DoD and OPM Issue Final Regulation for NSPS
Staffing & Employment

The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued the final regulations adding Subpart E, Staffing and Employment, to the NSPS Final Enabling Regulations.

CLICK HERE to view the final Subpart E published in the Federal
Register on January 16, 2009.

This Staffing and Employment subpart covers rules pertaining to methods for recruitment for, and appointments to, NSPS positions and the methods for assignment, reassignment, detail, transfer, and promotion of employees into and within NSPS. Final publication follows the 30-day public comment period that concluded on January 2, 2009.

During the public comment period, 42 comment submissions were reviewed. The Federal Register Notice includes a narrative section that addresses those comments, including changes made based on the comments.

The publication of NSPS Staffing and Employment ensures that the NSPS enabling regulations conform to changes made in National Defense Authorization Acts for Fiscal Year 2008 and Fiscal Year 2009, including the application of government-wide collective bargaining rules and continued adherence to Veterans’ Preference in hiring.

The final regulation takes effect 60 days after the publication date, subject to the Congressional Review Act.

January 2009 NSPS Payouts Approaching

With NSPS payouts approaching in January, it is important to understand the various components that make up the January pay changes under NSPS. The NSPS payout consists of:

Performance-based payouts in the form of base salary increases, bonuses, or a combination of both;

An NSPS general salary increase of 1.74%, which is equal to 60% of the General Schedule increase;

An increase to local market supplements (LMS) equal to the increases to General Schedule locality pay rates.

The NSPS general salary increase is an across-the-board salary adjustment for NSPS employees who are rated “2” or higher under the NSPS performance management system. The amount of this increase is 60% of the government-wide General Schedule pay increase for Federal employees. For 2009, the General Schedule increase is set at 2.9 percent. Of this percentage:

60 percent—or 1.74 percent—is designated for increases to base salaries and paid to NSPS employees who receive a rating of record of 2 or higher.

40 percent—or 1.16 percent—is allocated to performance pay pool funds and distributed through the pay pool panel process as performance-based salary increases.

NSPS employees receive local market supplements based on the General Schedule locality pay rates. The increases to these local market supplements will mirror the General Schedule locality increases and be paid to employees with a performance rating of 2 or higher. For 2009, the overall average increase to General Schedule locality rates is 1 percent, but an employee’s actual increase depends on his/her duty location.

Employees who receive a final rating of record of 3 or higher are eligible for performance-based payouts, in addition to the general salary increase and the increase to local market supplements. Employees who do not receive a 2008 final rating of record will receive the full General Schedule increase (2.9 percent) and the applicable increase to the local market supplement.

To see an example of how an employee who works in the Washington, DC area may be compensated under NSPS in 2009, CLICK HERE.

2009 Fact Sheet on NSPS Payouts

For more information on the January pay changes under NSPS, please review the January 2009 NSPS Payout Fact Sheet. CLICK HERE to view the Fact Sheet.