[Federal Register: July 5, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 127)]
[Notices]
[Page 38732-38733]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05jy05-88]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
Personnel Demonstration Project; Alternative Personnel Management
System for the U.S. Department of Commerce
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Notice of modification to the Department of Commerce Personnel
Management Demonstration Project.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has authority to
conduct demonstration projects that experiment with new and different
human resources management concepts to determine whether changes in
policies and procedures result in improved Federal human resources
management. OPM approved a demonstration project covering several
operating units of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). OPM must
approve all modifications to approved demonstration project plans. This
notice proposes to further expand the coverage of the demonstration
project to include two bargaining units contained within organizations
already included in the project. This notice also announces the
realignment of the Space Environment Center (SEC), Boulder, Colorado,
from the Office of Atmospheric Research (OAR) of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to the National Weather Service
(NWS) of NOAA located in Boulder, Colorado. This notice also adds
several new occupational series used in the project and identifies
changes to the Federal Register notice document Volume 68, Number 180,
on page 54506, dated Wednesday, September 17, 2003. These changes do
not require waivers.
DATES: This notice modifying the DoC Demonstration Project may be
implemented upon publication.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Department of Commerce: Joan
Jorgenson, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue,
NW., Room 5014, Washington, DC 20230, (202) 482-4233. Office of
Personnel Management: Jill Rajaee, U.S. Office of Personnel Management,
1900 E Street, NW., Room 7667, Washington, DC 20415, (202) 606-0836.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approved the Department of
Commerce (DoC) Demonstration Project and published the final plan in
the Federal Register Volume 62, Number 247, Part II, on Wednesday,
December 24, 1997. The project was implemented on March 29, 1998, and
modified in the Federal Register on Thursday, September 30, 1999,
Volume 64, Number 189 (Notices)(Pages 52810-52812) and on Tuesday,
August 12, 2003, Volume 68, Number 155 (Notices)(Pages 47948-47949).
OPM approved a request to extend the DoC Demonstration Project for five
years as stated in an administrative letter from OPM, dated February
14, 2003. The project was approved for expansion in Federal Register
notice Volume 68, Number 180, dated Wednesday, September 17, 2003
(Notices) (Pages 54505-54507) to include an additional 1,505 employees.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 4703; 5 CFR 470.31.5.
Office of Personnel Management.
Dan G. Blair,
Acting Director.
Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary
II. Basis for Project Plan Modification
III. Changes to the Project Plan
I. Executive Summary
The Department of Commerce (DoC) Demonstration Project utilizes
many features similar to those implemented by the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) demonstration project in 1988. The DoC
Demonstration Project supports several key objectives: To simplify the
classification system for greater flexibility in classifying work and
paying employees; to establish a performance management and rewards
system for improving individual and organizational performance; and to
improve recruitment and retention to attract highly qualified
candidates. The project is designed to test whether the interventions
of the NIST project, which is now a permanent alternative personnel
system, could be successful in other DoC environments. The current
participating organizations include the Office of the Chief Financial
Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration (CFO/ASA), the
Technology Administration, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the
Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, and three units of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Office of Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research, National Marine Fisheries Service, and the
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service.
II. Basis for Project Plan Modification
(1) Employees of two bargaining units within the Office of the
Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration
(CFO/ASA) have requested participation in the DoC Demonstration
Project. The Washington Printing and Graphic Communications Union
(WPGC), Local 1-C of the Graphic Communications International Union,
AFL-CIO, has requested inclusion. This unit consists of all employees
engaged in printing and production work, in the Publications and
Graphics Division, Office of Administrative Services (OAS), located in
Washington, DC. The American Federation of Government Employees, Local
2186, AFL-CIO, has requested inclusion. This unit consists of Police
Officers and Security Guards in the Office of Security (OSY), located
in Boulder, Colorado. Appropriate consultations have been conducted
with officials of both locals, and all employees have received a
specific briefing on the demonstration project. Management will also
notify the employee organizations representing these employees and
provide all employees with a copy of this Federal Register notice upon
publication.
(2) The Space Environment Center (SEC) currently consists of 50
employees who are participating in the project whose duty location is
Boulder, Colorado. The SEC is an organizational component of the Office
of Atmospheric Research (OAR), which is a component of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In order to improve
organizational efficiency, NOAA realigned the SEC from OAR to the
National Weather Service (NWS), another organizational component of
NOAA. The duty location of these employees remains Boulder, Colorado.
Appropriate consultations with the National Weather Service Employees
Organization (NWSEO) were conducted. All employees of the Space
Environment Center have received a specific briefing on this
realignment of the demonstration project. Management also notified the
employee organizations representing these employees and will provide
all employees with a copy of this Federal Register notice upon
publication.
No other organizational components of NWS are participating in the
project. The SEC remains a separate and distinct organization
consisting solely of employees participating in the project.
(3) In the Federal Register notice Volume 68, Number 180, on page
54506,
[[Page 38733]]
dated Wednesday, September 17, 2003, the following corrections are
noted:
On page 54506, in C. Changes to the Plan (1) Section II. E:
Participating Employees, move the series 0083, Police, and the series
0085, Security Guard, from the Administrative (ZA) Career Path to the
Support (ZS) Career Path. Move the series 0350, Equipment Operator,
from the Scientific and Engineering Technician (ZT) Career Path to the
Support (ZS) Career Path. Move the series 0150, Geography, and the
series 0170, History, from the Administrative (ZA) Career Path to the
Scientific and Engineering (ZP) Career Path. Move the series 0963,
Legal Instruments Examining, from the Administrative (ZA) Career Path
to the Support (ZS) Career Path.
The changes to the placement of these series in different career
paths will have no impact on the pay, series, or pay band
classification of employees in these series. Employees have been
notified of these changes, and management will provide a copy of this
approved Federal Register notice to the affected employees and to the
employee organizations representing these employees.
III. Changes to the Project Plan
The following discussion refers readers to the substantive changes
to the project plan.
(1) Section II. D. Participating Organizations. Add:
National Weather Service (NWS) to the participating organizations on
behalf of the 50 reorganized employees.
DoC has realigned an organization within the Office of Atmospheric
Research (OAR) containing 50 employees already included in the DoC
Demonstration Project to NWS. This realignment will not increase the
total number of employees covered by the DoC Demonstration Project
beyond the 5,000 statutory limit. The total number of employees
currently covered by the project is 4,285.
NWS, a major subcomponent of NOAA, provides weather, hydrologic,
and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its
territories, adjacent waters, and ocean areas, for the protection of
life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. NWS data
and products form a national information database and infrastructure
which can be used by other Governmental agencies, the private sector,
the public, and the global community.
The dominant occupation within NWS is Meteorologist. Other key
occupations are Meteorologist Technician, Physical Scientist, and
Hydrologist.
(2) Section II. E: Participating Employees.
The following bargaining units are added to Table 4--Bargaining
Unit Coverage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating unit Location Union local
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CFO/ASA........................ Boulder, Co....... AFGE 2186
CFO/ASA........................ Washington, DC.... WPGC 1-C
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Section II. E: Participating Employees
The following series are added to Table 2.
Administrative (ZA) Career Path
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
0132................................... Intelligence Series.
0299................................... Human Resources Management
Student Trainee Series.
1099................................... Information and Arts Student
Trainee Series.
1199................................... Business and Industry Student
Trainee Series.
1499................................... Library and Archives Student
Trainee Series.
1699................................... Equipment and Facilities
Management Student Trainee.
1899................................... Investigation Student Trainee
Series.
2099................................... Supply Student Trainee Series.
2199................................... Transportation Student Trainee
Series.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[FR Doc. 05-13071 Filed 7-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-43-P