OPM OUTLINES DECENTRALIZED, USER-FRIENDLY PERSONNEL SYSTEM

Washington D.C.-- U.S. Office of Personnel Management Deputy Director Lorraine Green will provide testimony about a number of steps to free up the burdensome rules now hindering the federal personnel system.

Green will testify during a Congressional hearing before the:

U.S. House Committee on the Budget
Thursday, October 14, 1993
2 p.m., Room 210 Cannon Office Building

Green will outline the course OPM expects to take in implementing NPR recommendations. "OPM will leave personnel operations to federal agencies, and OPM will be more of a leader in identifying, facilitating solutions to, and preventing problems in federal human resources management.

"OPM will not be a micromanager but agencies will continue to be held accountable for adherence to broad, fundamental principles of merit, diversity and equity," Green will state.

Outlining key initiatives that OPM will develop, in consultation with the National Partnership Council, Green said that changes to the over-regulated personnel system highlighted in the National Performance Review Report will ultimately result in better service to the taxpayers of this nation.

Examples of changes being proposed include:

• allowing federal agencies to establish their own recruiting and examining program;

• abolishing central registers of applicants and standard application forms;

• simplifying and reducing the number of different types of appointments; eliminating the 120-day limitation on details; and introducing flexibility in the use of qualification standards;

• removing most job classification criteria from the law; allowing agencies to establish "broad-banded" job classifications systems; and eliminating current restrictions on demonstration projects so that agencies can more readily experiment with alternatives;

• allowing agencies to set initial pay at an amount other than a fixed rate and explore different within-grade pay progression options; and designing their own performance management programs and incentive award and bonus systems;

• cutting in half the time it takes to terminate federal employees for cause; eliminating all OPM regulations governing internal agency grievance and appeal procedures; encouraging agencies to make greater use of various options for resolving employment disputes informally;

• humanizing the federal workplace by making it easy to provide telecommunications and administrative support for employees who are in telecommuting arrangements; expanding authority for agencies to establish and fund dependent care programs; allowing federal employees to use sick leave to care for sick or injured family members.

Green will point out that these initiatives are part of OPM's effort to assist the President and Vice President in "fostering a culture change that will increase the efficiency of the federal government and make the civil service a better investment for the taxpayer."

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