support the Fleet’s acquisition
requirements.
The goal of this demonstration project
is to enhance and sustain the quality
and professionalism of the covered
organizations’ workforces through
improvements in the efficiency and
effectiveness of the human resource
system. The project interventions will
strive to achieve the best workforce for
the mission, adjust the workforce for
change, and improve workforce
satisfaction. This demonstration project
is built on the concepts, and uses much
of the same language, as the other STRL
demonstration projects already in place
in DoD and is guided by 25 years of
experience in operating the Navy’s
‘‘China Lake,’’ demonstration project.
The results of the project will be
evaluated within five years of
implementation.
II. Introduction
A. Purpose
The purpose of the project is to
demonstrate that the effectiveness of
DoD STRLs can be enhanced by
expanding opportunities available to
employees and by allowing greater
managerial control over personnel
functions through a more responsive
and flexible personnel system. Federal
laboratories need more efficient, cost
effective, and timely processes and
methods to acquire and retain a highly
creative, productive, educated, and
trained workforce. This project, in its
entirety, attempts to improve
employees’ opportunities and provide
managers, at the lowest practical level,
the authority, control, and flexibility
needed to achieve the highest quality
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organization and hold them accountable
for the proper exercise of this authority
within the framework of an improved
personnel management system.
Many aspects of a demonstration
project are experimental. Modifications
may be made from time to time as
experience is gained, results are
analyzed, and conclusions are reached
on how the system is working. The
provisions of this project plan will not
be modified, or extended to individuals
or groups of employees not included in
the project plan without the approval of
the ODUSD(CPP). The provisions of
DoDI 1400.37 are to be followed for any
modifications, adoptions, or changes to
this demonstration project plan.
B. Problems With the Present System
The current Civil Service General
Schedule (GS) system has existed in
essentially the same form since 1949.
Work is classified into one of fifteen
overlapping pay ranges that correspond
with the fifteen grades. Base pay is set
at one of those fifteen grades and the ten
interim steps within each grade. The
Classification Act of 1949 rigidly
defines types of work by occupational
series and grade, with very precise
qualifications for each job. This system
does not quickly or easily respond to
new ways of designing work and
changes in the work itself.
The performance management model
that has existed since the passage of the
Civil Service Reform Act in 1980 has
come under extreme criticism.
Employees frequently report there is
inadequate communication of
performance expectations and feedback
on performance. There are perceived
inaccuracies in performance ratings
with general agreement that the ratings
are inflated and often unevenly
distributed by grade, occupation and
geographic location.
The present reduction-in-force (RIF)
process is unresponsive to requirements
for work force restructuring and requires
enhancement to provide better retention
of the highest performing employees
with mission appropriate skills.
The need to change the current hiring
system is essential as the covered
organizations must be able to recruit
and retain scientific, engineering,
acquisition, skilled technical, and other
professional, administrative, and
support employees. The covered
organizations must be able to compete
with the private sector for the best talent
and be able to make job offers in a
timely manner with the attendant
bonuses and incentives to attract high
quality employees.
Current limitations on training,
retraining, and otherwise developing
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employees make it difficult to correct
skill imbalances and to prepare current
employees for new lines of work to meet
changing missions and emerging
technologies.
C. Changes Required/Expected Benefits
1. The primary benefit expected from
this demonstration project is greater
organizational effectiveness through
increased employee satisfaction. The
Department of the Navy ‘‘China Lake’’
and NIST demonstration projects
produced impressive statistics on
increased job satisfaction and quality of
employees versus that for the Federal
workforce in general. This project will
demonstrate that a human resource
system tailored to the mission and
needs of the covered organizations’
workforce will facilitate increased:
a. Quality in the workforce and
resultant products,
b. Timeliness of key personnel
processes,
c. Retention of ‘‘excellent performers,’’
d. Success in recruitment of personnel
with critical skills,
e. Management authority and
accountability,
f. Satisfaction of customers, and
g. Workforce satisfaction with the
personnel management system.
2. An evaluation model was
developed for the Director of Defense,
Research and Engineering (DDR&E) in
conjunction with STRLs, service
representatives, and the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM). The
model, as modified in this plan, will
measure the effectiveness of this
demonstration project and will be used
to measure the results of specific
personnel system changes.
D. Participating Organizations
NAWCAD and NAWCWD are
organizations within the NAVAIR and
are composed of five business units
located at five diverse major geographic
locations. The locations are: Lakehurst,
NJ, Patuxent River, MD; Orlando, FL;
China Lake, CA; and Pt. Mugu, CA.
Additionally there are employees in a
variety of other geographic locations
shown in Appendix A. It should be
noted that sites with fewer than 10
people may change. Successor
organizations will continue coverage in
the demonstration project.
E. Participating Employees and Union
Representation
This demonstration project will cover
approximately 8,400 NAWCAD and
NAWCWD civilian employees under
title 5 U.S.C. in the occupations listed
in Appendix B. The project plan does
not cover members of the Senior
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Executive Service (SES), Scientific and
Professional (ST) employees, Federal
Wage System (FWS) employees,
employees presently covered by the
Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel
System (DCIPS), or DON centrally
funded interns.
The details and provisions covered
under this Personnel Management
Demonstration Project do not apply to
any bargaining unit within NAWCAD or
NAWCWD until a mutual agreement is
reached between the STRL organization
and the applicable exclusive
representative. This demonstration
project will not cover any bargaining
unit members at implementation. If
there is interest on the part of any of
NAWCAD’s or NAWCWD’s bargaining
units at any of their sites in
participating in the NAWCAD or
NAWCWD STRL demonstration project,
negotiations would begin after
publication of this Federal Register
notice. The covered STRL organizations
will fulfill their obligation to consult
and/or negotiate with all labor
organizations in accordance with 5
U.S.C. 4703(f) and 7117, as applicable.
F. Project Design
An overarching objective in the
project design has been the
development of a personnel system that
provides a maximum opportunity for
adaptability to meet the variety of
requirements of organizations engaged
in missions ranging from RDA, T&E of
guided missiles, advanced weapons and
systems, complex software integration
on tactical aircraft, energetic materials
and subsystems to fixed- and rotarywing aircraft and their propulsion
systems, avionics systems, training
systems, take-off and landing systems,
associated support and equipment
including air traffic control and
communications, and ship/shore/air
operations. This demonstration project
is built upon the successes of the many
demonstration projects that have
preceded it and adapts many of the
provisions and features that have been
shown to be successful in these other
STRL demonstration projects to the
NAWCAD and NAWCWD organizations.
G. Personnel Management Board
1. The covered organizations will
create a Personnel Management Board to
oversee and monitor the fair, equitable,
and consistent implementation of the
provisions of the demonstration project
to include establishment of internal
controls and accountability. Members of
the board are senior leaders appointed
by the Executive Directors of the
covered organizations. As needed, ad
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hoc members will serve in an advisory
capacity to the Board.
2. The board will execute the
following:
a. Establish policies and issue
guidance on the composition of pay
pools in accordance with the guidelines
of this proposal and internal
procedures;
b. Review operation of pay pools and
provide guidance to Pay Pool Managers;
c. Oversee disputes in pay pool
issues;
d. Establish policies and issue
guidance on the formulation and
execution of the civilian pay budget;
e. Establish policies and issue
guidance on the awards pools;
f. Establish policies and issue
guidance on hiring and promotion base
pay as well as exceptions to pay-forperformance base pay increases;
g. Establish policies and issue
guidance on classification review and
oversight, monitoring and adjusting
classification practices and deciding
board classification issues;
h. Approve major changes in position
structure;
i. Address issues associated with
multiple pay systems during the
demonstration project;
j. Establish policies and issue
guidance on and approve Standard
Performance Elements and Benchmarks;
k. Assess the need for changes to
demonstration project procedures and
policies;
l. Ensure in-house budget discipline;
m. Establish policies and issue
guidance for workforce staffing and
budget plans;
n. Develop policies and procedures
for administering Developmental
Opportunity Programs;
o. Ensure that all employees are
treated in a fair and equitable manner in
accordance with the policies,
regulations and guidelines covering this
demonstration project; and,
p. Monitor the evaluation of the
project.
III. Personnel System Changes
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A. Pay Banding
The design of the pay banding system
has the benefit of being preceded by
exhaustive studies of pay banding
systems currently practiced in the
Federal sector. The pay banding system
will replace both the current NSPS and
GS structure. The flexibilities in this
pay banding section are similar in
nature to the authority granted to: The
Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego,
California 92152 and the Naval
Weapons Center, China Lake, California
93555, 45 FR 26504, April 18, 1980.
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1. Occupational Families
Occupations with similar
characteristics will be grouped together
into one of five occupational families
with pay band levels designed to
facilitate pay progression. Progression
through the band depends on individual
achievement, contribution to the
mission goals, and accomplishment of
higher level, broader scope, more
difficult work assignments. Each
occupational family will be composed
of pay bands corresponding to
recognized advancement and career
progression expected within the
occupations. These pay bands will
replace individual grades and will not
be the same for each occupational
family. Each occupational family will be
divided into three to six pay bands with
each pay band covering the same base
pay range that would be covered by one
or more GS grades. Employees track into
an occupational family based on their
current series as provided in Appendix
B. Note that where the current series
does not exist outside of NSPS the
employee will be placed in the
appropriate OPM series before being
placed into an STRL occupational
family. Upon conversion into the
demonstration project each employee is
assured an initial placement in the
STRL demonstration project without a
loss in pay. The upper and lower pay
rate for base pay of each band is defined
by the GS rate for the grade and step as
indicated in Figure 1 except for Pay
Band V of the Engineering and Science
occupational family. Comparison to the
GS grades and NSPS pay bands was
used in setting the upper and lower base
pay dollar limits of the pay band levels.
However, once employees are moved
into the demonstration project, GS
grades and NSPS pay bands will no
longer apply. The current occupations
have been examined, and their
characteristics and distribution have
served as guidelines in the development
of the following five occupational
families:
a. Scientific and Engineering (S&E)
(Pay Plan DP): This occupational family
includes technical professional
positions, such as engineers, physicists,
chemists, mathematicians, operations
research analysts, and computer
scientists. Specific course work or
educational degrees are required for
these occupations. Four bands have
been established for the S&E
occupational family:
(1) Band I is a student trainee
developmental track covering GS–1,
step 1, through GS–4, step 10.
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(2) Band II is a developmental track
covering GS–5, step 1, through GS–11,
step 10.
(3) Band III is a full-performance
technical track covering GS–12, step 1,
through GS–13, step 10.
(4) Band IV includes senior technical
positions covering GS–14, step 1,
through GS–15, step 10.
b. S&E Technician (Pay Plan DT): This
occupational family includes technician
positions, such as engineering
technicians, electronics technicians,
physical science technicians,
mathematic technicians, and geodetic
technicians. These occupations require
practical technical expertise in scientific
or engineering support but specific
course work or educational degrees are
not required for these occupations. Four
bands have been established for the S&E
Technician occupational family:
(1) Band I is an entry level trainee
developmental track covering GS–1,
step 1, through GS–4, step 10.
(2) Band II is a developmental/full
performance track covering GS–5, step
1, through GS–9, step 10.
(3) Band III is a full-performance
technical track covering GS–10, step 1
through GS–11, step 10.
(4) Band IV includes senior technical
covering GS–12, step 1, through GS–13,
step 10.
c. Technical Specialist (Pay Plan DS):
This occupational family includes such
positions as logistics management
specialists, equipment specialists,
computer specialists, and
telecommunications specialists.
Employees in these positions may or
may not require specific course work or
educational degrees. Five bands have
been established for this occupational
family:
(1) Band I is a student trainee
developmental track covering GS–1,
step 1, through GS–4, step 10.
(2) Band II is a developmental/full
performance track covering GS–5, step
1, through GS–9, step 10.
(3) Band III is a full performance track
covering GS–10, step 1, through GS–11,
step 10.
(4) Band IV is a senior specialist track
covering GS–12, step 1, through GS–13,
step 10.
(5) Band V is an expert specialist track
covering GS–14, step 1, through GS–15,
step 10.
d. Business Professional & Program
Management (Pay Plan DA): This
occupational family includes such
positions as program managers, program
acquisition specialists, budget officers,
financial managers, accountants,
administrative officers, human
resources specialists, and management
analysts. Employees in these positions
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may or may not require specific course
work or educational degrees. Five bands
have been established for this
occupational family:
(1) Band I is a student trainee
developmental track covering GS–1,
step 1, through GS–4, step 10.
(2) Band II is a developmental/full
performance track covering GS–5, step
1, through GS–9, step 10.
(3) Band III is a full performance track
covering GS–10, step 1, through GS–11,
step 10.
(4) Band IV is a senior specialist track
covering GS–12, step 1, through GS–13,
step 10.
(5) Band V is an expert specialist track
covering GS–14, step 1, through GS–15,
step 10.
e. Administrative Support (Pay Plan
DG): This occupational family is
composed of positions for which
specific course work or an educational
degree is not required. Clerical work
usually involves the processing and
maintenance of records. Assistant work
requires knowledge of methods and
procedures within a specific
administrative area. This family
includes such positions as secretaries,
office managers, office automation
clerks, security technician, safety
technician, library technician and
budget/program/computer assistants.
Six bands have been established for this
occupational family:
(1) Band I includes entry-level/
developmental positions covering GS–1,
step 1, through GS–3, step 10.
(2) Band II* includes developmental
and low-range full-performance
positions covering GS–4, step 1, through
GS–5, step 10.
(3) Band III* includes mid-range fullperformance technicians/assistants/
secretaries covering GS–5, step 1,
through GS–6, step 10.
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(4) Band IV* includes high-range fullperformance technicians/assistants/
secretaries covering GS–6, step 1,
through GS–7, step 10.
(5) Band V includes senior
technicians/assistants/secretaries
covering GS–8, step 1, through GS–9,
step 10.
(6) Band VI includes expert
technicians/assistants/secretaries
covering GS–10, step 1, through GS–11,
step 10.
* Band III overlaps with band II and
IV. These bands replicate a feature used
by the Navy’s ‘‘China Lake’’ project.
f. The Supervision and Management
pay band includes all employees
performing supervisory functions. This
pay band is not applicable to team
leaders. To be classified to these pay
bands the supervisor must perform the
full range of supervisory duties. To meet
the full range of supervisory duties the
supervisor must perform 3 of the first 4,
and a total of 6 or more of the following:
(1) Plan work and prepare
performance plans covering work to be
accomplished by subordinates, set and
adjust short-term priorities, and prepare
schedules for completion of work;
(2) Assign work to subordinates based
on priorities, selective consideration of
the difficulty and requirements of
assignments, and the capabilities of
employees;
(3) Evaluate work performance of
subordinates and recommend official
performance ratings;
(4) Give advice, counsel, or
instruction to employees on both work
and administrative matters;
(5) Interview candidates for positions
in the unit; recommend appointment,
promotion, or reassignment to such
positions;
(6) Hear and resolve complaints from
employees, referring group grievances
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and more serious unresolved complaints
to a higher level supervisor or manager;
(7) Effect minor disciplinary
measures, such as warnings and
reprimands, recommending other action
in more serious cases;
(8) Identify developmental and
training needs of employees, providing
or arranging for needed development
and training;
(9) Find ways to improve production
or increase the quality of the work
directed;
(10) Make appropriate distinctions in
levels of performance while equitably
applying performance standards.
A supervisory position cannot be
established on the basis of only one
subordinate position. These pay bands
can include any series.
(1) Band II is a supervision and
management track covering GS–6, step
1, through GS–8, step 10.
(2) Band III is a supervision and
management track covering GS–9, step
1, through GS–11, step 10.
(3) Band IV is a supervision and
management track covering GS–12, step
1, through GS–14, step 10.
(4) Band V is a supervision and
management track covering GS–14, step
1, through GS–15, step 10.
(5) Band VI is reserved for those S&E
professional positions classified above
GS–15.
* Band IV overlaps with band V.
These bands replicate a feature used by
the NAVSEA Warfare Centers’ STRL
demonstration project.
2. Pay Band Design
The demonstration project pay bands
for the occupational families and how
they relate to the current GS and NSPS
framework are shown in Figure 1.
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3. Above GS–15 Positions
The pay banding plan for the
Supervision and Management
occupational family includes a pay band
VI to provide the ability to
accommodate positions having duties
and responsibilities that exceed the GS–
15 classification criteria. This pay band
is based on the Above GS–15 Position
concept found in other STRL personnel
management demonstration projects
that was created to solve a critical
classification problem. The STRLs have
positions warranting classification
above GS–15 because of their technical
expertise requirements including
inherent supervisory and managerial
responsibilities. However, these
positions are not considered to be
appropriately classified as Scientific
and Professional Positions (STs) because
of the degree of supervision and level of
managerial responsibilities. Neither are
these positions appropriately classified
as Senior Executive Service (SES)
positions because of their requirement
for advanced specialized scientific or
engineering expertise and because the
positions are not at the level of general
managerial authority and impact
required for an SES position.
The original Above GS–15 Position
concept was to be tested for a five-year
period. The number of trial positions
was set at 40 with periodic reviews to
determine appropriate position
requirements. The Above GS–15
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Position concept is currently being
evaluated by DoD management for its
effectiveness; continued applicability to
the current STRL scientific, engineering,
and technology workforce needs; and
appropriate allocation of billets based
on mission requirements. The degree to
which the laboratory plans to
participate in this concept and develop
classification, compensation and
performance management policy,
guidance, and implementation
processes will be based on the final
outcome of the DoD evaluation.
Additional guidance will be included in
NAWCAD/NAWCWD internal
issuances.
B. Classification
The flexibilities in this Classification
section are similar in nature to the
authority granted to the Naval Ocean
Systems Center, San Diego, California
92152 and the Naval Weapons Center,
China Lake, California 93555, 45 FR
26504, April 18, 1980.
1. Occupational Series
The present GS classification system
has over 400 occupational series, which
are divided into 23 occupational
groupings. The covered organizations
currently have positions in
approximately 132 occupational series
that fall into 21 occupational groupings.
All positions listed in Appendix B will
be in the classification structure.
Provisions will be made for including
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other occupations in response to
changing missions.
2. Classification Standards and Position
Descriptions
The present system of OPM
classification standards will be used for
the identification of proper series and
occupational titles of positions within
the demonstration project. Current OPM
position classification standards will
not be used to grade positions in this
project. However, the grading criteria in
those standards will be used as a
framework to develop new and
simplified standards for the purpose of
pay band determinations. The objective
is to record the essential criteria for each
pay band within each occupational
family by stating the characteristics of
the work, the responsibilities of the
position, and the competencies
required. New position descriptions will
replace the current job descriptions. The
classification standard for each pay
band will serve as an important
component in the new position
description, which will also include
position-specific information, and
provide selective placement factors and
other data element information
pertinent to the job.
Specialty area codes (SAC) written as
narrative descriptions and assigned a
specific identification code may be used
to further differentiate types of work
and the competencies required for
particular positions within an
occupational family and pay band. Each
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3. Fair Labor Standards Act
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
exemption and non-exemption
determinations will be consistent with
criteria found in 5 CFR part 551. All
employees are covered by the FLSA
unless they meet the criteria for
exemption. The duties and
responsibilities outlined in the
classification standards for each pay
band will be compared to the FLSA
criteria. As a general rule, the FLSA
status can be matched to occupational
family and pay band as indicated in
BILLING CODE 5001–06–C
These decisions will be documented on
the position description.
N—Non-Exempt from FLSA; E—Exempt
from FLSA; N/E—Exemption status
determined on a case-by-case basis.
5. Classification Appeals
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Note: Although typical exemption status
under the various pay bands is shown in the
above table, actual FLSA exemption
determinations are made on a case-by-case
basis.
4. Classification Authority
The covered organizations’ Executive
Directors will have delegated
classification authority for all pay bands
with the exception of Supervision and
Management band VI and may, in turn,
re-delegate this authority to appropriate
levels. Classification authority for
Science and Engineering band V will be
consistent with DoD guidance. Position
descriptions will be developed to assist
managers in exercising delegated
position classification authority.
Managers will identify the occupational
family, job series, functional code,
specialty work code, pay band level,
and the appropriate acquisition codes.
Human resources specialists will
provide ongoing consultation and
guidance to managers and supervisors
throughout the classification process.
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Figure 2. For example, positions
classified in Pay Band I of the S&E
occupational family are typically
nonexempt, meaning they are covered
by the overtime entitlements prescribed
by the FLSA. An exception to this
guideline includes supervisors/
managers whose primary duty meets the
definitions outlined in the OPM GS
Supervisory Guide. Therefore,
supervisors/managers in any of the pay
bands who meet the foregoing criteria
are exempt from the FLSA. Supervisors
with classification authority will make
the determinations on a case-by-case
basis by comparing assigned duties and
responsibilities to the classification
Classification appeals under this
demonstration project will be processed
using the following procedures: An
employee may appeal the determination
of occupational family, occupational
series, position title, and pay band of
his/her position at any time. An
employee must formally raise the area of
concern to supervisors in the immediate
chain of command, either verbally or in
writing. If the employee is not satisfied
with the supervisory response, he/she
may then appeal to the Executive
Director of his/her organization. If the
employee is not satisfied with the
Executive Director’s response, he/she
may then appeal to the DoD appellate
level. Appeal decisions rendered by
DoD will be final and binding on all
administrative, certifying, payroll,
disbursing, and accounting officials of
the government. Classification appeals
are not accepted on positions which
exceed the equivalent of a GS–15 level.
Additional guidance will be included in
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standards for each pay band and the 5
CFR part 551 FLSA criteria.
Additionally, the advice and assistance
of the servicing Human Resources Office
(HRO) and the servicing Human
Resources Service Center (HRSC) can be
obtained in making determinations. The
benchmark position descriptions will
not be the sole basis for the
determination; the actual duties
performed are the controlling criteria.
Exemption criteria will be narrowly
construed and applied only to those
employees who clearly meet the spirit of
the exemption.
BILLING CODE 5001–06–P
the NAWCAD/NAWCWD internal
issuances.
An employee may not appeal the
accuracy of the position description, the
demonstration project classification
criteria, or the pay-setting criteria; the
assignment of occupational series to the
occupational family; the propriety of a
pay schedule; or matters covered by an
administrative or negotiated grievance
procedure, or an alternative dispute
resolution procedure.
The evaluations of classification
appeals under this demonstration
project are based upon the
demonstration project classification
criteria. Case files will be forwarded for
adjudication through the HRO/HRSC
providing personnel service and will
include copies of appropriate
demonstration project criteria.
C. Mission Aligned Objectives and
Compensation
1. Overview
The purpose of mission aligned
objectives and compensation is to
directly link the work of the employee
to the mission of the organization and
provide a mechanism for recognizing
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code represents a specialization or type
of work within the occupation.
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the impact of the employee’s
accomplishments and contributions to
help achieve that mission. It also
provides an effective, efficient, and
flexible method for assessing,
compensating, and managing the
covered organization’s workforce. It is
essential for the development of a
highly productive workforce and to
provide management at the lowest
practical level, the authority, control,
and flexibility needed to achieve a
quality organization and meet mission
requirements. Mission aligned
objectives and compensation allows for
more employee involvement in the
assessment process, strives to increase
communication between supervisor and
employee, promotes a clear
accountability of performance,
facilitates employee career progression,
and provides an understandable and
rational basis for pay changes by linking
mission directly to both annual
evaluations and compensation
outcomes.
The mission aligned objectives and
compensation system uses annual
payouts that are based on the
employee’s accomplishments and
contributions to mission
accomplishment rather than withingrade increases, quality step increases,
promotions from one grade to another
where both grades are now in the same
pay band (i.e., there are no within-band
promotions), and performance awards.
In addition to objectives, other factors
that can be considered in determining
overall payout include organizational
performance, team performance, or a
combination of individual performance,
contribution, and/or compensation. If
elements other than the employee’s
individual accomplishments and
contributions against their objectives
and their compensation will be taken
into consideration, this must be a part
of the written performance plan. The
employee must be advised of the
applicability of these factors within the
same time requirements as the
individual mission objectives. The
normal rating period will be one year.
Objectives, representing joint efforts of
employees and their supervisors, must
be in place within 30 days from the
beginning of each rating period and the
minimum rating period will be 90 days.
First-time hires into demonstration
project positions must have plans in
place within 30 days of the effective
date of their entry into the
demonstration project and current
demonstration project employees who
change positions during the
performance year should have their
plans updated with new objectives no
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later than 30 days after assignment to
the new position. Mission aligned
compensation and rewards payouts can
be in the form of increases to base pay
and/or in the form of bonuses that are
not added to base pay but rather are
given as a lump sum cash bonus. Other
awards such as special acts, time-off
awards, etc., will be retained separately
from the pay-for-performance payouts.
Employees who do not meet the 90
day minimum requirement will be
ineligible for a normal rating and will be
given a presumptive rating. They may
receive only the general pay increase
and they may also receive title 5 cash
awards if appropriate.
The system will have the flexibility to
be modified, if necessary, as more
experience is gained under the project.
The flexibilities in this Mission Aligned
Objectives and Compensation section
are similar in nature to the authority
granted to: (1) The Naval Ocean Systems
Center, San Diego, California 92152 and
the Naval Weapons Center, China Lake,
California 93555, 45 FR 26504, April 18,
1980, and (2) the Army Research
Laboratory (ARL), 65 FR 3500, January
21, 2000.
2. Individual Mission Objectives (IMO)
Individual mission objectives will be
directly related to achieving the mission
of the employee’s organization. They
define a target level of activity,
expressed as a tangible, measurable
objective, against which actual
achievement can be compared. These
objectives will specifically identify what
is expected of the employee during the
rating period and will typically consist
of three to ten results-oriented
statements. It is expected that these
objectives will also incorporate
important behavioral practices such as
teamwork and cooperation where they
are key to successful accomplishment of
the assignment. A Supervision/EEO
objective is mandatory for all managers/
supervisors. The employee and his/her
supervisor will jointly develop the
employee’s individual mission
objectives at the beginning of the rating
period. These are to be reflective of the
employee’s duties/responsibilities, pay
band and pay level in the band as well
as the mission/organizational goals and
priorities. Objectives will be reviewed
annually and revised upon changes in
pay reflecting increased responsibilities
commensurate with pay increases. Use
of generic one-size-fits-all objectives
will be avoided, as individual mission
objectives are to define an individual’s
specific responsibilities and expected
accomplishments for the performance
year. In contrast, rating benchmarks as
described in the next paragraph will
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identify characteristics, against which
the accomplishment of objectives will
be measured. As a part of this
demonstration project, training focused
on overall organizational objectives and
the development of individual mission
objectives will be held for both
supervisors and employees.
Individual mission objectives may be
jointly modified, changed or deleted as
appropriate during the rating cycle. As
a general rule, objectives should only be
changed when circumstances outside
the employee’s control prevent or
hamper the accomplishment of the
original objectives. It is also appropriate
to change objectives when mission or
workload shifts occur.
All objectives are critical. A critical
mission objective is defined as an
attribute of job performance that is of
sufficient importance that achievement
below the minimally acceptable level
requires remedial action and may be the
basis for removing an employee from
his/her position. Non-critical objectives
will not be used. Each of the objectives
may be assigned a weight, which
reflects its importance in accomplishing
an individual’s mission objectives. The
minimum weight assigned may not be
less than 10%. The sum of the weights
for all of the elements must equal 100.
At the beginning of the rating period,
higher level managers will review the
objectives and weights assigned to
employees within the pay pool, to verify
consistency and appropriateness.
3. Rating Benchmarks
Rating benchmarks define
characteristics that will be used to
evaluate the employee’s success in
accomplishing his/her individual
mission objectives. The use of
characteristics for scoring purposes
helps to ensure comparable scores are
assigned while accommodating diverse
individual objectives. A single set of
rating benchmarks for each band or
rating benchmarks by career stage may
be used for evaluating the annual
performance of all NAWCAD and
NAWCWD personnel covered by this
plan. An example of each type of
benchmark is shown at Appendices D
and E. The set of benchmarks used may
evolve over time, based on experience
gained during each rating cycle. This
evolution is essential to capture the
critical characteristics the organization
encourages in its workforce toward
meeting individual and organizational
objectives. This is particularly true in an
environment where technology and
work processes are changing at an
increasingly rapid pace. The Personnel
Management Board will annually
review the set of benchmarks and set
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them for the entire organization before
the beginning of the rating period.
4. Performance Feedback and Formal
Ratings
The most effective means of
communication is person-to-person
discussion between supervisors and
employees of requirements,
performance goals, and desired results.
Employees and supervisors alike are
expected to actively participate in these
discussions for optimum clarity
regarding expectations and identify
potential obstacles to meeting goals. In
addition, employees should explain (to
the extent possible) what they need
from their supervisor to support goal
accomplishment. The timing of these
discussions will vary based on the
nature of work performed, but will
occur at least at the mid-point and end
of the rating period. The supervisor and
employee will discuss job performance
and accomplishments in relation to the
expectations in the mission aligned
objectives. At least one review, normally
the mid-point review, will be
documented as a formal progress
review. More frequent, task specific
discussions may be appropriate in some
organizations. In cases where work is
accomplished by a team, team
discussions regarding goals and
expectations will be appropriate. The
employee will provide a statement of
his/her accomplishments to the
supervisor at both the mid-point and
end of the rating period.
At the end of the rating period,
following a review of the employee’s
accomplishments, the supervisor will
rate each of the individual mission
objectives. Benchmark performance
standards will be developed that
describe the level of performance
associated with a score. Using these
benchmarks, the supervisor decides
where the achievements and
contributions of the employee most
closely match the benchmarks and
assigns an appropriate score. It should
be noted that these scores are not
discussed with the employee or
considered final until all scores are
reconciled and approved by the Pay
Pool Manager. The rating scores will
then be multiplied by the objectiveweighting factor to determine the
weighted score expressed to two
decimal points. The weighted scores for
each objective will then be totaled to
determine the employee’s overall
appraisal score and rounded to a whole
number as follows: If the first two digits
to the right of the decimal are .51 or
higher, it will be rounded to the next
higher whole number; if the first two
digits to the right of the decimal are .50
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or lower, then the decimal value is
truncated.
The covered STRL organizations will
use a five-level rating methodology with
associated payout point ranges in which
level five signifies the highest level of
performance. The rater will prepare and
recommend the rating, number of
payout points, and the distribution of
the payout between base pay increase
and bonus, as applicable, for each
employee. These recommendations will
then be reviewed by the pay pool panel
to ensure equitable rating criteria and
methodologies have been applied to all
pay pool employees. The final
determination of the rating, number of
payout points, and payout distribution
will be a function of the pay pool panel
process and will be approved by the Pay
Pool Manager. The criteria used to
determine the number and distribution
of payout points to assign an employee
may include assessment of the
employee’s contribution towards
achieving the mission, the employee’s
type and level of work, the employee’s
current compensation and the criticality
of their contribution to mission success,
consideration of specific achievements,
or other job-related significant
accomplishments or contributions. The
proposed rating and payout point
schema is:
Rating
Payout
points
Description
5
4
3
2
1
Exceptional ..................
Exceeds Mission Expectations.
Mission Success .........
Partial Mission Success.
Unacceptable ..............
5, 6
3, 4
0, 1, 2
0
0
Employees with a total score of two or
above will receive the equivalent of the
GS January general pay increase (GPI).
Employees with a total score of one will
not receive the January GPI. A rating of
one or below will result in a rating of
Unacceptable, and the employee will
not receive the January GPI and will
require administrative action to address
the performance deficiency. A score of
one or below on a single objective will
also result in a rating of Unacceptable.
Employees in receipt of a Letter of
Warning of Unacceptable Performance
at the end of the performance year will
have their rating deferred until the end
of the improvement period. At the end
of the improvement period, the
supervisor will assign a final rating and
submit it to the pay pool panel for
consideration.
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5. Pay Pools
Following the initial scoring of each
employee by the rater, the rating
officials in an organizational unit, along
with their next level of supervision, will
review and compare recommended
ratings to ensure consistency and equity
of the ratings. In this step, each
employee’s individual mission
objectives, accomplishments,
preliminary scores and pay are
compared. Through discussion and
consensus building, consistent and
equitable ratings are reached. Managers
will not prescribe a distribution of
ratings. The Pay Pool Manager will then
chair a final review with the rating
officials who report directly to him or
her to validate these ratings and resolve
any scoring issues. If consensus cannot
be reached in this process, the Pay Pool
Manager makes all final decisions. After
this reconciliation process is complete,
ratings are finalized. Payouts proceed
according to each employee’s final
rating and payout distribution. Upon
approval of this plan, implementing
procedures and regulations will provide
details on this process to employees and
supervisors.
The covered organizations’ employees
will be placed into pay pools. Neither
the Pay Pool Manager, supervisors, or
pay pool panel members within a pay
pool will in any way recommend or
participate in setting their own rating or
individual payout except for the normal
employee self-assessment process. Pay
pools are combinations of organizational
units (e.g., level 3 competencies
(divisions), level 4 competencies
(branches), and level 5 competencies
(sections)), functional categories or
other groupings of employees that are
defined for the purpose of determining
payouts under the mission aligned
objectives and compensation system.
The guidelines in the next paragraph are
provided for determining pay pools.
These guidelines will normally be
followed. However, the Executive
Directors of the covered organizations
may deviate from the guidelines if there
is a compelling need to do so.
The Executive Directors of the
covered organizations will establish pay
pools. Typically, pay pools will have
between 35 and 300 employees. A pay
pool should be large enough to
encompass a reasonable distribution of
ratings but not so large as to
compromise rating consistency. Large
pay pools may use sub pay pools
subordinate to the pay pool due to the
size of the pay pool population, the
complexity of the mission, or other
similar criteria. Pay pool panel members
will not serve on pay pools where their
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of total base pay annually. The funds
available to be used for bonus payouts
are funded separately within the
constraints of the organization’s overall
award budget. This amount will initially
be defined based on historical data and
will initially be set at no less than one
percent of total base pay annually. As
changes in the demographics of the
workforce or other exigencies occur,
adjustments may be made to these two
factors. The sum of these two factors is
referred to as the pay pool percentage
factor. The Personnel Management
Board will annually review the pay pool
funding and recommend adjustments to
the Executive Directors to ensure cost
discipline over the life of the
demonstration project. Cost discipline is
assured within each pay pool by
limiting the total base pay increase to
the funds allocated by the Personnel
Management Board.
BILLING CODE 5001–06–C
of the allocated funds are disbursed. To
continue to provide performance
incentives while also ensuring cost
discipline, base pay increases may be
limited or capped. Certain employees
will not be able to receive the projected
base pay increase due to base pay caps.
Base pay is capped when an employee
reaches the maximum rate of base pay
in an assigned pay band or when a
control point applies (see below). Also,
for employees receiving retained rates
above the applicable pay band
maximum, the entire performance
payout will be in the form of a bonus
payment.
When capped, the total payout an
employee receives will be in the form of
a bonus versus the combination of base
pay and bonus. Bonuses are cash
payments and are not part of the base
pay for any purpose (e.g., lump sum
payments of annual leave on separation,
life insurance, and retirement). The
maximum base pay rate under this
demonstration project will be the
unadjusted base pay rate of GS–15, Step
10, except for employees in Pay Band VI
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An individual payout is calculated by
first multiplying the payout points
earned by the payout point value and
multiplying that product by base pay.
An adjustment is then made to account
for locality pay or staffing supplement.
A Pay Pool Manager is accountable for
staying within pay pool limits and final
decisions on base pay increases and/or
bonuses to individuals based on rater
recommendations, the final score, the
pay pool funds available, and the
employee’s base pay.
7. Base Pay Increases and Bonuses
The amount of money available for
the performance payouts is divided into
two components, base pay increases and
bonuses. The base pay and bonus funds
are based on the pay pool funding
formula established annually. Once the
individual performance amounts have
been determined, the next step is to
determine what portion of each payout
will be in the form of a base pay
increase as opposed to a bonus
payment. The payouts made to
employees from the pay pool may be a
mix of base pay and bonus, such that all
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6. Performance Payout Determination
The payout an employee will receive
is based on the total performance rating
from the mission aligned objectives and
compensation assessment process. An
employee will receive a payout as a
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percentage of base pay. This percentage
is based on the number of payout points
that equates to their final appraisal
score.
The value of a payout point cannot be
exactly determined until the rating and
reconciliation process is completed and
all scores are finalized. The payout
point value is expressed as a percentage.
The formula that computes the value of
each payout point uses base pay rates
and is based on:
a. The sum of the base pay of all the
employees in the pay pool times the pay
pool percentage factor;
b. The employee’s base pay;
c. The number of payout points
awarded to each employee in the pay
pool; and
d. The total number of payout points
awarded in the pay pool.
This formula assures that each
employee within the pool receives a
payout point amount equal to all others
in the same pool who are at the same
rate of base pay and receiving the same
score. The formula is shown in Figure
3.
BILLING CODE 5001–06–P
of the Supervision and Management
career path.
8. Extraordinary Achievement
Allowance (EAA)
a. NAWCAD and NAWCWD will
employ an Extraordinary Achievement
Allowance designed to optimize
organizational effectiveness. An EAA is
defined as a temporary monetary
allowance up to 25 percent of base pay,
which, when added to an employee’s
rate of base pay, may not exceed the rate
of basic pay for Executive Level IV. It is
paid on either a bi-weekly basis
concurrent with normal pay days or as
a lump sum following completion of a
designated contribution period, or
combination of these, at the discretion
of the Executive Director/Commanding
Officer of the appropriate Naval Air
Warfare Center. It is not base pay for any
purpose, e.g., retirement, life insurance,
severance pay, promotion, or any other
payment or benefit calculated as a
percentage of base pay. The EAA will be
available to certain employees whose
present contributions are worthy of a
higher career level and whose level of
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own ratings and payouts are
determined. Supervisors and nonsupervisors may be placed in separate
pay pools. Decisions regarding the
amount and distribution of the payouts
are based on the employee’s most recent
rating of record for the performance
year, the criteria listed in section III.C.4
above, the type and nature of the
funding available to the pay pool, and
the number of payout points assigned by
the pay pool. Additional guidance on
pay pool design and composition will
be included in NAWCAD/NAWCWD
internal issuances.
Funds within a pay pool available for
performance payouts are calculated
from anticipated pay increases under
the existing system and divided into
two components, base pay and bonus.
The funds within a pay pool used for
base pay increases are those that would
have been available from within-grade
increases, quality step increases and
promotions under the GS system
(excluding the costs of promotions still
provided under the pay banding
system). This amount will initially be
defined based on historical data and
will initially be set at no less than 2.4%
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achievement is expected to continue at
the higher career level for at least one
year.
b. Award of the EAA will generally be
appropriate under the following
circumstances: (1) Employees have
reached the top of their target career
levels, (2) when it is not certain that the
higher level contributions will continue
indefinitely (e.g., a special project
expected to be of one to five-year
duration), (3) when no further
promotion or base pay opportunities are
available, or externally imposed limits
make changes to higher career levels
unavailable, and (4) when the approval
time required to effect the action will
unreasonably delay appropriate
compensation for the employee’s
achievements but in all situations, when
current market conditions compensate
similar contributions at a greater rate in
private industry and academia than the
organization is able to do under normal
compensation conditions.
c. To be eligible for EAA, employees
must meet the criteria below:
(1) Employees in the S&E, Technical,
Business Professional and Program
Management career tracks are eligible
for the EAA if their contribution to the
organization is deemed worthy, as
determined by the appropriate NAWC
Executive Director/Commander.
(2) Employees may receive an EAA for
up to five years. The EAA authorization
will be reviewed and reauthorized as
necessary, but at least annually at the
time of the Mission Aligned Objectives
and Compensation System appraisal
through nomination by the Pay Pool
Manager and approval by the
appropriate Executive Director/
Commander.
(3) Monetary payment may be up to
25 percent of base pay.
(4) Nominees are required to sign a
statement indicating they understand
that the EAA is a temporary allowance;
it is not a part of base pay for any
purpose; it is subject to review at any
time, but at least on an annual basis,
and the reduction or termination of the
EAA is neither appealable nor grievable.
All other details regarding
nomination, termination, reduction,
allocation, and budget determination
will be stipulated by internal business
rules, policies, or procedures
established by the Personnel
Management Board.
9. Pay Growth Within a Pay Band
As a compensation management tool
the Personnel Management Board may
establish pay ranges appropriate for a
group or class of positions within a pay
band or pay bands. Advancement of pay
beyond the assigned pay range will
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generally require approval above the
Pay Pool Manager prior to finalizing the
pay pool decisions. The request must
demonstrate that the complexity and
responsibility of the position have
substantially changed and the duties of
the position are expected to continue at
this level in the future thus warranting
assignment of the position to a higher
pay range. Control points may apply in
every occupational family and pay
band. Additional guidance will be
included in NAWCAD/NAWCWD
internal issuances.
10. Awards
To provide additional flexibility in
motivating and rewarding individuals
and groups, some portion of the
performance award budget will be
reserved for special acts and other
categories as they occur. Awards may
include, but are not limited to, special
acts, patents, invention awards,
suggestions, on-the-spot, and time-off.
The funds available to be used for
traditional title 5 U.S.C. awards are
separately funded within the constraints
of the organization’s budget.
While not directly linked to the
Mission Aligned Objectives and
Compensation system, this additional
flexibility is important to encourage
outstanding accomplishments and
innovation in achieving the diverse
mission of the covered organizations.
Additionally, to foster and encourage
teamwork among its employees,
organizations may give group awards.
Thus, a team leader may recommend
and a supervisor may allocate a sum of
money to a team for outstanding
performance.
The NAWCAD and NAWCWD
Commanders will have the authority to
grant special act awards to covered
employees of up to $25,000 IAW the
criteria of SECNAVINST 12451.3. This
authority may be delegated to the
Executive Directors of the covered
organizations.
11. General Pay Increase
Employees who receive an
unacceptable rating of record will not
receive performance payouts or any
portion of the general pay increase and
as a result will ‘‘migrate’’ downward in
the pay band. This occurs because the
rate of base pay in a pay band increases
as the result of the general pay increase
(5 U.S.C. 5303). If their performance
rating continues as Unacceptable,
employees who reach the bottom of the
overlapping pay scales (they remain
identified in the higher classification
level as long they are covered in that
range) will cross the line into the next
lower classification level without
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specific adverse or performance-based
action. This migration is necessary for
an employee whose performance over a
period of time has been deficient
enough to merit the employee’s
placement in lower level duties/
responsibilities where new
opportunities for acceptable
performance exist. Clearly the employee
who has experienced several
performance evaluations and who, in
each case, has been given a year to
demonstrate improvement has been
provided equal or better ‘‘due process’’
than the obviously unsatisfactory
employee who is accorded immediate
adverse or performance-based action
procedures and downgraded or removed
after the required 30-day notice period.
Further, it should be noted that in these
instances the employee’s pay will
remain constant, the downward
migration results from the need to
comply with statutory pay levels.
Adverse or performance-based action
procedures will cover demotion
between levels or removal where
performance is clearly so unsatisfactory
as to preclude retention in the current
pay band or as an employee.
12. Requests for Reconsideration
An employee may request
reconsideration of the rating-of-record
received under the mission aligned
objectives and compensation system. A
rating of record or job objective rating
may be reconsidered by request of an
employee only through the process
specified in this subpart and
implementing issuances. This process
will be the sole and exclusive agency
administrative process for employees to
request reconsideration of a rating of
record. Consistent with this part, Pay
Pool Managers will make the decision
on reconsiderations of rating of record.
Pay Pool Managers’ decisions are final.
A payout point assignment
determination, payout distribution
determination, or any other payout
matter will not be subject to the
reconsideration process or any other
agency administrative grievance system.
In the event a reconsideration or
negotiated grievance decision results in
an adjusted rating of record the revised
rating will be referred to the Pay Pool
Manager for recalculation of the
employee’s performance payout amount
and distribution. Any adjustment to
base pay will be retroactive to the
effective date of the performance
payout. Base pay adjustments will be
based on the payout point range
appropriate for the adjusted rating of
record. Payout point values for the
adjusted rating of record will reflect the
payout point value paid to other
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members across the pay pool for that
rating cycle. Decisions made through
the reconsideration process or a
negotiated grievance procedure will not
result in recalculation of the payout
made to other employees in the pay
pool.
13. Adverse Actions
Except where specifically waived or
modified in this plan, adverse action
procedures under 5 CFR part 752
remain unchanged.
D. Hiring Authority
Competitive service positions will be
filled through Merit Staffing, direct-hire
authority, or Delegated Examining.
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1. Qualifications
The qualifications required for
placement into a position in a pay band
within an occupational family will be
determined using the OPM ‘‘Operating
Manual: Qualifications Standards for
General Schedule Positions.’’ Since the
pay bands are anchored to the GS grade
levels, the minimum qualification
requirements for a position will be the
requirements corresponding to the
lowest GS grade incorporated into that
pay band. For example, for a position in
the S&E occupational family Pay Band
II, individuals must meet the basic
requirements for a GS–5 as specified in
the OPM ‘‘Qualification Standard for
Professional and Scientific Positions.’’
Selective factors may be established
for a position in accordance with the
OPM’s ‘‘Operating Manual:
Qualifications Standards for General
Schedule Positions,’’ when determined
to be critical to successful job
performance. These factors will become
part of the minimum requirements for
the position, and applicants must meet
them in order to be eligible. If used,
selective factors will be stated as part of
the qualification requirements in
vacancy announcements and recruiting
bulletins.
2. Delegated Examining
NAWCAD and NAWCWD propose to
demonstrate a streamlined examining
process for both permanent and nonpermanent positions. This authority will
be supported by the applicable servicing
Human Resource Offices and Human
Resources Service Centers in accordance
with the Department of Navy’s common
business processes, systems, and tools.
The ‘‘Rule of Three’’ will be eliminated.
When there are no more than 15
qualified applicants and no preference
eligibles, all eligible applicants are
immediately referred to the selecting
official without rating and ranking.
Rating and ranking will be required only
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when the number of qualified
candidates exceeds 15 or there is a mix
of preference and non-preference
applicants. Statutes and regulations
covering veterans’ preference will be
observed in the selection process and
when rating and ranking are required. If
the candidates are rated and ranked, a
random number selection method will
be used to determine which applicants
will be referred when scores are tied
after the rating process. Veterans will be
referred ahead of non-veterans with the
same score. Additional guidance on
operating processes will be included in
NAWCAD/NAWCWD internal
issuances.
3. Distinguished Scholastic
Achievement Appointment Authority
(DSAA) for Scientific and Engineering
Positions
The covered organizations will use
the Distinguished Scholastic
Achievement Appointment Authority.
The DSAA uses an alternative
examining process, which provides the
authority to appoint individuals with
undergraduate or graduate degrees
through the doctoral level to
professional positions up to the
equivalent of GS–12 (DP–03 or DS–04).
This enables the covered organizations
to respond quickly to hiring needs for
eminently qualified candidates
possessing distinguished scholastic
achievements. Candidates may be
appointed provided they meet the
minimum standards for the position as
published in OPM’s ‘‘Operating Manual:
Qualifications Standards for General
Schedule Positions’’ and the candidate
has a cumulative grade point average of
3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) or better in their field
of study (or other equivalent score) or
are within the top 10 percent of a
university’s major school of graduate
studies for professional occupations,
etc.
4. Legal Authority
For actions taken under the auspices
of the demonstration project, the legal
authority, Public Law 103–337, as
amended, will be used. For all other
actions, the nature of action codes and
legal authority codes prescribed by
OPM, DoD, or DON will continue to be
used.
5. Expanded Term Appointments
NAWCAD and NAWCWD conduct a
variety of projects that range from three
to six years. The current four-year
limitation on term appointments, as
described in 5 CFR part 316, often forces
the termination of term employees prior
to completion of projects they were
hired to support. This disrupts the
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research and development process and
affects the organization’s ability to
accomplish the mission and serve its
customers. Under the demonstration
project, the covered organizations will
have authority to hire individuals under
a modified term appointment for a
period of more than one year but not
more than five years when the need for
an employee’s services is not
permanent. These appointments may be
extended one additional year, for a total
of 6 years. The Executive Directors are
authorized to extend term
appointments. Employees hired under
the modified term appointment
authority are in a non-permanent status,
but may be eligible for conversion to
career-conditional or career
appointments in the competitive
service. To be converted, the employee
must have (1) been selected for the term
position under competitive procedures,
with the announcement specifically
stating that the individual(s) selected for
the term position may be eligible for
conversion to a career-conditional or
career appointment at a later date; (2)
served a minimum of two years of
continuous service in the term position;
and (3) be performing at the acceptable
level of performance with a current
rating of record of Mission Success or
higher.
6. Extended Probationary Period
The purpose of extending the
probationary period and trial period is
to allow supervisors an adequate period
of time to fully evaluate an employee’s
ability to complete a cycle of work and
to fully assess an employee’s
contribution and conduct.
a. Competitive Service
NAWCAD and NAWCWD will
implement an extended initial
probationary period for competitive
service employees. The one-year
probationary period will be extended to
three years for newly appointed careerconditional, career employees and the
one-year trial period will be extended to
three years for newly appointed term
employees to positions classified to
series in the Science and Engineering,
Business and Program Management, and
Technical Specialist occupational
families. For employees in positions
classified to series in the S&E
Technician and Administrative Support
occupational families the one-year
probationary period will be extended to
two years for newly appointed careerconditional, career employees and the
one-year trial period will be extended to
two years for newly appointed term
employees. The term newly appointed
includes conversion to new
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appointments, including conversions
from term appointments and the
excepted service, for this purpose.
Employees who have completed an
initial probationary or trial period prior
to their conversion into the NAWC
STRL will not be required to serve a
new or extended initial probationary or
trial period. Employees who are serving
an initial probationary or trial period
upon conversion into the NAWC’s STRL
will serve the time remaining on their
initial probationary period or trial and
may have their initial probationary or
trial period extended in accordance
with the demonstration project
regulation and implementing issuances.
If a probationary or trial employee’s
performance is determined to be
Mission Success or higher and the
supervisor expects that the Mission
Success or higher performance will
continue into the future, the supervisor
has the option of ending the
probationary or trial period at an earlier
date, but not before the employee has
completed one year of continuous
service. If the probationary or trial
period is terminated before the end of
the two- or three-year period, the
immediate supervisor will provide
written reasons for his/her decision to
the next level of supervision for
concurrence prior to implementing the
action.
Aside from extending the time period
for all newly appointed careerconditional, career and term employees
all other features of the initial
probationary period as defined in 5 CFR
part 315 and trial period as described in
5 CFR part 316 are retained including
the potential to remove an employee
without providing the full substantive
and procedural rights afforded a nonprobationary employee.
b. Excepted Service
NAWCAD and NAWCWD will
implement an extended initial trial
period for excepted service employees
who are appointed on a permanent or
conditional basis or who are given a
time-limited appointment lasting three
or more years. The trial period will be
three years for newly appointed
excepted service employees to positions
classified to series in the Science and
Engineering, Business and Program
Management, and Technical Specialist
occupational families. For employees in
positions classified to series in the S&E
Technician and Administrative Support
occupational families the trial period
will be extended to two years for newly
appointed excepted service employees.
The term newly appointed includes
conversion to new appointments for this
purpose.
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Employees who have completed an
initial trial period prior to their
conversion into the NAWC STRL will
not be required to serve a new or
extended initial trial period. Employees
who are serving an initial trial period
upon conversion into the NAWC’s STRL
will serve the time remaining on their
initial trial period and may have their
initial trial period extended in
accordance with the demonstration
project regulation and implementing
issuances.
If a trial employee’s performance is
determined to be Mission Success or
higher and the supervisor expects that
the Mission Success or higher
performance will continue into the
future, prior to the end of the two- or
three-year trial period, a supervisor has
the option of ending the trial period at
an earlier date, but not before the
employee has completed one year of
continuous service. If the trial period is
terminated before the end of the two- or
three-year period, the immediate
supervisor will provide written reasons
for his/her decision to the next level of
supervision for concurrence prior to
implementing the action.
7. Termination of Probationary
Employees
Probationary employees may be
terminated when they fail to
demonstrate proper conduct, technical
competency, and/or acceptable
performance for continued employment,
and for conditions arising before
employment. When a supervisor
decides to terminate an employee
during the probationary period because
his/her work performance or conduct is
unacceptable, the supervisor shall
terminate the employee’s services by
written notification stating the reasons
for termination and the effective date of
the action. The information in the notice
shall, at a minimum, consist of the
supervisor’s conclusions as to the
inadequacies of the employee’s
performance or conduct, or those
conditions arising before employment
that support the termination.
8. Supervisory Probationary Periods
NAWCAD and NAWCWD will
implement an extended supervisory
probationary period. The probationary
period for new supervisors will be two
years. Except for the increased length,
supervisory probationary periods will
be made consistent with 5 CFR part 315.
Employees who have successfully
completed an initial probationary
period for supervisory positions will not
be required to complete an additional
two-year probationary period for initial
appointment to a supervisory position.
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Employees who are serving an initial
supervisory probationary period upon
conversion into the NAWC’s STRL will
serve the time remaining on their initial
supervisory probationary period and
may have their supervisory probationary
period extended in accordance with the
demonstration project regulation and
implementing issuances. If, during this
probationary period, the decision is
made to return the employee to a nonsupervisory position for reasons related
to supervisory performance and/or
conduct, the employee will be returned
to a comparable position of no lower
base pay than the position from which
promoted or reassigned immediately
prior to the supervisory assignment.
9. Volunteer Emeritus Corps
a. NAWCAD and NAWCWD will
implement a Voluntary Emeritus
Program. Under the demonstration
project, the Executive Directors of the
covered organizations will have the
authority to offer retired or separated
employees voluntary positions. This
authority may be delegated only to
members of the Senior Executive
Service (SES). Voluntary Emeritus Corps
assignments are not considered
employment by the Federal government
except for purposes of injury
compensation. Thus, such assignments
do not affect an employee’s entitlement
to buyouts or severance payments based
on an earlier separation from Federal
service. To be accepted into the
Volunteer Emeritus Corps, a volunteer
must be recommended by a NAWCAD
or NAWCWD manager to the NAWCAD
or NAWCWD Executive Director or an
SES member to whom this authority has
been delegated. Not everyone who
applies is entitled to an emeritus
position. The responsible official will
document acceptance or rejection of the
applicant. For acceptance,
documentation must be retained
throughout the assignment. For
rejection, documentation will be
maintained for two years.
b. To ensure success and encourage
participation, the volunteer’s Federal
retirement pay (whether military or
civilian) will not be affected while
serving in a voluntary capacity. Retired
or separated Federal employees may
accept an emeritus position without a
break or mandatory waiting period.
Voluntary Emeritus Corps volunteers
will not be permitted to monitor
contracts on behalf of the Government
or to participate on any contracts or
solicitations where a conflict of interest
exists. The volunteers may be required
to submit a financial disclosure form
annually. The same rules that currently
apply to source selection members will
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apply to volunteers. An agreement will
be established among the volunteer, the
responsible official, and the servicing
HRO. The agreement must be finalized
before the assumption of duties and
shall include:
(1) A statement that the voluntary
assignment does not constitute an
appointment in the Civil Service is
without compensation, and the
volunteer waives any claims against the
Government based on the voluntary
assignment;
(2) A statement that the volunteer will
be considered a Federal employee only
for the purpose of injury compensation;
(3) The volunteer’s work schedule;
(4) Length of agreement (defined by
length of project or time defined by
weeks, months, or years);
(5) Support provided by the
organization (travel, administrative
support, office space, and supplies);
(6) A statement of duties;
(7) A statement providing that no
additional time will be added to a
volunteer’s service credit for such
purposes as retirement, severance pay,
and leave as a result of being a
volunteer;
(8) A provision allowing either party
to void the agreement with two working
days written notice;
(9) The level of security access
required by the volunteer (any security
clearance required by the position will
be managed by the employing
organization);
(10) A provision that any
publication(s) resulting from his/her
work will be submitted to the NAWCAD
or NAWCWD Executive Director for
review and approval;
(11) A statement that he/she accepts
accountability for loss or damage to
Government property occasioned by
his/her negligence or willful action;
(12) A statement that his/her activities
on the premises will conform to the
regulations and requirements of the
organization;
(13) A statement that he/she will not
release any sensitive or proprietary
information without the written
approval of the employing organization
and further agrees to execute additional
non-disclosure agreements as
appropriate, if required, by the nature of
the anticipated services; and,
(14) A statement that he/she agrees to
disclose any inventions made in the
course of work performed at the
NAWCAD or NAWCWD. The NAWCAD
or NAWCWD Executive Director has the
option to obtain title to any such
invention on behalf of the U.S.
Government. Should the NAWCAD or
NAWCWD Executive Director elect not
to take title, the NAWCAD or NAWCWD
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shall, at a minimum, retain a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, royaltyfree license to practice or have practiced
the invention worldwide on behalf of
the U.S. Government. Exceptions to the
provisions in this procedure may be
granted by the NAWCAD or NAWCWD
Executive Director on a case-by-case
basis.
10. Direct Hire Authority for Scientists
and Engineers With Advanced Degrees
for Scientific and Engineering Positions
a. Background
The NAWCAD and NAWCWD
Laboratories have an urgent need for
direct hire authority to appoint qualified
candidates possessing an advanced
degree to permanent and temporary
scientific and engineering positions.
The market is extremely competitive
with industry and academia for the
small supply of highly-qualified and
security clearable candidates with a
Masters Degree or PhD in science or
engineering. There are 35,000 scientists
and engineers employed in the DoD
laboratories; 27% hold Masters Degrees,
while 10% are in possession of a PhD
The NAWCAD and NAWCWD
Laboratories jointly employ 5974
scientists and engineers; 29% holding
Masters Degrees, while 4% are in
possession of a PhD Over the next five
years, the NAWCAD and NAWCWD
Laboratories plan to hire approximately
2,240 of the country’s best and brightest
scientists and engineers (S&Es) just to
keep pace with attrition. This number
does not include the impact that several
actions such as the Base Realignment
and Closure of weapons and armament
work to China Lake, California that will
result in need to hire additional
scientists and engineers above normal
attrition levels. Statistics indicate that
the available pool of advanced degree,
clearable candidates is substantially
diminished by the number of non-U.S.
citizens granted degrees by U.S.
institutions. For instance, in 2006, 20%
of Masters Degrees in science and over
35% of PhDs in science were awarded
to temporary residents.
It is expected that this hiring
authority, together with streamlined
recruitment processes, will be very
effective in hiring candidates possessing
a PhD and accelerating the hiring
process. For instance, under a similar
authority found in the NDAA for FY
2009, section 1108 (Pub. L. 110–417),
October 28, 2009, one STRL had fifteen
PhD selectees in 2009 for the sixteen
vacancies for which they were using
this hiring authority. Another STRL,
using this expedited hiring authority in
calendar year 2009, made thirty firm
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hiring offers in an average of thirteen
days from receipt of paper work in the
Human Resources Office. Of these thirty
selectees, twenty-three possessed PhDs.
This authority will be administered
by the servicing Human Resources
Office and Human Resources Service
Center in accordance with the
Department of Navy’s common business
processes, systems and tools and
consistent with veterans’ preference and
merit principles. Use of this appointing
authority must comply with ’veterans’
preference and merit systems principles
when recruiting and appointing
candidates with advanced degrees to
covered occupations. Qualified
candidates possessing an advanced
degree may be appointed to both
competitive and excepted service
without regard to the provisions of
subchapter 1 of chapter 33 of title 5,
United States Code, other than sections
3303, 3321, and 3328 of such title.
The hiring threshold for this authority
shall be consistent with DoD policy and
legislative language as expressed in any
National Defense Authorization Act
addressing such.
When completing the personnel
action, the following will be given as the
authority for the Career-Conditional,
Career, Term, Temporary, or special
demonstration project appointment
authority: Section 1108, NDAA for FY
09. Evaluation of this hiring authority
will include information and data on its
use such as numerical limitation, hires
made, declinations, how many veterans
hired, declinations, difficulties
encountered, and/or recognized
efficiencies.
b. Definitions
(1) Scientific and engineering
positions are defined as all professional
positions in scientific and engineering
occupations (with a positive education
requirement) utilized by the laboratory.
(2) An advanced degree is a Master’s
or higher degree from an accredited
college or university in a field of
scientific or engineering study directly
related to the duties of the position to
be filled.
(3) Qualified candidates are defined
as candidates who:
(a) Meet the minimum standards for
the position as published in OPM’s
operating manual, ‘‘Qualification
Standards for General Schedule
Positions,’’ or the laboratory’s
demonstration project qualification
standards specific to the position to be
filled;
(b) Possess an advanced degree; and
(c) Meet any selective factors.
(4) The term ‘‘employee’’ is defined by
Section 2105 of title 5, U.S.C.
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11. Non-Citizen Hiring
Where Executive Orders or other
regulations limit hiring non-citizens to
the excepted service, both NAWCAD
and NAWCWD will have the authority
to approve the hiring of non-citizens
into competitive service positions when
qualified U.S. citizens are not available,
and the candidate meets all applicable
immigration and security requirements.
If a non-citizen candidate is the only
qualified candidate for the position, the
candidate may be appointed. The
selection is subject to approval by the
NAWCAD and NAWCWD Executive
Director/Commanding Officer or
approving manager, as delegated by the
appropriate Center Executive Director/
Commanding Officer. This authority
may only be delegated to members of
the Senior Executive Service (SES).
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E. Internal Placement
1. Employees Hired From Outside the
NAWC STRL
Employees entering into the NAWC
from non-STRL pay systems or from
other Federal activities not as the result
of a mass organizational conversion will
be moved into the demonstration project
in the career path and at the level and
pay consistent with the duties and
responsibilities of the STRL position
and individual qualifications.
When an employee is permanently
placed (except by conversion under
section V.A or by promotion under
section II.E.2) in an STRL position from
a GS or FWS position through a
management-directed action (except for
actions taken for misconduct or
unacceptable performance), including a
management directed reassignment or
realignment, or any placement as a
result of a reduction in force (RIF), or
placement via the Priority Placement
Program (PPP), Reemployment Priority
List (RPL), or Interagency Career
Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP), the
employee will receive a WGI
adjustment. The WGI adjustment is
calculated based on the number of
calendar days between the effective date
of the employee’s last equivalent
increase and the date of conversion into
NSPS, regardless of the number of days
in a non-pay status (if any). The
maximum adjustment may not exceed a
full WGI.
An employee who enters into an
STRL position from a GS or FWS
position through an employee-initiated
reassignment, promotion, or change to
lower grade may, at the discretion of the
authorized management official, also
receive a WGI adjustment equivalent
increase as described in the paragraph
above. The decision to grant this
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increase will be reviewed and approved
by an official who is at a higher level
than the official who made the initial
decision.
In either case, this increase occurs
before any other discretionary
reassignment increases provided under
the STRL, may not cause the employee’s
base salary to exceed the maximum rate
of the assigned pay band, and is in
addition to any other discretionary
reassignment increase the employee
may be eligible to receive.
2. Promotion
A promotion is the movement of an
employee to a higher pay band in the
same occupational family or to a higher
pay band in a different occupational
family. It also includes movement of an
employee currently covered by a nondemonstration project personnel system
to a demonstration project position in a
pay band with a higher level of work.
Positions with known promotion
potential to a specific band within an
occupational family will be identified
when they are filled. Not all positions
in an occupational family will have
promotion potential to the same band.
Movement from one occupational
family to another will depend upon
individual competencies, qualifications
and the needs of the organization.
Supervisors may consider promoting
qualified employees at any time, since
promotions are not directly tied to the
mission aligned objectives and
compensation system. Progression
within a pay band is based upon
performance base pay increases; as
such, these actions are not considered
promotions and are not subject to the
provisions of this section. Promotions
will follow Merit System Principles and
basic Federal merit promotion policy
that provides for competitive and noncompetitive promotions.
To be promoted competitively or noncompetitively from one band to the
next, an employee must meet the
minimum qualifications for the job and
have a current rating of record of
Mission Success or better or equivalent
under a different performance appraisal
system. If an employee does not have a
current performance rating, the
employee will be treated the same as an
employee with a rating of record of
Mission Success as long as there is no
documented evidence of less than
acceptable performance.
Higher pay band or higher level of
work means a pay band designated to be
a higher level of work than an
employee’s currently assigned band,
based on the demonstration
classification structure and career
progression patterns, either within or
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across varying pay schedules and career
groups, regardless of the specific
earning potential of the band. When
moving from a non-demonstration
position to a demonstration position,
the band of the demonstration position
is determined to be at a higher level of
work than the grade or level of the nondemonstration position based on
application of the demonstration
classification structure and career
progression patterns. Additional
guidance will be included in NAWCAD/
NAWCWD internal issuances.
3. Reassignment
A reassignment occurs when an
employee moves, voluntarily or
involuntarily, to a different position or
set of duties within his/her pay band or
to a position in a comparable pay band,
or from a non-demonstration project
position to a demonstration project
position at a comparable level of work,
on either a temporary or permanent
basis. The employee must meet the
qualifications requirements for the
occupational family and pay band.
When an employee is reassigned either
within his/her current pay band or to a
comparable pay band, an authorized
management official will set pay at an
amount no less than the employee’s
current base pay.
Comparable pay band or comparable
level of work means pay bands with the
equivalent level of work, based on the
demonstration classification structure
and career progression patterns, within
and across varying pay schedules and
career groups, regardless of the specific
earning potential of the bands. When
moving from a non-demonstration
position to a demonstration position,
the band of the demonstration position
is determined to be at a comparable
level of work to the grade or level of the
non-demonstration position based on
application of the demonstration
classification structure and career
progression patterns. Additional
guidance will be included in NAWCAD/
NAWCWD internal issuances.
4. Demotion or Placement in a Lower
Pay Band
A demotion is the placement of an
employee into a lower pay band or
movement from a non-demonstration
project position to a demonstration
project position at a lower level of work.
Demotions may be for cause
(performance or conduct) or for reasons
other than cause (e.g., erosion of duties,
reclassification of duties to a lower pay
band, application under competitive
announcements, at the employee’s
request, or placement actions resulting
from RIF procedures).
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Lower pay band or lower level of
work means a pay band designated to be
a lower level of work than an
employee’s currently assigned band,
based on the demonstration
classification structure and career
progression patterns, either within or
across varying pay schedules and career
groups, regardless of the specific
earning potential of the band. When
moving from a non-demonstration
position to a demonstration position,
the band of the demonstration position
is determined to be at a lower level of
work than the grade or level of the nondemonstration position based on
application of the demonstration
classification structure and career
progression patterns. Additional
guidance will be included in NAWCAD/
NAWCWD internal issuances.
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5. Simplified Assignment Process
Today’s environment of downsizing
and workforce fluctuations mandates
that the organization have maximum
flexibility to assign duties and
responsibilities to individuals. Pay
banding can be used to address this
need, as it enables the organization to
have maximum flexibility to assign an
employee with or without a change in
base pay, within broad descriptions,
consistent with the needs of the
organization and the individual’s
qualifications and level. Subsequent
assignments to projects, tasks, or
functions anywhere within the
organization requiring the same level,
area of expertise, and qualifications
would not constitute an assignment
outside the scope or coverage of the
current position description. For
instance, a technical expert could be
assigned to any project, task, or function
requiring similar technical expertise.
Likewise, a manager could be assigned
to manage any similar function or
organization consistent with that
individual’s qualifications. This
flexibility allows broader latitude in
assignments and further streamlines the
administrative process and system.
6. Details and Temporary Promotions
NAWCAD and NAWCWD will
implement an Expanded Detail and
Temporary Promotion Authority
providing the authority to (1) to effect
details up to one year to specified
positions at the same or similar level;
and (2) to effect details or temporary
promotions to a higher pay band
position up to one year within a 24month period without competition. The
specifics of these authorities will be
stipulated by local business rules,
policies, or procedures as organizational
experience dictates.
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7. Exceptions to Competitive Procedures
The following actions are exceptions
to competitive procedures:
a. Re-promotion to a position which is
in the same pay band or GS equivalent
and occupational family as the
employee previously held on a
permanent basis within the competitive
service.
b. Promotion, reassignment,
demotion, transfer or reinstatement to a
position having promotion potential no
greater than the potential of a position
an employee currently holds or
previously held on a permanent basis in
the competitive service.
c. A position change permitted by
reduction-in-force procedures.
d. Promotion without current
competition when the employee was
appointed through competitive
procedures to a position with a
documented target level.
e. A temporary promotion, or detail to
a position in a higher pay band, up to
one year in a 24-month period.
f. A promotion due to the
reclassification of positions based on
accretion (addition) of duties.
g. A promotion resulting from the
correction of an initial classification
error or the issuance of a new
classification standard.
h. Consideration of a candidate who
did not receive proper consideration in
a competitive promotion action.
Additional guidance will be included
in NAWCAD/NAWCWD internal
issuances.
F. Pay Administration
1. General
Pay administration policies will be
established by the Personnel
Management Board. These policies will
be exempt from DON pay setting
policies, but will conform to basic
governmental pay setting policy except
for flexibilities contained herein.
Employees whose performance is
acceptable will receive the full annual
general pay increase and the full locality
pay. The covered organizations may
make full use of recruitment, retention
and relocation incentive payments as
provided for by OPM. Pay retention will
follow current law and regulations at 5
U.S.C. 5362, 5363, and 5 CFR part 536,
except as described in this regulation
and waived or modified in section IX,
the waiver section of this plan. Pay band
retention will not be used in this
demonstration project.
2. Locality Pay
Employees with a performance rating
of Partial Mission Success or better will
be entitled to the locality pay authorized
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for their official duty station in
accordance with 5 CFR part 531 subpart
F. Employees with a performance rating
of Unacceptable will be entitled to only
the locality pay increase; they cannot
receive any other pay increase or award.
In addition, the locality-adjusted pay of
any employee may not exceed the rate
for Executive Level IV. Geographic
movement within the demonstration
project will result in the employee’s
locality pay being recomputed using the
newly applicable locality pay
percentage, which may result in a
higher or lower locality pay and, thus,
a higher or lower adjusted base pay.
3. Pay and Compensation Ceilings
An employee’s total monetary
compensation paid in a calendar year
may not exceed the base pay of Level I
of the Executive Schedule consistent
with 5 U.S.C. 5307 and 5 CFR part 530
subpart B. In addition, each pay band
will have its own pay ceiling, just as
grades do in the GS. Base pay rates for
the various pay bands will be directly
keyed to the GS rates, except for the Pay
Band VI of the Supervision and
Management occupational family. Other
than where a retained rate applies, base
pay will be limited to the maximum
base pay payable for each pay band.
4. Pay Setting for Appointment
Employees whose appointment to a
demonstration project position is their
initial appointment to the Federal
service may have pay set at the lowest
base pay in the band or anywhere
within the band consistent with the
special qualifications of the individual
and the unique requirements of the
position. These special qualifications
may be in the form of education,
training, experience or any combination
thereof that is pertinent to the position
in which the employee is being placed.
Both national and local labor market
conditions and pay rates may also be
taken into consideration to ensure that
the Warfare Centers are able to compete
for the talent, skills, abilities, and
competencies needed to enable them to
remain on the cutting edge of science
and technology. Guidance on pay
setting for new hires will be established
by the Personnel Management Board.
Highest Previous Rate (HPR) will be
considered in placement actions
authorized under rules similar to the
HPR rules in 5 CFR 531.221. Use of HPR
will be at the supervisor’s discretion,
but if used, HPR is subject to policies
established by the Personnel
Management Board.
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5. Pay Setting for Promotion
The minimum base pay increase upon
promotion to a higher pay band will be
6% or the minimum base pay rate of the
new pay band, whichever is greater. The
maximum amount of the pay increase
may not exceed 20%, or other such
amount as established by the Personnel
Management Board. The maximum base
pay increase for promotion may be
exceeded when necessary to allow for
the minimum base pay increase. For
employees covered by a staffing
supplement, the demonstration
extended base pay is considered base
pay for promotion calculations. When a
temporary promotion is terminated, the
employee’s pay entitlements will be redetermined based on the employee’s
position of record, with appropriate
adjustments to reflect pay events during
the temporary promotion, subject to the
specific policies and rules established
by the Personnel Management Board.
The Personnel Management Board may
establish additional pay setting policies
for promotions, including increasing the
promotion amount beyond 20% with
the approval of the NAWCAD and
NAWCWD Commanders or Executive
Directors. In no case may those
adjustments increase the base pay for
the position of record beyond the
applicable maximum base pay for the
pay band.
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6. Pay Setting for Reassignment
a. Covered organizations may choose
to adopt the flexibility to pay an
increase in base pay upon reassignment.
If adopted, such an increase will be
subject to the specific guidelines
established by the Personnel
Management Board and will not exceed
5% as a cost containment measure. A
reassignment may be effected without a
change in base pay. Employees may be
eligible for an increase to base salary
upon temporary or permanent
reassignment as described in section
III.E.3. A decision to increase an
employee’s pay under this section will
be based upon clear Personnel
Management Board business rules that
will define criteria necessary to justify
a pay increase. Examples of criteria may
include, but are not limited to, one or
more of the following factors:
(1) A determination that an
employee’s responsibilities will
significantly increase;
(2) Critical mission or business
requirements;
(3) Need to advance multi-functional
competencies;
(4) Labor market conditions, e.g.,
availability of candidates and labor
market rates;
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(5) Reassignment from a
nonsupervisory to a supervisory
position;
(6) Employee’s past and anticipated
performance and contribution;
(7) Physical location of position;
(8) Specialized skills, knowledge, or
education possessed by the employee in
relation to those required by the
position; and
(9) Base pay of other employees in the
organization performing similar work.
b. When an employee is reassigned
within his/her current pay band or to a
comparable pay band, an authorized
management official will set pay at an
amount no less than the employee’s
current base pay and may increase the
employee’s current base pay by up to
and including 5%. If the employee’s
current base pay exceeds the maximum
of the new pay band, no increase can be
provided. There is no limit to the
number of times an employee can be
reassigned, but local business rules will
be established to monitor and control all
cases that receive reassignment base pay
changes to ensure fairness and
consistency across the workforce.
Reassignment base pay thresholds may
be modified by internal business rules,
policies, or procedures as organizational
experience dictates.
7. Pay Setting for Demotion or
Placement in a Lower Pay Band
Employees demoted for cause
(performance or conduct) are not
entitled to pay retention and will
receive a minimum of a 5% decrease in
base pay or the minimum rate of the
lower pay band whichever is greater.
Employees demoted for reasons other
than cause (e.g., erosion of duties,
reclassification of duties to a lower pay
band, application under competitive
announcements, at the employee’s
request, or placement actions resulting
from RIF procedures) may be entitled to
pay retention in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5363 and 5 CFR
part 536, except as waived or modified
in sections III.F.11 and IX of this plan.
Employees, who receive an
unacceptable rating, do not receive
performance payouts or the general pay
increase. This action may result in base
pay that is identified in a lower pay
band. This occurs because the minimum
rate of base pay in a pay band increases
as the result of the general pay increase
(5 U.S.C. 5303) while the employee’s
pay does not change. The employee will
be placed in the lower pay band and
their salary will remain unchanged.
This situation (a reduction-in-band level
with no reduction in pay as a result of
an unacceptable rating) will not be
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considered an adverse performance
based action.
8. Staffing Supplements
At the time of conversion or OPM
approval of a new SSR that would be
applicable to covered employees, the
NAWCAD and NAWCWD may
incorporate the use of special salary
rates (SSR) in demonstration project pay
ranges. Currently there are no NSPS
Targeted Local Market Supplements in
use by NAWCAD or NAWCWD so no
employees converting from NSPS will
be affected if staffing supplements are
not implemented at conversion. If
staffing supplements are adopted, either
at the time of conversion or later,
NAWCAD and NAWCWD will
implement them via an extension to the
demonstration pay ranges and a
supplement to a covered employee’s
salary. Employees assigned to
occupational categories and geographic
areas where GS SSRs apply may be
entitled to a staffing supplement if the
maximum adjusted base pay rate for the
demonstration band to which the
employee is assigned is exceeded by a
GS special rate for the employee’s
occupational category and geographic
area. The Personnel Management Board
may establish additional policies and
provide guidance on the use and
application of the staffing supplement
including provisions for in band
adjustments and limiting application of
this feature to fewer occupations than
covered by the GS SSR. An extension to
the demonstration pay ranges will be
used to extend the maximum salary of
the pay band for those occupations for
which a staffing supplement is
approved. The increase of an
employee’s base pay into this extension
will be determined by the annual
performance assessment and payout,
there is no automatic entitlement to a
staffing supplement. Only if an
employee’s annual assessment and
associated payout would cause their
base pay to fall within the area of the
staffing supplement extension to the pay
range for the pay band would they be
paid at this level.
The extension to the pay range will be
the maximum special salary rate for the
banded grades. An employee’s base pay
is increased by the standard locality
increase until the base pay exceeds the
maximum GS basic pay for the banded
grades. If the employee’s base pay will
exceed the maximum GS basic pay for
the banded grades then the staffing
supplement will be applied when
authorized. The staffing supplement
percent will be set equal to the locality
percent and the staffing supplement and
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following example.
BILLING CODE 5001–06–C
If the pay scale extension is
discontinued or reduced either because
the GS SSR has been discontinued or
reduced, for NAWC budgetary
constraints or other NAWC managerial
decisions, the employees receiving a
staffing supplement will receive
retained pay. There will be no change in
the adjusted base pay when placed on
pay retention.
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9. Educational Pay Adjustment
NAWCAD and NAWCWD will
establish an educational base pay
adjustment which is separate from the
incentive pay process and may not
cause the employee’s pay to exceed the
maximum base pay rate of his or her
assigned pay band. An educational pay
adjustment is defined as an increase in
an employee’s base pay by other than
the incentive pay process within the
employee’s current band level to an
amount which does not exceed the top
of the band. The educational pay
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adjustment may be used to adjust the
pay of individuals who have acquired a
level of mission-related education that
would otherwise make the employee
qualified for an appointment at a higher
level and would be used in lieu of a new
appointment. For example, this
authority may be used to adjust the pay
of graduate level Student Career
Experience Program (SCEP) students or
employees who have obtained an
advanced degree, e.g., a PhD in a field
related to the work of their position or
the mission of their organization. An
employee may receive an educational
base pay adjustment or a reassignment
base pay increase but not both at the
same time.
10. Developmental Promotions
NAWCAD and NAWCWD will
employ developmental promotions to
achieve compensation growth
commensurate to an employee’s
progression while in developmental
assignments. A developmental
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promotion is an increase to base pay
that may be provided to employees
participating in NAWCAD and
NAWCWD training programs or in other
developmental capacities as determined
by Personnel Management Board policy.
Developmental promotions recognize
growth and development in the
acquisition of job related competencies
combined with successful performance
of job objectives. The use of
developmental promotions is limited to
(1) employees in a developmental pay
band of a non-supervisory pay schedule
and who are in developmental or trainee
level positions; and (2) employees in
positions which are assigned to a
Student Career Experience Program
(SCEP).
Standards by which developmental
promotion increases are provided and
criteria by which additional base pay
increases will be determined will be
established and documented in internal
business rules, policies, or procedures.
The amount of the developmental
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promotion increase generally will not
exceed 20 percent of an employee’s base
pay. The decision to grant a
developmental promotion exceeding 20
percent of an employee’s base pay must
be made on a case-by-case basis and
approved by the appropriate Executive
Director/Commanding Officer or their
delegate as established by internal
business rules, policies, or procedures.
This authority may be delegated only to
members of the Senior Executive
Service (SES). The amount of the
developmental promotion increase may
not cause the employee’s base pay to
exceed the top of the employee’s pay
band or that set by internal business
rule, policy, or procedure. To qualify for
a developmental promotion, an
employee must have a rating of record
of Mission Success or better. A
developmental promotion may be
awarded to an employee who does not
have a rating of record if an authorizing
official conducts a performance
assessment and determines that the
employee is performing at the Mission
Success level or better. This
performance assessment does not
constitute a rating of record. If an
employee has a current performance
rating below Mission Success and the
supervisor believes the employee’s
performance has improved to the
Mission Success level or better, the
employee has demonstrated this
improved performance for 90 days or
more and it is expected that this level
of performance will continue, the
supervisor may conduct a performance
assessment and forward it to the Pay
Pool Manager for approval. If the Pay
Pool Manager concurs with the
supervisor’s assessment, then the
employee may be given a developmental
promotion. There is no entitlement to an
additional assessment beyond the
annual assessment; this decision is
totally at managerial discretion. If an
additional assessment is made, it is not
a rating of record and there will be no
retroactive pay changes associated with
it.
A developmental promotion increase
may not be granted unless an employee
is in a pay and duty status under the
NAWCAD/NAWCWD STRL
demonstration project on the effective
date of the increase.
11. Pay Retention
Pay retention will follow current law
and regulations at 5 U.S.C. 5362, 5363,
and 5 CFR part 536, except as waived
or modified in the Staffing Supplements
section and section IX of this plan. Pay
band (grade) retention does not apply
under this demonstration project. The
NACWAD or NAWCWD Executive
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Director may also grant pay retention to
employees who meet general eligibility
requirements, but do not have specific
entitlement by law, provided they are
not specifically excluded.
G. Employee Development
1. Expanded Developmental
Opportunity Program
The Expanded Developmental
Opportunity Program will be available
to all demonstration project employees.
Expanded developmental opportunities
complement existing developmental
opportunities such as long-term
training, rotational job assignments, and
developmental assignments to DON/
DoD, and self-directed study via
correspondence courses and local
colleges and universities. Each
developmental opportunity must result
in a product, service, report, or study
that will benefit the NAWCAD or
NAWCWD or customer organization as
well as increase the employee’s
individual effectiveness. The
developmental opportunity period will
not result in loss of (or reduction) in
base pay, leave to which the employee
is otherwise entitled, or credit for
service time. The positions of
employees on expanded developmental
opportunities may be back-filled (i.e.,
with temporarily assigned, detailed, or
promoted employees or with term
employees). However, that position or
its equivalent must be made available to
the employee upon return from the
developmental period. The Personnel
Management Board will provide written
guidance for employees on application
procedures and develop a process that
will be used to review and evaluate
applicants for development
opportunities.
a. Sabbaticals
The Executive Directors of the
covered organizations have the
authority to grant paid or unpaid
sabbaticals to all career employees. The
purpose of a sabbatical will be to permit
an employee to engage in study or
uncompensated work experience that
will benefit the organization and
contribute to the employee’s
development and effectiveness. Each
sabbatical must result in a product,
service, report, or study that will benefit
the NAWCAD or NAWCWD mission as
well as increase the employee’s
individual effectiveness. Various
learning or developmental experiences
may be considered, such as advanced
academic teaching; research; selfdirected or guided study; and on-the-job
work experience.
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One paid sabbatical of up to twelve
months in duration or one unpaid
sabbatical of up to six months in a
calendar year may be granted to an
employee in any seven-year period.
Employees will be eligible to request a
sabbatical after completion of seven
years of Federal service. Employees
approved for a paid sabbatical must sign
a service obligation agreement to
continue in service in the covered
organizations for a period of three times
the length of the sabbatical. If an
employee voluntarily leaves the covered
organizations before the service
obligation is completed, he/she is liable
for repayment of expenses incurred by
the covered organizations that are
associated with training during the
sabbatical. Expenses do not include
salary costs. The Executive Directors of
the covered organizations have the
authority to waive this requirement.
Criteria for such waivers will be
addressed in the operating procedures.
Specific procedures will be developed
for processing sabbatical applications
upon implementation of the
demonstration project.
b. Critical Skills Training (Training for
Degrees)
The Executive Directors of the
covered organizations have the
authority to approve academic degree
training consistent with 5 U.S.C. 4107.
Training is an essential component of an
organization that requires continuous
acquisition of advanced and specialized
knowledge. Degree training is also a
critical tool for recruiting and retaining
employees with or acquiring critical
skills. Academic degree training will
ensure continuous acquisition of
advanced specialized knowledge
essential to the organization and ability
to recruit and retain personnel critical to
the present and future requirements of
the organization. Degree or certificate
payment may not be authorized where
it would result in a tax liability for the
employee without the employee’s
express and written consent. Any
variance from this policy must be
rigorously determined and documented.
Guidelines will be developed to ensure
competitive approval of degree or
certificate payment and that those
decisions are fully documented.
Employees approved for degree training
must sign a service obligation agreement
to continue in service in the covered
organizations for a period of three times
the length of the training period. If an
employee voluntarily leaves the
NAWCAD or NAWCWD before the
service obligation is completed, he/she
is liable for repayment of expenses
incurred by the covered organizations
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related to the critical skills training.
Expenses do not include salary costs.
The Executive Directors of the covered
organizations have the authority to
waive this requirement. Criteria for such
waivers will be addressed in the STRL
internal operating procedures.
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H. Reduction-in-Force (RIF) Procedures
RIF procedures will be used when an
employee faces separation or
downgrading due to lack of work,
shortage of funds, reorganization,
insufficient personnel ceiling, the
exercise of re-employment or restoration
rights, or furlough for more than 30
calendar days or more than 22
discontinuous days. The procedures in
5 CFR part 351 will generally be
followed with some modifications
pertaining to the competitive areas,
assignment rights, the addition of a
performance sub-group and grade/pay
band retention. Modified term
appointment employees are in Tenure
Group III for RIF purposes. RIF
procedures are not required when
separating these employees when their
appointments expire.
1. Competitive Areas
Separate RIF competitive areas for
demonstration and non-demonstration
project employees will be established at
each geographic location. Within the
demonstration project separate
competitive areas will be established for
each demonstration occupational
family. Demonstration supervisors will
be placed in the competitive area for
their occupational family but in separate
competitive levels within that career
field. Bumps and retreats will occur
only within the same competitive area
and only to positions for which the
employee meets all qualification
standards including medical and/or
physical qualifications.
Within each competitive area,
competitive levels will be established
based on the occupational family, pay
band, series and SAC so that positions
are similar enough in duties and
qualifications that employees can
perform the duties and responsibilities
of any other position in the competitive
level upon assignment to it, without any
loss of productivity beyond what is
normally expected. For S&E competitive
levels the Warfare Centers may also
choose to use the OPM classification
functional code as a defining element.
2. Assignment Rights
An employee may displace another
employee by bump or retreat to one pay
band below the employee’s existing pay
band. A preference eligible with a
compensable service-connected
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disability of 30 percent or more may
retreat to positions two pay bands below
his/her current band.
3. Crediting Performance in RIF
Reductions in force are accomplished
using the existing procedures with the
retention factors of: Tenure, veterans’
preference, performance, and length of
service, in that order. The performance
subgroup will be based on the most
recent three ratings of record during the
preceding four years. There will be three
groupings within the performance
subgroup: Mission Superior (H),
Mission Success (S) and Mission
Deficiency (L). The most recent ratings
of records will be combined to
determine the performance subgroup.
The High subgroup will include those
employees who have consistently
demonstrated superior performance.
The Mission Success subgroup will
include the next level of demonstrated
performance and the Mission Deficiency
subgroup will include those who have
failed to achieve expected levels of
performance for one or more years.
Additional guidance on determining
performance subgroups will be included
in NAWCAD/NAWCWD internal
issuances.
Employees who have been rated
under different patterns of summary
rating levels and have at least the
equivalent of a rating of record of three
will receive RIF appraisal credit for the
non-demonstration performance ratings
equivalent to Mission Success based on
the demonstration project’s modal score
for the employee’s competitive area. If
the employee received less than the
equivalent of Mission Success, then that
rating will be compared to the
demonstration project one or two rating
and best fit chosen. Additional guidance
on ratings equivalency will be included
in NAWCAD/NAWCWD internal
issuances.
In some cases, an employee may not
have three ratings of record. If an
employee has fewer than three annual
ratings of record, then for each missing
rating, RIF appraisal credit will be based
on the demonstration project’s modal
score for the most recently completed
appraisal period on record for the
employee’s competitive area. For an
employee who has no ratings of record,
all credit will be based on the repeated
use of a single modal rating from the
most recently completed appraisal
period on record for the employee’s
competitive area.
An employee who has received a
written decision that his/her
performance is unacceptable has no
bump or retreat rights. An employee
who has been demoted for unacceptable
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performance, and as of the date of the
issuance of the RIF notice has not
received a performance rating in the
position to which demoted, will receive
the same credit granted for a Level 3
rating of record. An employee with a
current unacceptable rating of record
has assignment rights only to a position
held by another employee who has an
unacceptable rating of record.
IV. Implementation Training
Critical to the success of the
demonstration project is the training
developed to promote understanding of
the broad concepts and finer details
needed to implement and successfully
execute this project. A new pay banding
schema and performance management
system both represent significant
cultural change to the organization.
Training will be tailored to address
employee concerns and encourage
comprehensive understanding of the
demonstration project. Training will be
required both prior to implementation
and at various times during the life of
the demonstration project. A training
program will begin prior to
implementation and will include
modules tailored for employees,
supervisors, senior managers, and
administrative staff. Typical modules
are:
1. An overview of the demonstration
project personnel system;
2. How employees are converted into
and out of the system;
3. Pay banding;
4. The mission aligned objectives and
compensation system;
5. Defining mission aligned
performance objectives;
6. How weights may be used with the
mission aligned performance objectives;
7. Assessing performance—giving
feedback;
8. New position descriptions; and
9. Demonstration project
administration and formal evaluation.
Various types of training are being
considered including videos, on-line
tutorials, and train-the-trainer concepts.
V. Movement Into and Out of the
Demonstration Project
A. Conversion From NSPS to the
Demonstration Project
1. Placement Into Demonstration Project
Pay Plans and Pay Bands
The employee’s NSPS occupational
series, pay plan, pay band, and
supervisory code will be considered
upon converting into the demonstration
project as follows:
a. Determine the appropriate
demonstration project pay plan.
Employees will be converted into a pay
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plan based on the occupational series of
their position. There is a separate pay
plan for supervisors; conversion to that
pay plan will be without regard to the
occupational series. In cases where the
employee is assigned to a NSPS-unique
occupational series, a corresponding
OPM occupational series must be
identified using OPM GS classification
standards and guidance to determine
the proper demonstration project pay
plan.
b. Determine the appropriate pay
band. The appropriate pay band will be
determined by establishing the
corresponding demonstration project
pay band for the employee’s NSPS
position using demonstration project
pay band definitions, classification
standards and guidance. Once the
demonstration project pay band has
been determined, the employee’s
position will be placed in the
demonstration project pay band. In
cases where a demonstration project pay
band overlaps more than one NSPS pay
band, placement will be made using
demonstration project pay band
definitions and classification criteria to
determine the appropriate pay band in
which to place the position.
2. Pay Upon Conversion
Conversion from NSPS into the
demonstration project will be
accomplished with full employee pay
protection. Adverse action provisions
will not apply to the conversion action.
In accordance with section 1113(c)(1) of
NDAA 2010, which prohibits a loss of
or decrease in pay upon transition from
NSPS, employees converting to the
demonstration project will retain the
adjusted salary (as defined in 5 CFR
9901.304) from their NSPS permanent
position at the time the position
converts. Upon conversion, the retained
NSPS adjusted salary may not exceed
Level IV of the Executive Schedule plus
5 percent. If the employee’s base pay
exceeds the maximum rate for his or her
assigned demonstration project pay
band, the employee will be placed on
indefinite pay retention until an event,
as described in 5 CFR 536.308, results
in a loss of eligibility for or termination
of pay retention. Increases to the
retained rate after conversion will be in
accordance with applicable regulations;
however, for any NSPS employee whose
retained rate exceeds EX–IV upon
conversion, any adjustment to the
retained rate in accordance with
applicable pay retention regulations
may not cause the employee’s adjusted
pay to exceed EX–IV plus 5 percent.
NAWCAD and NAWCWD do not have
any employees who are covered by an
NSPS targeted local market supplement
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(TLMS), but if such coverage occurs
between the date of this FRN and
conversion to the demonstration project
such employees will no longer be
covered by a TLMS. Instead they may
receive a locality or similar supplement
(e.g., a staffing supplement), or pay
retention, if applicable. The adjusted
base pay will not change upon
conversion.
Once converted, employees may
receive other adjustments and/or
differentials, as applicable, as described
in this regulation or an implementing
issuance.
3. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Status
Since FLSA provisions were not
waived under NSPS and duties do not
change upon conversion to the
demonstration project, the FLSA status
determination will remain the same
upon conversion. Employees will be
converted to the demonstration project
with the same FLSA status they had
under NSPS.
4. Transition Equity
During the first 12 months following
conversion to the demonstration project,
management may approve certain
adjustments within the pay band for pay
equity reasons stemming from
conversion. For example, if an employee
would have been otherwise promoted
but demonstration project pay band
placement no longer merits promotion,
a pay equity adjustment may be
authorized provided the adjustment
does not cause the employee’s base pay
to exceed the maximum rate of his or
her assigned pay band and the
employee’s performance warrants an
adjustment. The decision to grant a pay
equity adjustment is at the sole
discretion of management and is not
subject to employee appeal procedures.
During the first 18 months following
conversion, management may approve
promotions of less than 6% or increases
in base pay of not more than 20%
provided the adjustment does not cause
the employee’s base pay to exceed the
maximum rate of his or her assigned pay
band. The employee’s performance must
warrant an adjustment and these actions
will be limited to those necessary to
mitigate compensation inequities that
are directly related to the transition/
conversion from NSPS to the
demonstration project. For instance,
inappropriate ‘‘leap-frogging’’ of more
senior employees by more junior
employees when the inversion of
compensation levels are not warranted
by performance or mission
accomplishment outcomes. The
Personnel Management Board will
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establish policy and guidance for this
provision and this guidance will be
included in NAWCAD/NAWCWD
internal issuances.
5. Converting Employees on NSPS Term
and Temporary Appointments
a. Employees serving under term
appointments at the time of conversion
to the demonstration project will be
converted to a modified term
appointment provided they were hired
for their current positions under
competitive procedures. These
employees will be eligible for
conversion to career or careerconditional appointments in the
competitive service provided they:
(1) Have served two years of
continuous service in the term position;
(2) were selected for the term position
under competitive procedures; and
(3) are performing at a NSPS Valued
Performer, demonstration Mission
Success, or equivalent level under
another system. Additional guidance
will be included in NAWCAD/
NAWCWD internal conversion
issuances.
Converted term employees who do
not meet these criteria may continue on
their term appointment up to the not-toexceed date established under NSPS.
Extensions of term appointments for
employees who do not meet the above
criteria may be granted after conversion
in accordance with the provision of this
regulation.
b. Employees serving under
temporary appointments under NSPS
when their organization converts to the
demonstration project will be converted
and may continue on their temporary
appointment up to the not-to-exceed
date established under NSPS.
Extensions of temporary appointments
after conversion may be granted in
accordance with 5 CFR 213.104 for
excepted service employees and 5 CFR
part 316, subpart D, for competitive
service employees.
6. Probationary Periods
a. Initial probationary period.
Employees who have completed an
initial probationary period prior to
conversion from NSPS will not be
required to serve a new or extended
initial probationary period. Employees
who are serving an initial probationary
period upon conversion from NSPS will
serve the time remaining on their initial
probationary period and may have their
initial probationary period extended in
accordance with the demonstration
project regulation and implementing
issuances.
b. Supervisory probationary period.
NSPS employees who have completed a
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supervisory probationary period prior to
conversion from NSPS will not be
required to serve a new or extended
supervisory probationary period. NSPS
employees who are serving a
supervisory probationary period upon
conversion from NSPS will serve the
time remaining on their supervisory
probationary period and may have their
supervisory probationary period
extended in accordance with the
demonstration project regulation and
implementing issuances.
B. Conversion From Other Personnel
Systems
Employees who enter this
demonstration project from other
personnel systems (e.g., Defense
Civilian Intelligence Personnel System,
DoD Civilian Acquisition Workforce
Demonstration Project, or other STRLs)
due to a reorganization, mandatory
conversion, Base Closure and
Realignment Commission decision, or
other directed action will be converted
into the NAVAIR STRL demonstration
project via movement of their positions
using an appropriate Nature of Action
Code. Employees’ positions will be
classified based upon the position
classification criteria and pay band
definitions under the laboratory
demonstration project rules and their
pay, upon conversion, maintained
under applicable pay setting rules.
C. Movement Out of the NAVAIR STRL
Demonstration Project
1. Termination of Coverage Under the
NAVAIR STRL Demonstration Project
Pay Plans
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In the event employees’ coverage
under the NAVAIR STRL demonstration
project pay plans is terminated,
employees move with their
demonstration project positions to
another system applicable to NAVAIR
STRL employees. The grade of their
demonstration project position in the
new system will be based upon the
position classification criteria of the
gaining system. Employees when
converted to their positions classified
under the new system will be eligible
for pay retention under 5 CFR part 536,
if applicable.
2. Determining a GS-Equivalent Grade
and GS-Equivalent Rate of Pay for Pay
Setting Purposes When a NAVAIR
Employee’s Coverage by a
Demonstration Project Pay Plan
Terminates or the Employee Voluntarily
Exits the NAVAIR STRL Demonstration
Project
a. If a demonstration project employee
is moving to a GS or other pay system
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position, the following procedures will
be used to translate the employee’s
project pay band to a GS-equivalent
grade and the employee’s project base
pay to the GS-equivalent rate of pay for
pay setting purposes. The equivalent GS
grade and GS rate of pay must be
determined before movement out of the
demonstration project and any
accompanying geographic movement,
promotion, or other simultaneous
action. For lateral reassignments, the
equivalent GS grade and rate will
become the employee’s converted GS
grade and rate after leaving the
demonstration project (before any other
action). For transfers, promotions, and
other actions, the converted GS grade
and rate will be used in applying any
GS pay administration rules applicable
in connection with the employee’s
movement out of the project (e.g.,
promotion rules, highest previous rate
rules, pay retention rules), as if the GS
converted grade and rate were actually
in effect immediately before the
employee left the demonstration project.
b. Equivalent GS-Grade-Setting
Provisions
An employee in a pay band
corresponding to a single GS grade is
provided that grade as the GSequivalent grade. An employee in a pay
band corresponding to two or more
grades is determined to have a GSequivalent grade corresponding to one
of those grades according to the
following rules:
(1) The employee’s adjusted base pay
under the demonstration project
(including any locality payment or
staffing supplement) is compared with
step 4 rates in the highest applicable GS
rate range. For this purpose, a GS rate
range includes a rate in:
(a) The GS base schedule;
(b) the locality rate schedule for the
locality pay area in which the position
is located; or
(c) the appropriate special rate
schedule for the employee’s
occupational series, as applicable.
If the series is a two-grade interval
series, only odd-numbered grades are
considered below GS–11.
(2) If the employee’s adjusted base
pay under the demonstration project
equals or exceeds the applicable step 4
adjusted base pay rate of the highest GS
grade in the band, the employee is
converted to that grade.
(3) If the employee’s adjusted base
pay under the demonstration project is
lower than the applicable step 4
adjusted base pay rate of the highest
grade, the adjusted base pay under the
demonstration project is compared with
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the step 4 adjusted base pay rate of the
second highest grade in the employee’s
pay band. If the employee’s adjusted
base pay under the demonstration
project equals or exceeds the step 4
adjusted base pay rate of the second
highest grade, the employee is
converted to that grade.
(4) This process is repeated for each
successively lower grade in the band
until a grade is found in which the
employee’s adjusted base pay under the
demonstration project rate equals or
exceeds the applicable step 4 adjusted
base pay rate of the grade. The employee
is then converted at that grade. If the
employee’s adjusted base pay is below
the step 4 adjusted base pay rate of the
lowest grade in the band, the employee
is converted to the lowest grade.
(5) Exception: An employee will not
be provided a lower grade than the
grade held by the employee
immediately preceding a conversion,
lateral reassignment, or lateral transfer
into the project, unless since that time
the employee has either undergone a
reduction in band or a reduction within
the same pay band due to unacceptable
performance.
c. Equivalent GS-Rate-of-Pay-Setting
Provisions
An employee’s pay within the
converted GS grade is set by converting
the employee’s demonstration project
rates of pay to GS rates of pay in
accordance with the following rules:
(1) The pay conversion is done before
any geographic movement or other payrelated action that coincides with the
employee’s movement or conversion out
of the demonstration project.
(2) An employee’s adjusted base pay
under the demonstration project (i.e.,
including any locality payment or
staffing supplement) is converted to a
GS adjusted base pay rate on the highest
applicable GS rate range for the
converted GS grade. For this purpose, a
GS rate range includes a rate range in:
(a) The GS base schedule,
(b) an applicable locality rate
schedule, or
(c) an applicable special rate
schedule.
(3) If the highest applicable GS rate
range is a locality pay rate range, the
employee’s adjusted base pay under the
demonstration project is converted to a
GS locality rate of pay. If this rate falls
between two steps in the localityadjusted schedule, the rate must be set
at the higher step. The converted GS
unadjusted rate of base pay would be
the GS base rate corresponding to the
converted GS locality rate (i.e., same
step position).
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(4) If the highest applicable GS rate
range is a special rate range, the
employee’s adjusted base pay under the
demonstration project is converted to a
special rate. If this rate falls between
two steps in the special rate schedule,
the rate must be set at the higher step.
The converted GS unadjusted rate of
base pay will be the GS rate
corresponding to the converted special
rate (i.e., same step position).
(d) Employees with Pay Retention: If
an employee is receiving a retained rate
under the demonstration project, the
employee’s GS-equivalent grade is the
highest grade encompassed in his or her
pay band level. Demonstration project
operating procedures will outline the
methodology for determining the GSequivalent pay rate for an employee
retaining a rate under the demonstration
project.
3. Supervision and Management Pay
Band VI Employees
The Above GS–15 Position concept is
currently being evaluated by DoD
management for its effectiveness;
continued applicability to the current
STRL scientific, engineering, and
technology workforce needs; and
appropriate allocation of billets based
on mission requirements. The nature
and extent of the conversion out of the
demonstration project process for
employees in these positions will be
determined by the final DoD guidance.
Additional guidance may be included in
NAWCAD/NAWCWD internal
issuances.
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4. Employees With Pay Retention
If an employee is receiving a retained
rate under the demonstration project,
the employee’s GS-equivalent grade is
the highest grade encompassed in his or
her pay band level. Demonstration
project operating procedures will
outline the methodology for
determining the GS-equivalent pay rate
for an employee retaining a rate under
the demonstration project.
5. Within-Grade Increase—Equivalent
Increase Determinations
Service under the demonstration
project is creditable for within-grade
increase purposes upon conversion back
to the GS pay system. Performance pay
increases (including a zero increase)
under the demonstration project are
equivalent increases for the purpose of
determining the commencement of a
within-grade increase waiting period
under 5 CFR 531.405(b).
D. Personnel Administration
All personnel laws, regulations, and
guidelines not waived by this plan will
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remain in effect. Basic employee rights
will be safeguarded and Merit System
Principles will be maintained. Servicing
HRSCs will continue to process
personnel-related actions and provide
other appropriate services.
E. Automation Support
1. General
One of the major goals of the
demonstration project is to streamline
the personnel processes to increase cost
effectiveness. Automation must play an
integral role in achieving that goal.
Without the necessary automation to
support the interventions proposed for
the demonstration project, optimal cost
benefit cannot be realized. In addition,
adequate information to support
decisionmaking must be available to
managers if line management is to
assume greater authority and
responsibility for human resources
management. Automation to support the
demonstration project is required at the
DON and DoD level, (in the form of
changes to the Defense Civilian
Personnel Data System) to facilitate
processing and reporting of
demonstration project personnel
actions, and may be ultimately required
by the Naval Air Warfare Centers to
assist in processing of a variety of
personnel-related actions in order to
facilitate management processes and
decisionmaking.
2. Defense Civilian Personnel Data
System (DCPDS)
DCPDS is the Department of Defense’s
authoritative personnel data system and
program of record and, as such, will be
the system of choice for the STRL labs.
F. Experimentation and Revision
Many aspects of a demonstration
project are experimental. Modifications
may be made from time to time as
experience is gained, results are
analyzed, and conclusions are reached
on how the new system is working.
DoDI 1400.37, July 28, 2009, provides
instructions for adopting other STRL
flexibilities, making minor changes to
an existing demonstration project, and
requesting new initiatives.
VI. Project Duration
Public Law 103–337 removed any
mandatory expiration date for this
demonstration. The covered
organizations, DON and DoD will
ensure this project is evaluated for the
first five years after implementation in
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 4703.
Modifications to the original evaluation
plan or any new evaluation will ensure
the project is evaluated for its
effectiveness, its impact on mission, and
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any potential adverse impact on any
employee groups. Major changes and
modifications to the interventions
would be made if formative evaluation
data warranted and will be published in
the Federal Register to the extent
required. At the five-year point, the
demonstration will be reexamined for
permanent implementation,
modification and additional testing, or
termination of the entire demonstration
project.
VII. Evaluation Plan
A. Overview
Chapter 47 of 5 U.S.C. requires that an
evaluation be performed to measure the
effectiveness of the demonstration
project and its impact on improving
public management. A comprehensive
evaluation plan for the entire
demonstration program, originally
covering 24 DoD laboratories, was
developed by a joint OPM/DoD
Evaluation Committee in 1995. This
plan was submitted to the Office of
Defense Research & Engineering and
was subsequently approved. The main
purpose of the evaluation is to
determine whether the waivers granted
result in a more effective personnel
system and improvements in ultimate
outcomes (i.e., organizational
effectiveness, mission accomplishment,
and customer satisfaction).
B. Evaluation Model
Appendix C shows an intervention
model for the evaluation of the
demonstration project. The model is
designated to evaluate two levels of
organizational performance:
Intermediate and ultimate outcomes.
The intermediate outcomes are defined
as the results from specific personnel
system changes and the associated
waivers of law and regulation expected
to improve human resource (HR)
management (i.e., cost, quality,
timeliness). The ultimate outcomes are
determined through improved
organizational performance, mission
accomplishment, and customer
satisfaction. Although it is not possible
to establish a direct causal link between
changes in the HR management system
and organizational effectiveness, it is
hypothesized that the new HR system
will contribute to improved
organizational effectiveness.
Organizational performance measures
established by the organization will be
used to evaluate the impact of a new HR
system on the ultimate outcomes. The
evaluation of the new HR system for any
given organization will take into
account the influence of three factors on
organizational performance: Context,
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degree of implementation, and support
of implementation. The context factor
refers to the impact which intervening
variables (i.e., downsizing, changes in
mission, or the economy) can have on
the effectiveness of the program. The
degree of implementation considers the
extent to which the:
(1) HR changes are given a fair trial
period;
(2) Changes are implemented; and
(3) Changes conform to the HR
interventions as planned.
The support of implementation factor
accounts for the impact that factors such
as training, internal regulations and
automated support systems have on the
support available for program
implementation. The support for
program implementation factor can also
be affected by the personal
characteristics (e.g., attitudes) of
individuals who are implementing the
program.
The degree to which the project is
implemented and operated will be
tracked to ensure that the evaluation
results reflect the project as it was
intended. Data will be collected to
measure changes in both intermediate
and ultimate outcomes, as well as any
unintended outcomes, which may
happen as a result of any organizational
change. In addition, the evaluation will
track the impact of the project and its
interventions on veterans and other
protected groups, the Merit Systems
Principles, and the Prohibited Personnel
Practices. Additional measures may be
added to the model in the event that
changes or modifications are made to
the demonstration plan.
The intervention model at Appendix
C will be used to measure the
effectiveness of the personnel system
interventions implemented. The
intervention model specifies each
personnel system change or
‘‘intervention’’ that will be measured
and shows:
(1) The expected effects of the
intervention,
(2) The corresponding measures, and
(3) The data sources for obtaining the
measures.
Although the model makes predictions
about the outcomes of specific
interventions, causal attributions about
the full impact of specific interventions
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will not always be possible for several
reasons. For example, many of the
initiatives are expected to interact with
each other and contribute to the same
outcomes. In addition, the impact of
changes in the HR system may be
mitigated by context variables (e.g., the
job market, legislation, and internal
support systems) or support factors (e.g.,
training and automation support
systems).
C. Evaluation
A modified quasi-experimental design
will be used for the evaluation of the
STRL Personnel Demonstration
Program. Because most of the eligible
laboratories are participating in the
program, a title 5 U.S.C. comparison
group will be compiled from the Central
Personnel Data File (CPDF). This
comparison group will consist of
workforce data from Government-wide
research organizations in civilian
Federal agencies with missions and job
series matching those in the DoD
laboratories. This comparison group
will be used primarily in the analysis of
pay banding costs and turnover rates.
D. Method of Data Collection
Data from several sources will be used
in the evaluation. Information from
existing management information
systems and from personnel office
records will be supplemented with
perceptual survey data from employees
to assess the effectiveness and
perception of the project. The multiple
sources of data collection will provide
a more complete picture as to how the
interventions are working. The
information gathered from one source
will serve to validate information
obtained through another source. In so
doing, the confidence of overall findings
will be strengthened as the different
collection methods substantiate each
other.
Both quantitative and qualitative data
will be used when evaluating outcomes.
The following data will be collected:
(1) Workforce data;
(2) Personnel office data;
(3) Employee attitude surveys;
(4) Focus group data;
(5) Local site historian logs and
implementation information;
(6) Customer satisfaction surveys; and
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(7) Core measures of organizational
performance.
The evaluation effort will consist of
two phases, formative and summative
evaluation, covering at least five years to
permit inter- and intra-organizational
estimates of effectiveness. The formative
evaluation phase will include baseline
data collection and analysis,
implementation evaluation, and interim
assessments. The formal reports and
interim assessments will provide
information on the accuracy of project
operation, and current information on
impact of the project on veterans and
protected groups, Merit System
Principles, and Prohibited Personnel
Practices. The summative evaluation
will focus on an overall assessment of
project outcomes after five years. The
final report will provide information on
how well the HR system changes
achieved the desired goals, which
interventions were most effective, and
whether the results can be generalized
to other Federal installations.
VIII. Demonstration Project Costs
A. Cost Discipline
An objective of the demonstration
project is to ensure in-house cost
discipline. A baseline will be
established at the start of the project and
salary expenditures will be tracked
yearly. Implementation costs (including
project development, automation costs,
and evaluation costs) are considered
one-time costs and will not be included
in the cost discipline. The Personnel
Management Board will track personnel
cost changes and recommend
adjustments if required to achieve the
objective of cost discipline.
B. Developmental Costs
Costs associated with the
development of the personnel
demonstration project include software
automation, training, and project
evaluation. All funding will be provided
through the organization’s budget. The
projected annual expenses are
summarized in Table 1. Project
evaluation costs are not expected to
continue beyond the first five years
unless the results warrant further
evaluation.
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IX. Required Waivers to Law and
Regulation
Public Law 106–398 gave the DoD the
authority to experiment with several
personnel management innovations. In
addition to the authorities granted by
the law, the following are waivers of law
and regulation that will be necessary for
implementation of the demonstration
project. In due course, additional laws
and regulations may be identified for
waiver request. The following waivers
and adaptations of certain title 5 U.S.C.
and title 5 CFR provisions are required
only to the extent that these statutory
provisions limit or are inconsistent with
the actions contemplated under this
demonstration project. Nothing in this
plan is intended to preclude the
demonstration project from adopting or
incorporating any law or regulation
enacted, adopted, or amended after the
effective date of this demonstration
project.
A. Waivers to Title 5, U.S.C.
Chapter 5, section 552a: Records.
Waive to the extent required to clarify
that volunteers under the Voluntary
Emeritus Corps are considered
employees of the Federal Government
for purposes of this section.
Chapter 31, section 3111: Acceptance
of volunteer service. Waive to allow for
a Volunteer Emeritus Corps in addition
to student volunteers.
Chapter 33, subchapter I—
Examination, Certification, and
Appointment: Waived except for
sections 3302, 3321, and 3328 to allow
for direct hire authority for scientists
and engineers with advanced degrees
for professional positions.
Chapter 33, section 3317(a):
Competitive service, certification from
register (in so far as ‘‘rule of three’’ is
eliminated under the demonstration
project).
Chapter 33, subchapter 1, Section
3318(a): Competitive Service, Selection
from Certificate. Waived in its entirety
to eliminate the requirement for
selection using the ‘‘rule of three.’’
Veterans’ preference provisions remain
unchanged.
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Chapter 33, section 3321: Competitive
Service; Probationary Period. This
section waived to the extent necessary
to replace grade with ‘‘pay band level
and allow probationary periods of up to
3 years.
Chapter 33, section 3341: Details.
Waived as necessary to extend the time
limits for details.
Chapter 35, section 3502: Waived to
the extent to allow for performance
retention subgroups and 3502(c) waived
in its entirety.
Chapter 41, section 4108(a)–(c):
Waived to the extent necessary to
require the employee to continue in the
service of the covered organizations for
the period of the required service and to
the extent necessary to permit the
Executive Director of the covered
organizations, to waive in whole or in
part a right of recovery.
Chapter 43, section 4302: Waived to
the extent necessary to substitute ‘‘pay
band’’ for ‘‘grade.’’
Chapter 43, section 4303: Waived to
the extent necessary to (1) substitute
‘‘pay band’’ for ‘‘grade’’ and (2) provide
that moving to a lower pay band as a
result of not receiving the general pay
increase because of poor performance is
not an action covered by the provisions
of sections 4303(a)–(d).
Chapter 43, section 4304(b)(1) and (3):
Responsibilities of the OPM. Waived in
its entirety to remove the
responsibilities of the OPM with respect
to the performance appraisal system.
Chapter 45, section 4502: Limitation
of cash awards to $10K. Waived to allow
NAWCAD and NAWCWD Commanders
to approve awards up to $25K.
Chapter 51 Classification, section
5101—5112: Purpose; Definitions,
application; Determination of
applicability; Basis for grading
positions; Standards for classification of
positions; Basis for classifying positions;
Classification of positions; Classification
of positions above GS–15 ; Review of
classification of positions, Revocation
and restoration of authority to classify
positions, and general authority of the
Office of Personnel Management:—
Waived to the extent that white collar
employees will be covered by pay
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banding and to the extent that
classification appeals will be decided by
the NAWC Executive Director with final
appeal to the Department of Defense.
Chapter 53, sections 5301, 5302(1), (8)
and (9), 5303, and 5304: Pay
Comparability System. Waived to the
extent necessary to allow (1)
demonstration project employees to be
treated as GS employees, (2) basic rates
of pay under the demonstration project
to be treated as scheduled rates of pay,
and (3) the demonstration project pay
system to be adjusted by the GS annual
adjustments to pay schedules.
Chapter 53, section 5305: Special Pay
Authority. Waived to the extent
necessary to allow for use of a staffing
supplement in lieu of the special pay
authority.
Chapter 53, sections 5331–5336: GS
Pay Rates. Waived in its entirety to
allow for the demonstration project’s
pay banding system and pay provisions.
Chapter 53, sections 5361–5366:
Grade and Pay Retention. Waived to the
extent necessary to: (1) Replace ‘‘grade’’
with ‘‘pay band’’; (2) allow
demonstration project employees to be
treated as GS employees; (3) provide
that an employee on pay retention
whose rating of record is ‘‘Unacceptable’’
is not entitled to 50 percent of the
amount of the increase in the maximum
rate of base pay payable for the pay
band of the employee’s position; (4)
provide that pay retention does not
apply to reduction in base pay due
solely to the reallocation of
demonstration project pay rates in the
implementation of a staffing
supplement; (5) allow no provision of
grade or pay band retention under this
demonstration project and (6) allow
demonstration project employees
receiving a staffing supplement to retain
the adjusted base pay if the staffing
supplement is discontinued or reduced.
This waiver applies to ST employees
only if they move to a GS-equivalent
position within the demonstration
project under conditions that trigger
entitlement to pay retention.
Chapter 55, section 5542(a)(1)–(2):
Overtime rates; computation. Waived to
the extent necessary to provide that the
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GS–10 minimum special rate (if any) for
the special rate category to which a
project employee belongs is deemed to
be the ‘‘applicable special rate’’ in
applying the pay cap provisions in 5
U.S.C. 5542.
Chapter 55, section 5545(d):
Hazardous duty differential. Waived to
the extent necessary to allow
demonstration project employees to be
treated as GS employees.
Chapter 55, section 5547(a)–(b):
Limitation on premium pay. Waived to
the extent necessary to provide that the
GS–15 maximum special rate (if any) for
the special rate category to which a
project employee belongs is deemed to
be the ‘‘applicable special rate’’ in
applying the pay cap provisions in 5
U.S.C. 5547.
Chapter 57, section 5753, 5754, and
5755: Recruitment and relocation,
bonuses, incentives, and supervisory
differentials. Waived to the extent
necessary to allow employees and
positions under the demonstration
project to be treated as employees and
positions under the GS.
Chapter 59, section 5941: Allowances
based on living costs and conditions of
environment; employees stationed
outside continental U.S. or Alaska.
Waived to the extent necessary to
provide that cost-of-living allowances
paid to employees under the
demonstration project are paid in
accordance with regulations prescribed
by the President (as delegated to OPM).
Chapter 75, sections 7501(1),
7511(a)(1)(A)(ii), and 7511(a)(1)(C)(ii):
Adverse Actions—Definitions. Waived
to the extent necessary to allow for up
to a three-year probationary period and
to permit termination during the
extended probationary period without
using adverse action procedures for
those employees serving a probationary
period under an initial appointment
except for those with veterans’
preference.
Chapter 75, section 7512(3): Adverse
actions. Waived to the extent necessary
to replace ‘‘grade’’ with ‘‘pay band.’’
Chapter 75, section 7512(4): Adverse
actions. Waived to the extent necessary
to provide that adverse action
provisions do not apply to (1)
conversions from GS special rates or
NSPS Targeted Local Market
Supplements to demonstration project
pay, as long as total pay is not reduced
and (2) reductions in pay due to the
removal of a supervisory or team leader
pay adjustment upon voluntary
movement to a non-supervisory or nonteam leader position.
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B. Waivers to Title 5, CFR
Part 293, subpart D: Personnel
Records. Employee Performance File
System Records. Waived to the extent
necessary to be consistent with the
demonstration project’s mission aligned
objectives and compensation system
and to allow definition and
establishment of its automated system of
records and retention requirements.
Part 300, sections 300.601 through
300.605: Time-in-Grade restrictions.
Waived to eliminate time-in-grade
restrictions in the demonstration
project.
Part 308, sections 308.101 through
308.103: Volunteer service. Waived to
allow for a Voluntary Emeritus Corps in
addition to student volunteers.
Part 315, section 315.801(a),
315.801(b)(1), (c), and (e), and
315.802(a) and (b)(1): Probationary
period and Length of probationary
period. Waived to the extent necessary
to allow for up to a three-year
probationary period and to permit
termination during the extended
probationary period without using
adverse action procedures for those
employees serving a probationary
period under an initial appointment
except for those with veterans’
preference.
Part 315, section 315.901: Statutory
requirement. Waived to the extent
necessary to replace ‘‘grade’’ with ‘‘pay
band.’’
Part 315, section 315.905: Length of
the probationary period. Waived to the
extent necessary to allow for a two-year
supervisory/managerial probationary
period.
Part 316, section 316.301: Purpose
and duration. Waived to the extent
necessary to allow for term
appointments for more than 4 years.
Part 316, section 316.303: Tenure of
term employees. Waived to the extent
necessary to allow term employees to
acquire competitive status.
Part 316, section 316.304: Trial
Period. Waived to the extent necessary
to allow for up to a three year trial
period.
Part 332, section 332.402: ‘‘Rule of
three’’ will not be used in the
demonstration project. When there are
no more than 15 qualified applicants
and no preference eligible, all eligible
applicants are referred to the selection
official without rating or rankings.
Statutes and regulations covering
veterans’ preference are observed in the
selection process and when rating and
ranking are required.
Part 332, section 332.404: Order of
selection from certificates. Waived to
the extent necessary to eliminate the
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requirement for selection using the ‘‘rule
of three.’’
Part 335, section 335.103: Agency
promotion programs. Waived to the
extent necessary to extend the length of
details and temporary promotions
without requiring competitive
procedures.
Part 337, section 337.101(a): Rating
applicants. Waived to the extent
necessary to allow referral without
rating when there are 15 or fewer
qualified candidates and no qualified
preference eligibles.
Part 340, subpart A, subpart B, and
subpart C: Other than Full-Time Career
Employment. These subparts are waived
to the extent necessary to allow a
Volunteer Emeritus Corps.
Part 351, section 351.401:
Determining retention standing. Waived
to the extent necessary to allow use of
performance subgroups in determining
retention standing.
Part 351, section 351.402(b):
Competitive area. Waived to the extent
necessary to allow separate competitive
areas for demonstration and nondemonstration project employees and to
allow separate competitive areas for
each demonstration occupational
family.
Part 351, section 351.403:
Competitive level. Waived to the extent
necessary to replace ‘‘grade’’ with ‘‘pay
band’’ and to allow use of demonstration
project criteria, such as specialty area
code, to be used in the definition of
competitive levels.
Part 351, section 351.501: Order of
retention—competitive service. Waived
as necessary to allow use of
performance subgroups in determining
retention standing and allow no
additional years of service based on
performance.
Part 351, section 351.502: Order of
retention—excepted service. Waived as
necessary to allow use of performance
subgroups in determining retention
standing and allow no additional years
of service based on performance.
Part 351, section 351.504: Credit for
performance. Waived as necessary to
allow for use of performance subgroups
rather than adding years of service
based on performance.
Part 351, section 351.701: Assignment
involving displacement. Waived to the
extent that bump and retreat rights are
limited to one pay band with the
exception of 30 percent preference
eligibles who are limited to two bands
(or equivalent of five grades), and to
limit the assignment rights of employees
with an unacceptable current rating of
record to a position held by another
employee with an unacceptable rating of
record.
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Part 410, section 410.309: Agreements
to continue in service. Waived to the
extent necessary to allow the Executive
Directors of the covered organizations to
determine requirements related to
continued service agreements.
Part 430, subpart B: Performance
Appraisal for GS, Prevailing Rate, and
Certain Other Employees. Waived to the
extent necessary to be consistent with
the demonstration project’s mission
aligned objectives and compensation
system.
Part 430, section 430.208(a)(1) and
(2): Rating Performance. Waived to
allow presumptive ratings for new
employees hired 90 days or less before
the end of the appraisal cycle or for
other situations not providing adequate
time for an appraisal.
Part 432, Performance based
reduction-in-grade and removal actions:
Modified to the extent that an employee
may be removed, reduced in pay band
level with a reduction in pay, reduced
in pay without a reduction in pay band
level and reduced in pay band level
without a reduction in pay based on
unacceptable performance. Also,
modified to delete reference to critical
element. For employees who are
reduced in pay band level without a
reduction in pay, Sections 432.105 and
432.106(a) do not apply.
Part 432, section 432.102: Coverage.
Waived to the extent that the term
‘‘grade’’ is replaced with ‘‘pay band.’’
Part 432, section 432.104: Addressing
unacceptable performance. References
to ‘‘critical elements’’ are deleted as all
elements are critical and adding that the
employee may be ‘‘reduced in pay band
level, or pay, or removed’’ if
performance does not improve to an
acceptable level during a reasonable
opportunity period.
Part 432, section 432.105(a)(2):
Proposing and taking action based on
unacceptable performance: Waive ‘‘If an
employee has performed acceptably for
1 year’’ to allow for ‘‘within two years
from the beginning of a PIP.’’
Part 451, subpart A, section
451.103(c)(2): Waived with respect to
performance awards under the NAVAIR
Extraordinary Achievement Allowance
and demo incentive awards authority.
Part 451, subpart A, section 451.106
and 451.107: Waived to allow the
NAWCAD and NAWCWD Commanders
authority to grant special act awards to
covered employees of up to $25,000.
Part 511, subpart A, subpart B, and
subpart F: Classification within the
General Schedule. Waived in its
entirety.
Part 530, subpart C: Special Rate
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allow for staffing supplements.
Part 531, subpart B.: Determining Rate
of Basic Pay. Waived to the extent
necessary to allow for pay setting,
including educational pay adjustments
and pay for performance under the
provisions of the demonstration project.
Part 531, subparts D and E: WithinGrade Increases, and Quality Step
Increases. Waived in its entirety.
Part 531, subpart F: Locality-Based
Comparability Payments. Waived to the
extent necessary to allow (1)
demonstration project employees,
except employees in Pay Band V of the
S&E occupational family, to be treated
as GS employees and (2) base rates of
pay under the demonstration project to
be treated as scheduled annual rates of
pay.
Part 536: Grade and Pay Retention.
Waived to the extent necessary to (1)
replace ‘‘grade’’ with ‘‘pay band;’’ (2)
provide that pay retention provisions do
not apply to conversions from GS
special rates to demonstration project
pay, as long as total pay is not reduced,
and to movement from a supervisory
position to a non-supervisory position,
as long as total pay is not reduced; (3)
allow demonstration project employees
to be treated as GS employees; (4)
provide that pay retention provisions do
not apply to movements to a lower pay
band as a result of not receiving the
general increase due to an annual
performance rating of ‘‘Unacceptable;’’
(5) provide that an employee on pay
retention whose rating of record is
‘‘Unacceptable’’ is not entitled to 50
percent of the amount of the increase in
the maximum rate of base pay payable
for the pay band of the employee’s
position; (6) allow no provision of grade
or pay band retention under this
demonstration project; (7) provide that
pay retention does not apply to
reduction in base pay due solely to the
reallocation of demonstration project
pay rates in the implementation of a
staffing supplement and (8) allow
demonstration project employees
receiving a staffing supplement to retain
the adjusted base pay if the staffing
supplement is discontinued or reduced.
This waiver applies to ST employees
only if they move to a GS equivalent
position within the demonstration
project under conditions that trigger
entitlement to pay retention.
Part 550, sections 550.105 and
550.106: Bi-weekly and annual
maximum earnings limitations. Waived
to the extent necessary to provide that
the GS–15 maximum special rate (if
any) for the special rate category to
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which a project employee belongs is
deemed to be the ‘‘applicable special
rate’’ in applying the pay cap provisions
in 5 U.S.C. 5547.
Part 550, section 550.703: Definitions.
Waived to the extent necessary to
modify the definition of ‘‘reasonable
offer’’ by replacing ‘‘two grade or pay
levels’’ with ‘‘one band level’’ and ‘‘grade
or pay level’’ with ‘‘band level.’’
Part 550, section 550.902: Definitions.
Waived to the extent necessary to allow
demonstration project employees to be
treated as GS employees. This waiver
does not apply to employees in Pay
Band V of the S&E occupational family.
Part 575, subparts A, B, C, and D:
Recruitment Incentives, Relocation
Incentives, Retention Incentives.
Waived to the extent necessary to allow
employees and positions under the
demonstration project covered by pay
banding to be treated as employees and
positions under the GS.
Part 591, subpart B: Cost-of-Living
Allowance and Post Differential—Nonforeign Areas. Waived to the extent
necessary to allow (1) demonstration
project employees to be treated as
employees under the GS and (2)
employees in Band V of the S&E
occupational family to be treated as ST
employees for the purposes of these
provisions.
Part 752, sections 752.101, 752.201,
752.301 and 752.401: Principal statutory
requirements and Coverage. Waived to
the extent necessary to allow for up to
a three-year probationary period and to
permit termination during the extended
probationary period without using
adverse action procedures for those
employees serving a probationary
period under an initial appointment
except for those with veterans’
preference.
Part 752, section 752.401: Coverage.
Waived to the extent necessary to
replace ‘‘grade’’ with ‘‘pay band,’’ and to
provide that a reduction in pay band
level is not an adverse action if it results
from the employee’s rate of base pay
being exceeded by the minimum rate of
base pay for his/her pay band.
Part 752, section 752.401(a)(4):
Coverage. Waived to the extent
necessary to provide that adverse action
provisions do not apply to (1)
conversions from GS special rates or
NSPS Targeted Local Market
Supplements to demonstration project
pay, as long as total pay is not reduced
and (2) movement from a supervisory
pay band to a non-supervisory pay band
as long as total pay is not reduced.
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Appendix D: Individual Pay Band Level
Rating Benchmarks Examples
These are examples for illustration
purposes only, the actual benchmarks may be
different from what is shown here. These are
an example showing a benchmark for each
pay band level in an occupational family:
Scientific and Engineering (S&E) (Pay Plan
DP)
Example Rating Benchmarks
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Band II
Level 3:
• With guidance, effectively achieved the
stated objective.
• With guidance, organized and prioritized
own tasks to deliver the objective, adjusting
work plans and overcoming obstacles as
necessary.
• Demonstrated high standards of personal
and professional conduct and represented the
organization or work unit effectively.
Level 5
Additions at the Level 5:
• Contributed results beyond what was
expected; results were far superior in quality,
quantity, timeliness and/or impact to the
stated objective.
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• Exhibited the highest standards of
professionalism.
Appendix E: Career Stage Rating
Benchmarks Examples
Band III
These are examples for illustration
purposes only, the actual benchmarks may be
different from what is shown here. These are
an example showing benchmarks by career
stage, which may cover multiple pay band
levels in multiple occupational families:
Level 3:
• Effectively achieved the stated objective,
anticipating and overcoming significant
obstacles. Adapts established methods and
procedures when needed.
• Results were technically sound, accurate,
thorough, documented, and met applicable
authorities, standards, policies, procedures
and guidelines.
• Planned, organized prioritized, and
scheduled own work activities to deliver the
objective in a timely and effective manner,
making adjustments to respond to changing
situations and anticipating and overcoming
difficult obstacles as necessary.
• Demonstrated high standards of personal
and professional conduct and represented the
organization or work unit effectively.
Level 5
Additions at the Level 5:
• Contributed results beyond what was
expected; results were far superior in quality,
quantity, and/or impact to the stated
objective to what would be expected at this
level.
• Exhibited the highest standards of
professionalism.
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Example Rating Benchmarks
Career Stage: Journey.
Objective Rating: 1.
Performance Standard:
• Failed to achieve all or part of the stated
critical element; or
• Failed to provide products that were
sound, accurate, thorough and documented,
and regularly failed to meet applicable
authorities, standards, policies, procedures
and guidelines; or
• Failed to plan, organize, prioritize, and
schedule own work activities to deliver the
critical element in a timely and effective
manner. Relied on others to frequently assist
with or redo work assignments; or
• Demonstrated poor cooperation or
inability to work with others.
Career Stage: Journey.
Objective Rating: 3.
Performance Standard:
• Effectively accomplished the stated
critical element by achieving results that
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were technically sound, accurate, thorough,
and documented and met applicable
authorities, standards, policies, procedures
and guidelines.
• Planned, organized, prioritized and
scheduled own work activities to deliver the
critical element in a timely and effective
manner, making adjustments to respond to
changing situations as necessary.
• Demonstrated high standards of
teamwork and cooperation.
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Career Stage: Journey.
Objective Rating: 5.
Performance Standard: (Measured in
addition to the above)
• Achieved outcomes and results that are
far superior in quality, quantity, timeliness
and/or impact to what would ordinarily be
expected at this level.
• Accomplishments and outcomes were of
such magnitude that they contributed to the
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organization exceeding its mission goals and
objectives for the year.
• Persisted in overcoming obstacles and
put forth extra effort to accomplish difficult
assignments.
• Represented the organization or work
unit effectively through model team
cooperation.
[FR Doc. 2010–22172 Filed 9–8–10; 8:45 am]
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 174 (Thursday, September 9, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55160-55198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-22172]
[[Page 55159]]
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Part V
Department of Defense
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Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory (STRL) Personnel
Management Demonstration Project, Department of the Navy (DON), Naval
Air System Command (NAVAIR), Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division
(NAWCWD) and Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division (NAWCAD);
Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 174 / Thursday, September 9, 2010 /
Notices
[[Page 55160]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Office of the Secretary
Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory (STRL) Personnel
Management Demonstration Project, Department of the Navy (DON), Naval
Air System Command (NAVAIR), Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division
(NAWCWD) and Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division (NAWCAD)
AGENCY: Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Civilian
Personnel Policy), (DUSD (CPP)), Department of Defense (DoD).
ACTION: Notice of proposal to design and implement a personnel
management demonstration project.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Section 342(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 1995, Public Law (Pub. L.) 103-337 (10
U.S.C. 2358 note), as amended by section 1109 of NDAA for FY 2000,
Public Law 106-65, and section 1114 of NDAA for FY 2001, Public Law
106-398, authorizes the Secretary of Defense to conduct personnel
demonstration projects at DoD laboratories designated as Science and
Technology Reinvention Laboratories (STRLs). The above-cited
legislation authorizes DoD to conduct demonstration projects to
determine whether a specified change in personnel management policies
or procedures would result in improved Federal personnel management.
Section 1105 of the NDAA for FY 2010, Public Law 111-84, 123 Stat.
2486, October 28, 2009, designates additional DoD laboratories as STRLs
for the purpose of designing and implementing personnel management
demonstration projects for conversion of employees from the personnel
system which applied on October 28, 2009. The NAWCWD and the NAWCAD are
listed in subsection 1105(a) of NDAA for FY 2010 as two of the newly
designated STRLs. These two STRLs will be the participants in the
demonstration project proposal described in this Federal Register
Notice (FRN).
DATES: The NAWCWD and NAWCAD demonstration project proposal may not be
implemented until a 30-day comment period is provided, comments
addressed, and a final Federal Register notice published. To be
considered, written comments must be submitted on or before October 12,
2010. Implementation of this demonstration project, once approved, will
begin no earlier than February 1, 2011 and no later than April 28,
2011.
ADDRESSES: Send comments on or before the comment due date by mail to
Ms. Betty A. Duffield, CPMS-PSSC, Suite B-200, 1400 Key Boulevard,
Arlington, VA 22209-5144; by fax to (703) 696-5462; or by e-mail to
Betty.Duffield@cpms.osd.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
NAVAIR: Mr. Richard Cracraft, Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons
Division (NAWCWD), Code 730000D, 1 Administration Circle, Building
00464, China Lake, CA 93555-6100.
DoD: Ms. Betty A. Duffield, CPMS-PSSC, Suite B-200, 1400 Key
Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209-5144
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
Since 1966, many studies of Department of Defense (DoD)
laboratories have been conducted on laboratory quality and personnel.
Almost all of these studies have recommended improvements in civilian
personnel policy, organization, and management. Pursuant to the
authority provided in section 342(b) of Public Law 103-337, as amended,
a number of DoD STRL personnel demonstration projects were approved.
These projects are ``generally similar in nature'' to the Department of
Navy's ``China Lake'' Personnel Demonstration Project. The terminology,
``generally similar in nature,'' does not imply an emulation of various
features, but rather implies a similar opportunity and authority to
develop personnel flexibilities that significantly increase the
decision authority of laboratory commanders and/or directors. The STRL
Personnel Management Demonstration Projects involve broad-banded pay
systems and simplified classification; compensation linked to
performance, including contribution-based pay; recruitment and staffing
changes; and enhanced training and development including critical
skills training, Voluntary Emeritus Corps, and sabbaticals.
This demonstration project involves: (1) Two appointment
authorities (permanent and modified term); (2) extended probationary
period for newly hired employees; (3) pay banding; (4) streamlined
delegated examining; (5) modified reduction-in-force (RIF) procedures;
(6) simplified job classification; (7) a mission aligned objectives and
compensation based appraisal system; (8) market based starting
salaries; (9) academic degree and certificate training; (10)
sabbaticals; and (11) a Voluntary Emeritus Corps.
2. Overview
The covered organizations transitioned to the National Security
Personnel System (NSPS) late in 2008. Subsequently, section 1113 of
NDAA for FY 2010, Public Law 111-84,123 Stat. 2486, required all
employees to exit NSPS by no later than January 1, 2012. Another
section of NDAA for FY 2010, section 1105, identifies NAWCAD and NAWCWD
as STRLs and requires them to convert to an STRL demonstration project
within 18 months of enactment of NDAA for FY 2010. This FRN provides
notice of the proposal to design and implement an STRL demonstration
project plan for the covered organizations.
3. Access to Flexibilities of Other STRLs
Flexibilities published in this Federal Register shall be available
for use by the STRLs previously enumerated in section 9902(c)(2) of
title 5, United States Code, which are now designated in section 1105
of the NDAA for FY 2010, Public Law 111-84, 123 Stat. 2486, October 28,
2009, if they wish to adopt them in accordance with DoD Instruction
1400.37; pages 73248 to 73252 of volume 73, Federal Register; and the
fulfilling of any collective bargaining obligations.
Dated: September 1, 2010.
Mitchell S. Bryman,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary
II. Introduction
A. Purpose
B. Problems With the Present System
C. Changes Required/Expected Benefits
D. Participating Organizations
E. Participating Employees and Union Representation
F. Project Design
G. Personnel Management Board
III. Personnel System Changes
A. Pay Banding
1. Occupational Families
2. Pay Band Design
3. Above GS-15 Positions
B. Classification
1. Occupational Series
2. Classification Standards and Position Descriptions
3. Fair Labor Standards Act
4. Classification Authority
5. Classification Appeals
C. Mission Aligned Objectives and Compensation
1. Overview
2. Individual Mission Objectives (IMO)
3. Rating Benchmarks
4. Performance Feedback and Formal Ratings
5. Pay Pools
6. Performance Payout Determination
7. Base Pay Increases and Bonuses
[[Page 55161]]
8. Extraordinary Achievement Allowance (EAA)
9. Pay Growth Within a Pay Band
10. Awards
11. General Pay Increase
12. Requests for Reconsideration
13. Adverse Actions
D. Hiring Authority
1. Qualifications
2. Delegated Examining
3. Distinguished Scholastic Achievement Appointment Authority
(DSAA) for Scientific and Engineering Positions
4. Legal Authority
5. Expanded Term Appointments
6. Extended Probationary Period
7. Termination of Probationary Employees
8. Supervisory Probationary Periods
9. Volunteer Emeritus Corps
10. Direct Hire Authority for Scientists and Engineers With
Advanced Degrees for Scientific and Engineering Positions
11. Non-Citizen Hiring
E. Internal Placement
1. Employees Hired From Outside the NAWC STRL
2. Promotion
3. Reassignment
4. Demotion or Placement in a Lower Pay Band
5. Simplified Assignment Process
6. Details and Temporary Promotions
7. Exceptions to Competitive Procedures
F. Pay Administration
1. General
2. Locality Pay
3. Pay and Compensation Ceilings
4. Pay Setting for Appointment
5. Pay Setting for Promotion
6. Pay Setting for Reassignment
7. Pay Setting for Demotion or Placement in a Lower Pay Band
8. Staffing Supplements
9. Educational Pay Adjustment
10. Developmental Promotions
11. Pay Retention
G. Employee Development
1. Expanded Developmental Opportunity Program
H. Reduction-in-Force (RIF) Procedures
1. Competitive Areas
2. Assignment Rights
3. Crediting Performance in RIF
IV. Implementation Training
V. Movement Into and Out of the Demonstration Project
A. Conversion From NSPS to the Demonstration Project
1. Placement Into Demonstration Project Pay Plans and Pay Bands
2. Pay Upon Conversion
3. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Status
4. Transition Equity
5. Converting Employees on NSPS Term and Temporary Appointments
6. Probationary Periods
B. Conversion From Other Personnel Systems
C. Movement Out of the NAVAIR STRL Demonstration Project
1. Termination of Coverage Under the NAVAIR STRL Demonstration
Project Pay Plans
2. Determining a GS-Equivalent Grade and GS-Equivalent Rate of
Pay for Pay Setting Purposes When a NAVAIR Employee's Coverage by a
Demonstration Project Pay Plan Terminates or the Employee
Voluntarily Exits the NAVAIR STRL Demonstration Project
3. Supervision and Management Pay Band VI Employees
4. Employees With Pay Retention
5. Within-Grade Increase--Equivalent Increase Determinations
D. Personnel Administration
E. Automation Support
1. General
2. Defense Civilian Personnel Data System (DCPDS)
F. Experimentation and Revision
VI. Project Duration
VII. Evaluation Plan
A. Overview
B. Evaluation Model
C. Evaluation
D. Method of Data Collection
VIII. Demonstration Project Costs
A. Cost Discipline
B. Developmental Costs
IX. Required Waivers to Law and Regulation
A. Waivers to Title 5, U.S.C.
B. Waivers to Title 5, CFR
Appendix A: NAWCAD and NAWCWD Duty Locations
Appendix B: Occupational Series by Occupational Family
Appendix C: Intervention Model
Appendix D: Individual Pay Band Level Rating Benchmarks Examples
Appendix E: Career Stage Rating Benchmarks Examples
I. Executive Summary
NAWCAD is an organization within NAVAIR dedicated to maintaining a
center of excellence for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and their
propulsion systems, avionics systems, training systems, take-off and
landing systems, and associated support and equipment including air
traffic control and communications and ship/shore/air operations.
NAWCAD has three primary locations: Patuxent River, MD; Lakehurst, NJ;
and Orlando, FL. These facilities support research, development, test,
evaluation, engineering, and fleet support of Navy and Marine Corps air
vehicle systems and trainers. NAWCAD is a world leader in Naval
aviation whose products and services include: Aircraft, avionics, air-
launched weapons, electronic warfare systems, cruise missiles, unmanned
aerial vehicles, launch and arresting gear, training equipment and
facilities, and all other equipment related to Navy and Marine Corps
air power. The mission of the NAWCAD is to be the Navy's principal
research, development/test, evaluation, engineering, and fleet support
activity for naval aircraft, engines, avionics, aircraft support
systems, and ship/shore/air operations. NAWCAD is the steward of the
ranges, test facilities, laboratories, and aircraft necessary to
support the Fleet's acquisition requirements.
NAWCWD is an organization within NAVAIR dedicated to maintaining a
center of excellence in weapons development for the DON. NAWCWD has two
locations: China Lake, CA hosting the land test range and Point Mugu,
CA hosting the sea test range. NAWCWD is a world leader in Research,
Development, Acquisition, Test, and Evaluation (RDA, T&E) of guided
missiles, advanced weapons and systems, complex software integration on
tactical aircraft, energetic materials, and subsystems. It is also a
Center of Excellence for weapons and armaments and live-fire
survivability testing. The mission of the NAWCWD is to provide Navy and
Marine Corps warriors with effective, affordable, integrated warfare
systems, and lifecycle support to ensure battlespace dominance. The
NAWCWD is the steward of the ranges, test facilities, and laboratories
necessary to support the Fleet's acquisition requirements.
The goal of this demonstration project is to enhance and sustain
the quality and professionalism of the covered organizations'
workforces through improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of
the human resource system. The project interventions will strive to
achieve the best workforce for the mission, adjust the workforce for
change, and improve workforce satisfaction. This demonstration project
is built on the concepts, and uses much of the same language, as the
other STRL demonstration projects already in place in DoD and is guided
by 25 years of experience in operating the Navy's ``China Lake,''
demonstration project. The results of the project will be evaluated
within five years of implementation.
II. Introduction
A. Purpose
The purpose of the project is to demonstrate that the effectiveness
of DoD STRLs can be enhanced by expanding opportunities available to
employees and by allowing greater managerial control over personnel
functions through a more responsive and flexible personnel system.
Federal laboratories need more efficient, cost effective, and timely
processes and methods to acquire and retain a highly creative,
productive, educated, and trained workforce. This project, in its
entirety, attempts to improve employees' opportunities and provide
managers, at the lowest practical level, the authority, control, and
flexibility needed to achieve the highest quality
[[Page 55162]]
organization and hold them accountable for the proper exercise of this
authority within the framework of an improved personnel management
system.
Many aspects of a demonstration project are experimental.
Modifications may be made from time to time as experience is gained,
results are analyzed, and conclusions are reached on how the system is
working. The provisions of this project plan will not be modified, or
extended to individuals or groups of employees not included in the
project plan without the approval of the ODUSD(CPP). The provisions of
DoDI 1400.37 are to be followed for any modifications, adoptions, or
changes to this demonstration project plan.
B. Problems With the Present System
The current Civil Service General Schedule (GS) system has existed
in essentially the same form since 1949. Work is classified into one of
fifteen overlapping pay ranges that correspond with the fifteen grades.
Base pay is set at one of those fifteen grades and the ten interim
steps within each grade. The Classification Act of 1949 rigidly defines
types of work by occupational series and grade, with very precise
qualifications for each job. This system does not quickly or easily
respond to new ways of designing work and changes in the work itself.
The performance management model that has existed since the passage
of the Civil Service Reform Act in 1980 has come under extreme
criticism. Employees frequently report there is inadequate
communication of performance expectations and feedback on performance.
There are perceived inaccuracies in performance ratings with general
agreement that the ratings are inflated and often unevenly distributed
by grade, occupation and geographic location.
The present reduction-in-force (RIF) process is unresponsive to
requirements for work force restructuring and requires enhancement to
provide better retention of the highest performing employees with
mission appropriate skills.
The need to change the current hiring system is essential as the
covered organizations must be able to recruit and retain scientific,
engineering, acquisition, skilled technical, and other professional,
administrative, and support employees. The covered organizations must
be able to compete with the private sector for the best talent and be
able to make job offers in a timely manner with the attendant bonuses
and incentives to attract high quality employees.
Current limitations on training, retraining, and otherwise
developing employees make it difficult to correct skill imbalances and
to prepare current employees for new lines of work to meet changing
missions and emerging technologies.
C. Changes Required/Expected Benefits
1. The primary benefit expected from this demonstration project is
greater organizational effectiveness through increased employee
satisfaction. The Department of the Navy ``China Lake'' and NIST
demonstration projects produced impressive statistics on increased job
satisfaction and quality of employees versus that for the Federal
workforce in general. This project will demonstrate that a human
resource system tailored to the mission and needs of the covered
organizations' workforce will facilitate increased:
a. Quality in the workforce and resultant products,
b. Timeliness of key personnel processes,
c. Retention of ``excellent performers,''
d. Success in recruitment of personnel with critical skills,
e. Management authority and accountability,
f. Satisfaction of customers, and
g. Workforce satisfaction with the personnel management system.
2. An evaluation model was developed for the Director of Defense,
Research and Engineering (DDR&E) in conjunction with STRLs, service
representatives, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The
model, as modified in this plan, will measure the effectiveness of this
demonstration project and will be used to measure the results of
specific personnel system changes.
D. Participating Organizations
NAWCAD and NAWCWD are organizations within the NAVAIR and are
composed of five business units located at five diverse major
geographic locations. The locations are: Lakehurst, NJ, Patuxent River,
MD; Orlando, FL; China Lake, CA; and Pt. Mugu, CA. Additionally there
are employees in a variety of other geographic locations shown in
Appendix A. It should be noted that sites with fewer than 10 people may
change. Successor organizations will continue coverage in the
demonstration project.
E. Participating Employees and Union Representation
This demonstration project will cover approximately 8,400 NAWCAD
and NAWCWD civilian employees under title 5 U.S.C. in the occupations
listed in Appendix B. The project plan does not cover members of the
Senior Executive Service (SES), Scientific and Professional (ST)
employees, Federal Wage System (FWS) employees, employees presently
covered by the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS),
or DON centrally funded interns.
The details and provisions covered under this Personnel Management
Demonstration Project do not apply to any bargaining unit within NAWCAD
or NAWCWD until a mutual agreement is reached between the STRL
organization and the applicable exclusive representative. This
demonstration project will not cover any bargaining unit members at
implementation. If there is interest on the part of any of NAWCAD's or
NAWCWD's bargaining units at any of their sites in participating in the
NAWCAD or NAWCWD STRL demonstration project, negotiations would begin
after publication of this Federal Register notice. The covered STRL
organizations will fulfill their obligation to consult and/or negotiate
with all labor organizations in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 4703(f) and
7117, as applicable.
F. Project Design
An overarching objective in the project design has been the
development of a personnel system that provides a maximum opportunity
for adaptability to meet the variety of requirements of organizations
engaged in missions ranging from RDA, T&E of guided missiles, advanced
weapons and systems, complex software integration on tactical aircraft,
energetic materials and subsystems to fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft
and their propulsion systems, avionics systems, training systems, take-
off and landing systems, associated support and equipment including air
traffic control and communications, and ship/shore/air operations. This
demonstration project is built upon the successes of the many
demonstration projects that have preceded it and adapts many of the
provisions and features that have been shown to be successful in these
other STRL demonstration projects to the NAWCAD and NAWCWD
organizations.
G. Personnel Management Board
1. The covered organizations will create a Personnel Management
Board to oversee and monitor the fair, equitable, and consistent
implementation of the provisions of the demonstration project to
include establishment of internal controls and accountability. Members
of the board are senior leaders appointed by the Executive Directors of
the covered organizations. As needed, ad
[[Page 55163]]
hoc members will serve in an advisory capacity to the Board.
2. The board will execute the following:
a. Establish policies and issue guidance on the composition of pay
pools in accordance with the guidelines of this proposal and internal
procedures;
b. Review operation of pay pools and provide guidance to Pay Pool
Managers;
c. Oversee disputes in pay pool issues;
d. Establish policies and issue guidance on the formulation and
execution of the civilian pay budget;
e. Establish policies and issue guidance on the awards pools;
f. Establish policies and issue guidance on hiring and promotion
base pay as well as exceptions to pay-for-performance base pay
increases;
g. Establish policies and issue guidance on classification review
and oversight, monitoring and adjusting classification practices and
deciding board classification issues;
h. Approve major changes in position structure;
i. Address issues associated with multiple pay systems during the
demonstration project;
j. Establish policies and issue guidance on and approve Standard
Performance Elements and Benchmarks;
k. Assess the need for changes to demonstration project procedures
and policies;
l. Ensure in-house budget discipline;
m. Establish policies and issue guidance for workforce staffing and
budget plans;
n. Develop policies and procedures for administering Developmental
Opportunity Programs;
o. Ensure that all employees are treated in a fair and equitable
manner in accordance with the policies, regulations and guidelines
covering this demonstration project; and,
p. Monitor the evaluation of the project.
III. Personnel System Changes
A. Pay Banding
The design of the pay banding system has the benefit of being
preceded by exhaustive studies of pay banding systems currently
practiced in the Federal sector. The pay banding system will replace
both the current NSPS and GS structure. The flexibilities in this pay
banding section are similar in nature to the authority granted to: The
Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego, California 92152 and the Naval
Weapons Center, China Lake, California 93555, 45 FR 26504, April 18,
1980.
1. Occupational Families
Occupations with similar characteristics will be grouped together
into one of five occupational families with pay band levels designed to
facilitate pay progression. Progression through the band depends on
individual achievement, contribution to the mission goals, and
accomplishment of higher level, broader scope, more difficult work
assignments. Each occupational family will be composed of pay bands
corresponding to recognized advancement and career progression expected
within the occupations. These pay bands will replace individual grades
and will not be the same for each occupational family. Each
occupational family will be divided into three to six pay bands with
each pay band covering the same base pay range that would be covered by
one or more GS grades. Employees track into an occupational family
based on their current series as provided in Appendix B. Note that
where the current series does not exist outside of NSPS the employee
will be placed in the appropriate OPM series before being placed into
an STRL occupational family. Upon conversion into the demonstration
project each employee is assured an initial placement in the STRL
demonstration project without a loss in pay. The upper and lower pay
rate for base pay of each band is defined by the GS rate for the grade
and step as indicated in Figure 1 except for Pay Band V of the
Engineering and Science occupational family. Comparison to the GS
grades and NSPS pay bands was used in setting the upper and lower base
pay dollar limits of the pay band levels. However, once employees are
moved into the demonstration project, GS grades and NSPS pay bands will
no longer apply. The current occupations have been examined, and their
characteristics and distribution have served as guidelines in the
development of the following five occupational families:
a. Scientific and Engineering (S&E) (Pay Plan DP): This
occupational family includes technical professional positions, such as
engineers, physicists, chemists, mathematicians, operations research
analysts, and computer scientists. Specific course work or educational
degrees are required for these occupations. Four bands have been
established for the S&E occupational family:
(1) Band I is a student trainee developmental track covering GS-1,
step 1, through GS-4, step 10.
(2) Band II is a developmental track covering GS-5, step 1, through
GS-11, step 10.
(3) Band III is a full-performance technical track covering GS-12,
step 1, through GS-13, step 10.
(4) Band IV includes senior technical positions covering GS-14,
step 1, through GS-15, step 10.
b. S&E Technician (Pay Plan DT): This occupational family includes
technician positions, such as engineering technicians, electronics
technicians, physical science technicians, mathematic technicians, and
geodetic technicians. These occupations require practical technical
expertise in scientific or engineering support but specific course work
or educational degrees are not required for these occupations. Four
bands have been established for the S&E Technician occupational family:
(1) Band I is an entry level trainee developmental track covering
GS-1, step 1, through GS-4, step 10.
(2) Band II is a developmental/full performance track covering GS-
5, step 1, through GS-9, step 10.
(3) Band III is a full-performance technical track covering GS-10,
step 1 through GS-11, step 10.
(4) Band IV includes senior technical covering GS-12, step 1,
through GS-13, step 10.
c. Technical Specialist (Pay Plan DS): This occupational family
includes such positions as logistics management specialists, equipment
specialists, computer specialists, and telecommunications specialists.
Employees in these positions may or may not require specific course
work or educational degrees. Five bands have been established for this
occupational family:
(1) Band I is a student trainee developmental track covering GS-1,
step 1, through GS-4, step 10.
(2) Band II is a developmental/full performance track covering GS-
5, step 1, through GS-9, step 10.
(3) Band III is a full performance track covering GS-10, step 1,
through GS-11, step 10.
(4) Band IV is a senior specialist track covering GS-12, step 1,
through GS-13, step 10.
(5) Band V is an expert specialist track covering GS-14, step 1,
through GS-15, step 10.
d. Business Professional & Program Management (Pay Plan DA): This
occupational family includes such positions as program managers,
program acquisition specialists, budget officers, financial managers,
accountants, administrative officers, human resources specialists, and
management analysts. Employees in these positions
[[Page 55164]]
may or may not require specific course work or educational degrees.
Five bands have been established for this occupational family:
(1) Band I is a student trainee developmental track covering GS-1,
step 1, through GS-4, step 10.
(2) Band II is a developmental/full performance track covering GS-
5, step 1, through GS-9, step 10.
(3) Band III is a full performance track covering GS-10, step 1,
through GS-11, step 10.
(4) Band IV is a senior specialist track covering GS-12, step 1,
through GS-13, step 10.
(5) Band V is an expert specialist track covering GS-14, step 1,
through GS-15, step 10.
e. Administrative Support (Pay Plan DG): This occupational family
is composed of positions for which specific course work or an
educational degree is not required. Clerical work usually involves the
processing and maintenance of records. Assistant work requires
knowledge of methods and procedures within a specific administrative
area. This family includes such positions as secretaries, office
managers, office automation clerks, security technician, safety
technician, library technician and budget/program/computer assistants.
Six bands have been established for this occupational family:
(1) Band I includes entry-level/developmental positions covering
GS-1, step 1, through GS-3, step 10.
(2) Band II* includes developmental and low-range full-performance
positions covering GS-4, step 1, through GS-5, step 10.
(3) Band III* includes mid-range full-performance technicians/
assistants/secretaries covering GS-5, step 1, through GS-6, step 10.
(4) Band IV* includes high-range full-performance technicians/
assistants/secretaries covering GS-6, step 1, through GS-7, step 10.
(5) Band V includes senior technicians/assistants/secretaries
covering GS-8, step 1, through GS-9, step 10.
(6) Band VI includes expert technicians/assistants/secretaries
covering GS-10, step 1, through GS-11, step 10.
* Band III overlaps with band II and IV. These bands replicate a
feature used by the Navy's ``China Lake'' project.
f. The Supervision and Management pay band includes all employees
performing supervisory functions. This pay band is not applicable to
team leaders. To be classified to these pay bands the supervisor must
perform the full range of supervisory duties. To meet the full range of
supervisory duties the supervisor must perform 3 of the first 4, and a
total of 6 or more of the following:
(1) Plan work and prepare performance plans covering work to be
accomplished by subordinates, set and adjust short-term priorities, and
prepare schedules for completion of work;
(2) Assign work to subordinates based on priorities, selective
consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and
the capabilities of employees;
(3) Evaluate work performance of subordinates and recommend
official performance ratings;
(4) Give advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work
and administrative matters;
(5) Interview candidates for positions in the unit; recommend
appointment, promotion, or reassignment to such positions;
(6) Hear and resolve complaints from employees, referring group
grievances and more serious unresolved complaints to a higher level
supervisor or manager;
(7) Effect minor disciplinary measures, such as warnings and
reprimands, recommending other action in more serious cases;
(8) Identify developmental and training needs of employees,
providing or arranging for needed development and training;
(9) Find ways to improve production or increase the quality of the
work directed;
(10) Make appropriate distinctions in levels of performance while
equitably applying performance standards.
A supervisory position cannot be established on the basis of only
one subordinate position. These pay bands can include any series.
(1) Band II is a supervision and management track covering GS-6,
step 1, through GS-8, step 10.
(2) Band III is a supervision and management track covering GS-9,
step 1, through GS-11, step 10.
(3) Band IV is a supervision and management track covering GS-12,
step 1, through GS-14, step 10.
(4) Band V is a supervision and management track covering GS-14,
step 1, through GS-15, step 10.
(5) Band VI is reserved for those S&E professional positions
classified above GS-15.
* Band IV overlaps with band V. These bands replicate a feature
used by the NAVSEA Warfare Centers' STRL demonstration project.
2. Pay Band Design
The demonstration project pay bands for the occupational families
and how they relate to the current GS and NSPS framework are shown in
Figure 1.
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3. Above GS-15 Positions
The pay banding plan for the Supervision and Management
occupational family includes a pay band VI to provide the ability to
accommodate positions having duties and responsibilities that exceed
the GS-15 classification criteria. This pay band is based on the Above
GS-15 Position concept found in other STRL personnel management
demonstration projects that was created to solve a critical
classification problem. The STRLs have positions warranting
classification above GS-15 because of their technical expertise
requirements including inherent supervisory and managerial
responsibilities. However, these positions are not considered to be
appropriately classified as Scientific and Professional Positions (STs)
because of the degree of supervision and level of managerial
responsibilities. Neither are these positions appropriately classified
as Senior Executive Service (SES) positions because of their
requirement for advanced specialized scientific or engineering
expertise and because the positions are not at the level of general
managerial authority and impact required for an SES position.
The original Above GS-15 Position concept was to be tested for a
five-year period. The number of trial positions was set at 40 with
periodic reviews to determine appropriate position requirements. The
Above GS-15 Position concept is currently being evaluated by DoD
management for its effectiveness; continued applicability to the
current STRL scientific, engineering, and technology workforce needs;
and appropriate allocation of billets based on mission requirements.
The degree to which the laboratory plans to participate in this concept
and develop classification, compensation and performance management
policy, guidance, and implementation processes will be based on the
final outcome of the DoD evaluation. Additional guidance will be
included in NAWCAD/NAWCWD internal issuances.
B. Classification
The flexibilities in this Classification section are similar in
nature to the authority granted to the Naval Ocean Systems Center, San
Diego, California 92152 and the Naval Weapons Center, China Lake,
California 93555, 45 FR 26504, April 18, 1980.
1. Occupational Series
The present GS classification system has over 400 occupational
series, which are divided into 23 occupational groupings. The covered
organizations currently have positions in approximately 132
occupational series that fall into 21 occupational groupings. All
positions listed in Appendix B will be in the classification structure.
Provisions will be made for including other occupations in response to
changing missions.
2. Classification Standards and Position Descriptions
The present system of OPM classification standards will be used for
the identification of proper series and occupational titles of
positions within the demonstration project. Current OPM position
classification standards will not be used to grade positions in this
project. However, the grading criteria in those standards will be used
as a framework to develop new and simplified standards for the purpose
of pay band determinations. The objective is to record the essential
criteria for each pay band within each occupational family by stating
the characteristics of the work, the responsibilities of the position,
and the competencies required. New position descriptions will replace
the current job descriptions. The classification standard for each pay
band will serve as an important component in the new position
description, which will also include position-specific information, and
provide selective placement factors and other data element information
pertinent to the job.
Specialty area codes (SAC) written as narrative descriptions and
assigned a specific identification code may be used to further
differentiate types of work and the competencies required for
particular positions within an occupational family and pay band. Each
[[Page 55166]]
code represents a specialization or type of work within the occupation.
3. Fair Labor Standards Act
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemption and non-exemption
determinations will be consistent with criteria found in 5 CFR part
551. All employees are covered by the FLSA unless they meet the
criteria for exemption. The duties and responsibilities outlined in the
classification standards for each pay band will be compared to the FLSA
criteria. As a general rule, the FLSA status can be matched to
occupational family and pay band as indicated in Figure 2. For example,
positions classified in Pay Band I of the S&E occupational family are
typically nonexempt, meaning they are covered by the overtime
entitlements prescribed by the FLSA. An exception to this guideline
includes supervisors/managers whose primary duty meets the definitions
outlined in the OPM GS Supervisory Guide. Therefore, supervisors/
managers in any of the pay bands who meet the foregoing criteria are
exempt from the FLSA. Supervisors with classification authority will
make the determinations on a case-by-case basis by comparing assigned
duties and responsibilities to the classification standards for each
pay band and the 5 CFR part 551 FLSA criteria. Additionally, the advice
and assistance of the servicing Human Resources Office (HRO) and the
servicing Human Resources Service Center (HRSC) can be obtained in
making determinations. The benchmark position descriptions will not be
the sole basis for the determination; the actual duties performed are
the controlling criteria. Exemption criteria will be narrowly construed
and applied only to those employees who clearly meet the spirit of the
exemption.
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N--Non-Exempt from FLSA; E--Exempt from FLSA; N/E--Exemption
status determined on a case-by-case basis.
Note: Although typical exemption status under the various pay
bands is shown in the above table, actual FLSA exemption
determinations are made on a case-by-case basis.
4. Classification Authority
The covered organizations' Executive Directors will have delegated
classification authority for all pay bands with the exception of
Supervision and Management band VI and may, in turn, re-delegate this
authority to appropriate levels. Classification authority for Science
and Engineering band V will be consistent with DoD guidance. Position
descriptions will be developed to assist managers in exercising
delegated position classification authority. Managers will identify the
occupational family, job series, functional code, specialty work code,
pay band level, and the appropriate acquisition codes. Human resources
specialists will provide ongoing consultation and guidance to managers
and supervisors throughout the classification process. These decisions
will be documented on the position description.
5. Classification Appeals
Classification appeals under this demonstration project will be
processed using the following procedures: An employee may appeal the
determination of occupational family, occupational series, position
title, and pay band of his/her position at any time. An employee must
formally raise the area of concern to supervisors in the immediate
chain of command, either verbally or in writing. If the employee is not
satisfied with the supervisory response, he/she may then appeal to the
Executive Director of his/her organization. If the employee is not
satisfied with the Executive Director's response, he/she may then
appeal to the DoD appellate level. Appeal decisions rendered by DoD
will be final and binding on all administrative, certifying, payroll,
disbursing, and accounting officials of the government. Classification
appeals are not accepted on positions which exceed the equivalent of a
GS-15 level. Additional guidance will be included in the NAWCAD/NAWCWD
internal issuances.
An employee may not appeal the accuracy of the position
description, the demonstration project classification criteria, or the
pay-setting criteria; the assignment of occupational series to the
occupational family; the propriety of a pay schedule; or matters
covered by an administrative or negotiated grievance procedure, or an
alternative dispute resolution procedure.
The evaluations of classification appeals under this demonstration
project are based upon the demonstration project classification
criteria. Case files will be forwarded for adjudication through the
HRO/HRSC providing personnel service and will include copies of
appropriate demonstration project criteria.
C. Mission Aligned Objectives and Compensation
1. Overview
The purpose of mission aligned objectives and compensation is to
directly link the work of the employee to the mission of the
organization and provide a mechanism for recognizing
[[Page 55167]]
the impact of the employee's accomplishments and contributions to help
achieve that mission. It also provides an effective, efficient, and
flexible method for assessing, compensating, and managing the covered
organization's workforce. It is essential for the development of a
highly productive workforce and to provide management at the lowest
practical level, the authority, control, and flexibility needed to
achieve a quality organization and meet mission requirements. Mission
aligned objectives and compensation allows for more employee
involvement in the assessment process, strives to increase
communication between supervisor and employee, promotes a clear
accountability of performance, facilitates employee career progression,
and provides an understandable and rational basis for pay changes by
linking mission directly to both annual evaluations and compensation
outcomes.
The mission aligned objectives and compensation system uses annual
payouts that are based on the employee's accomplishments and
contributions to mission accomplishment rather than within-grade
increases, quality step increases, promotions from one grade to another
where both grades are now in the same pay band (i.e., there are no
within-band promotions), and performance awards. In addition to
objectives, other factors that can be considered in determining overall
payout include organizational performance, team performance, or a
combination of individual performance, contribution, and/or
compensation. If elements other than the employee's individual
accomplishments and contributions against their objectives and their
compensation will be taken into consideration, this must be a part of
the written performance plan. The employee must be advised of the
applicability of these factors within the same time requirements as the
individual mission objectives. The normal rating period will be one
year. Objectives, representing joint efforts of employees and their
supervisors, must be in place within 30 days from the beginning of each
rating period and the minimum rating period will be 90 days. First-time
hires into demonstration project positions must have plans in place
within 30 days of the effective date of their entry into the
demonstration project and current demonstration project employees who
change positions during the performance year should have their plans
updated with new objectives no later than 30 days after assignment to
the new position. Mission aligned compensation and rewards payouts can
be in the form of increases to base pay and/or in the form of bonuses
that are not added to base pay but rather are given as a lump sum cash
bonus. Other awards such as special acts, time-off awards, etc., will
be retained separately from the pay-for-performance payouts.
Employees who do not meet the 90 day minimum requirement will be
ineligible for a normal rating and will be given a presumptive rating.
They may receive only the general pay increase and they may also
receive title 5 cash awards if appropriate.
The system will have the flexibility to be modified, if necessary,
as more experience is gained under the project. The flexibilities in
this Mission Aligned Objectives and Compensation section are similar in
nature to the authority granted to: (1) The Naval Ocean Systems Center,
San Diego, California 92152 and the Naval Weapons Center, China Lake,
California 93555, 45 FR 26504, April 18, 1980, and (2) the Army
Research Laboratory (ARL), 65 FR 3500, January 21, 2000.
2. Individual Mission Objectives (IMO)
Individual mission objectives will be directly related to achieving
the mission of the employee's organization. They define a target level
of activity, expressed as a tangible, measurable objective, against
which actual achievement can be compared. These objectives will
specifically identify what is expected of the employee during the
rating period and will typically consist of three to ten results-
oriented statements. It is expected that these objectives will also
incorporate important behavioral practices such as teamwork and
cooperation where they are key to successful accomplishment of the
assignment. A Supervision/EEO objective is mandatory for all managers/
supervisors. The employee and his/her supervisor will jointly develop
the employee's individual mission objectives at the beginning of the
rating period. These are to be reflective of the employee's duties/
responsibilities, pay band and pay level in the band as well as the
mission/organizational goals and priorities. Objectives will be
reviewed annually and revised upon changes in pay reflecting increased
responsibilities commensurate with pay increases. Use of generic one-
size-fits-all objectives will be avoided, as individual mission
objectives are to define an individual's specific responsibilities and
expected accomplishments for the performance year. In contrast, rating
benchmarks as described in the next paragraph will identify
characteristics, against which the accomplishment of objectives will be
measured. As a part of this demonstration project, training focused on
overall organizational objectives and the development of individual
mission objectives will be held for both supervisors and employees.
Individual mission objectives may be jointly modified, changed or
deleted as appropriate during the rating cycle. As a general rule,
objectives should only be changed when circumstances outside the
employee's control prevent or hamper the accomplishment of the original
objectives. It is also appropriate to change objectives when mission or
workload shifts occur.
All objectives are critical. A critical mission objective is
defined as an attribute of job performance that is of sufficient
importance that achievement below the minimally acceptable level
requires remedial action and may be the basis for removing an employee
from his/her position. Non-critical objectives will not be used. Each
of the objectives may be assigned a weight, which reflects its
importance in accomplishing an individual's mission objectives. The
minimum weight assigned may not be less than 10%. The sum of the
weights for all of the elements must equal 100. At the beginning of the
rating period, higher level managers will review the objectives and
weights assigned to employees within the pay pool, to verify
consistency and appropriateness.
3. Rating Benchmarks
Rating benchmarks define characteristics that will be used to
evaluate the employee's success in accomplishing his/her individual
mission objectives. The use of characteristics for scoring purposes
helps to ensure comparable scores are assigned while accommodating
diverse individual objectives. A single set of rating benchmarks for
each band or rating benchmarks by career stage may be used for
evaluating the annual performance of all NAWCAD and NAWCWD personnel
covered by this plan. An example of each type of benchmark is shown at
Appendices D and E. The set of benchmarks used may evolve over time,
based on experience gained during each rating cycle. This evolution is
essential to capture the critical characteristics the organization
encourages in its workforce toward meeting individual and
organizational objectives. This is particularly true in an environment
where technology and work processes are changing at an increasingly
rapid pace. The Personnel Management Board will annually review the set
of benchmarks and set
[[Page 55168]]
them for the entire organization before the beginning of the rating
period.
4. Performance Feedback and Formal Ratings
The most effective means of communication is person-to-person
discussion between supervisors and employees of requirements,
performance goals, and desired results. Employees and supervisors alike
are expected to actively participate in these discussions for optimum
clarity regarding expectations and identify potential obstacles to
meeting goals. In addition, employees should explain (to the extent
possible) what they need from their supervisor to support goal
accomplishment. The timing of these discussions will vary based on the
nature of work performed, but will occur at least at the mid-point and
end of the rating period. The supervisor and employee will discuss job
performance and accomplishments in relation to the expectations in the
mission aligned objectives. At least one review, normally the mid-point
review, will be documented as a formal progress review. More frequent,
task specific discussions may be appropriate in some organizations. In
cases where work is accomplished by a team, team discussions regarding
goals and expectations will be appropriate. The employee will provide a
statement of his/her accomplishments to the supervisor at both the mid-
point and end of the rating period.
At the end of the rating period, following a review of the
employee's accomplishments, the supervisor will rate each of the
individual mission objectives. Benchmark performance standards will be
developed that describe the level of performance associated with a
score. Using these benchmarks, the supervisor decides where the
achievements and contributions of the employee most closely match the
benchmarks and assigns an appropriate score. It should be noted that
these scores are not discussed with the employee or considered final
until all scores are reconciled and approved by the Pay Pool Manager.
The rating scores will then be multiplied by the objective-weighting
factor to determine the weighted score expressed to two decimal points.
The weighted scores for each objective will then be totaled to
determine the employee's overall appraisal score and rounded to a whole
number as follows: If the first two digits to the right of the decimal
are .51 or higher, it will be rounded to the next higher whole number;
if the first two digits to the right of the decimal are .50 or lower,
then the decimal value is truncated.
The covered STRL organizations will use a five-level rating
methodology with associated payout point ranges in which level five
signifies the highest level of performance. The rater will prepare and
recommend the rating, number of payout points, and the distribution of
the payout between base pay increase and bonus, as applicable, for each
employee. These recommendations will then be reviewed by the pay pool
panel to ensure equitable rating criteria and methodologies have been
applied to all pay pool employees. The final determination of the
rating, number of payout points, and payout distribution will be a
function of the pay pool panel process and will be approved by the Pay
Pool Manager. The criteria used to determine the number and
distribution of payout points to assign an employee may include
assessment of the employee's contribution towards achieving the
mission, the employee's type and level of work, the employee's current
compensation and the criticality of their contribution to mission
success, consideration of specific achievements, or other job-related
significant accomplishments or contributions. The proposed rating and
payout point schema is:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rating Description Payout points
------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Exceptional..................... 5, 6
4 Exceeds Mission Expectations.... 3, 4
3 Mission Success................. 0, 1, 2
2 Partial Mission Success......... 0
1 Unacceptable.................... 0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employees with a total score of two or above will receive the
equivalent of the GS January general pay increase (GPI). Employees with
a total score of one will not receive the January GPI. A rating of one
or below will result in a rating of Unacceptable, and the employee will
not receive the January GPI and will require administrative action to
address the performance deficiency. A score of one or below on a single
objective will also result in a rating of Unacceptable.
Employees in receipt of a Letter of Warning of Unacceptable
Performance at the end of the performance year will have their rating
deferred until the end of the improvement period. At the end of the
improvement period, the supervisor will assign a final rating and
submit it to the pay pool panel for consideration.
5. Pay Pools
Following the initial scoring of each employee by the rater, the
rating officials in an organizational unit, along with their next level
of supervision, will review and compare recommended ratings to ensure
consistency and equity of the ratings. In this step, each employee's
individual mission objectives, accomplishments, preliminary scores and
pay are compared. Through discussion and consensus building, consistent
and equitable ratings are reached. Managers will not prescribe a
distribution of ratings. The Pay Pool Manager will then chair a final
review with the rating officials who report directly to him or her to
validate these ratings and resolve any scoring issues. If consensus
cannot be reached in this process, the Pay Pool Manager makes all final
decisions. After this reconciliation process is complete, ratings are
finalized. Payouts proceed according to each employee's final rating
and payout distribution. Upon approval of this plan, implementing
procedures and regulations will provide details on this process to
employees and supervisors.
The covered organizations' employees will be placed into pay pools.
Neither the Pay Pool Manager, supervisors, or pay pool panel members
within a pay pool will in any way recommend or participate in setting
their own rating or individual payout except for the normal employee
self-assessment process. Pay pools are combinations of organizational
units (e.g., level 3 competencies (divisions), level 4 competencies
(branches), and level 5 competencies (sections)), functional categories
or other groupings of employees that are defined for the purpose of
determining payouts under the mission aligned objectives and
compensation system. The guidelines in the next paragraph are provided
for determining pay pools. These guidelines will normally be followed.
However, the Executive Directors of the covered organizations may
deviate from the guidelines if there is a compelling need to do so.
The Executive Directors of the covered organizations will establish
pay pools. Typically, pay pools will have between 35 and 300 employees.
A pay pool should be large enough to encompass a reasonable
distribution of ratings but not so large as to compromise rating
consistency. Large pay pools may use sub pay pools subordinate to the
pay pool due to the size of the pay pool population, the complexity of
the mission, or other similar criteria. Pay pool panel members will not
serve on pay pools where their
[[Page 55169]]
own ratings and payouts are determined. Supervisors and non-supervisors
may be placed in separate pay pools. Decisions regarding the amount and
distribution of the payouts are based on the employee's most recent
rating of record for the performance year, the criteria listed in
section III.C.4 above, the type and nature of the funding available to
the pay pool, and the number of payout points assigned by the pay pool.
Additional guidance on pay pool design and composition will be included
in NAWCAD/NAWCWD internal issuances.
Funds within a pay pool available for performance payouts are
calculated from anticipated pay increases under the existing system and
divided into two components, base pay and bonus. The funds within a pay
pool used for base pay increases are those that would have been
available from within-grade increases, quality step increases and
promotions under the GS system (excluding the costs of promotions still
provided under the pay banding system). This amount will initially be
defined based on historical data and will initially be set at no less
than 2.4% of total base pay annually. The funds available to be used
for bonus payouts are funded separately within the constraints of the
organization's overall award budget. This amount will initially be
defined based on historical data and will initially be set at no less
than one percent of total base pay annually. As changes in the
demographics of the workforce or other exigencies occur, adjustments
may be made to these two factors. The sum of these two factors is
referred to as the pay pool percentage factor. The Personnel Management
Board will annually review the pay pool funding and recommend
adjustments to the Executive Directors to ensure cost discipline over
the life of the demonstration project. Cost discipline is assured
within each pay pool by limiting the total base pay increase to the
funds allocated by the Personnel Management Board.
6. Performance Payout Determination
The payout an employee will receive is based on the total
performance rating from the mission aligned objectives and compensation
assessment process. An employee will receive a payout as a percentage
of base pay. This percentage is based on the number of payout points
that equates to their final appraisal score.
The value of a payout point cannot be exactly determined until the
rating and reconciliation process is completed and all scores are
finalized. The payout point value is expressed as a percentage. The
formula that computes the value of each payout point uses base pay
rates and is based on:
a. The sum of the base pay of all the employees in the pay pool
times the pay pool percentage factor;
b. The employee's base pay;
c. The number of payout points awarded to each employee in the pay
pool; and
d. The total number of payout points awarded in the pay pool.
This formula assures that each employee within the pool receives a
payout point amount equal to all others in the same pool who are at the
same rate of base pay and receiving the same score. The formula is
shown in Figure 3.
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An individual payout is calculated by first multiplying the payout
points earned by the payout point value and multiplying that product by
base pay. An adjustment is then made to account for locality pay or
staffing supplement. A Pay Pool Manager is accountable for staying
within pay pool limits and final decisions on base pay increases and/or
bonuses to individuals based on rater recommendations, the final score,
the pay pool funds available, and the employee's base pay.
7. Base Pay Increases and Bonuses
The amount of money available for the performance payouts is
divided into two components, base pay increases and bonuses. The base
pay and bonus funds are based on the pay pool funding formula
established annually. Once the individual performance amounts have been
determined, the next step is to determine what portion of each payout
will be in the form of a base pay increase as opposed to a bonus
payment. The payouts made to employees from the pay pool may be a mix
of base pay and bonus, such that all of the allocated funds are
disbursed. To continue to provide performance incentives while also
ensuring cost discipline, base pay increases may be limited or capped.
Certain employees will not be able to receive the projected base pay
increase due to base pay caps. Base pay is capped when an employee
reaches the maximum rate of base pay in an assigned pay band or when a
control point applies (see below). Also, for employees receiving
retained rates above the applicable pay band maximum, the entire
performance payout will be in the form of a bonus payment.
When capped, the total payout an employee receives will be in the
form of a bonus versus the combination of base pay and bonus. Bonuses
are cash payments and are not part of the base pay for any purpose
(e.g., lump sum payments of annual leave on separation, life insurance,
and retirement). The maximum base pay rate under this demonstration
project will be the unadjusted base pay rate of GS-15, Step 10, except
for employees in Pay Band VI of the Supervision and Management career
path.
8. Extraordinary Achievement Allowance (EAA)
a. NAWCAD and NAWCWD will employ an Extraordinary Achievement
Allowance designed to optimize organizational effectiveness. An EAA is
defined as a temporary monetary allowance up to 25 percent of base pay,
which, when added to an employee's rate of base pay, may not exceed the
rate of basic pay for Executive Level IV. It is paid on either a bi-
weekly basis concurrent with normal pay days or as a lump sum following
completion of a designated contribution period, or combination of
these, at the discretion of the Executive Director/Commanding Officer
of the appropriate Naval Air Warfare Center. It is not base pay for any
purpose, e.g., retirement, life insurance, severance pay, promotion, or
any other payment or benefit calculated as a percentage of base pay.
The EAA will be available to certain employees whose present
contributions are worthy of a higher career level and whose level of
[[Page 55170]]
achievement is expected to continue at the higher career level for at
least one year.
b. Award of the EAA will generally be appropriate under the
following circumstances: (1) Employees have reached the top of their
target career levels, (2) when it is not certain that the higher level
contributions will continue indefinitely (e.g., a special project
expected to be of one to five-year duration), (3) when no further
promotion or base pay opportunities are available, or externally
imposed limits make changes to higher career levels unavailable, and
(4) when the approval time required to effect the action will
unreasonably delay appropriate compensation for the employee's
achievements but in all situations, when current market conditions
compensate similar contributions at a greater rate in private industry
and academia than the organization is able to do under normal
compensation conditions.
c. To be eligible for EAA, employees must meet the criteria below:
(1) Employees in the S&E, Technical, Business Professional and
Program Management career tracks are eligible for the EAA if their
contribution to the organization is deemed worthy, as determined by the
appropriate NAWC Executive Director/Commander.
(2) Employees may recei