[Federal Register: September 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 180)]
[Notices]
[Page 54505-54507]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17se03-144]
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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 Amendment to expand coverage of all provisions of the
Department of Commerce Personnel Management Demonstration Project to
include additional organizations within the Department of Commerce.
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SUMMARY: Section 4703 of title 5 U.S.C. authorizes the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM) 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). The Code of Federal Regulations (5 CFR
470.315) requires that modifications to approved demonstration project
plans be approved by OPM. This notice proposes to expand the coverage
of the demonstration project to include additional organizations within
the Department and to increase the number of participants to the legal
maximum of 5,000 participants. This notice serves to list all
organizations within DoC that will be included in the Demonstration
Project during its expansion phase. This notice also lists additional
occupational series to be included as part of the expansion. The
Department will follow the final plan as published in the Federal
Register dated December 24, 1997, and the Federal Register Notice of
Modification dated September 30, 1999, except for minor changes noted
in Section III of this Federal Register Notice. These changes do not
require waivers.
DATES: This notice may be implemented October 5, 2003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Department of Commerce: Edward
Liverani, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue,
NW., Room 5004, Washington, DC 20230, (202) 482-0272. Office of
Personnel Management: Delmar White, U.S. Office of Personnel
Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Room 7660, Washington, DC 20415, (202)
606-1578.
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 on Wednesday, December 24, 1997, Volume 62, Number
247, Part II. 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 52810-58212.)
OPM approved a request to extend the DoC demonstration project for
5 years as stated in an administrative letter from OPM, dated February
14, 2003. The key features of the project involve increased delegation
of authority and accountability to line managers, simplified
classification and broad banding, pay for performance, hiring and pay
setting flexibilities, and modified Reduction-in-Force (RIF)
procedures.
This Federal Register Notice covers 1,505 additional employees.
Currently, the demonstration project has 2,900 employees. The remaining
additional employee slots are being reserved for the near future,
pending reorganization. In the event more employees are added up to the
maximum limit of 5,000, another Federal Register Notice will be
published to provide employee notification.
Office of Personnel Management.
Kay Coles James,
Director.
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
project supports several key objectives: To simply 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
DoC project is designed to test whether the interventions of the NIST
project, which is now a permanent alternative system, could be
successful in other DoC environments. The current participating
organizations include 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. Introduction
A. Purpose
The Department's personnel demonstration project is designed to
provide managers at the lowest organizational level the authority,
control and flexibility needed to recruit,
[[Page 54506]]
retain, develop, recognize, and motivate its workforce, while ensuring
adequate accountability and oversight. Expansion of the demonstration
project will allow the DoC to broaden the scope of this test to
additional organizations with different missions. This should improve
the Department's assessment of the effectiveness of its interventions
in its efforts to compete more effectively for high quality personnel,
while strengthening the manager's role in human resources management.
All provisions of the Department's personnel demonstration project,
as published in the Federal Register Notice, dated December 24,1997,
and the Notice of Modification dated September 30, 1999, will apply.
This notice also serves to make changes to the plan to accommodate the
expansion. These changes include the addition of specific occupational
series, Departmental Personnel Management Board composition, and pre-
project cost formulas for the CFO/ASA organization.
Employee notification will be made by delivery of a copy of the
December 24, 1997, final plan, any subsequent modifications and this
notice. Training for supervisors and employees will be accomplished by
informational briefings and training sessions prior to implementation.
B. Participating Employees
Employee notification of this expansion proposal has been
accomplished by providing a full set of briefings to employees and
managers and providing them electronic access to all Demonstration
Project policies and procedures including the two previous
Demonstration Project Federal Register Notices. We will also provide
employees with a copy of this proposed Federal Register Notice upon
approval. Subsequent supervisor training and informational briefings
for all employees will be accomplished prior to the implementation date
of the expansion.
The demonstration project will be expanded to cover all
nonbargaining unit employees in the following organizations at all duty
locations. The following organizations are added to the final plan,
Section II.D. Participating Organizations: Within the Office of the
Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration
(CFO/ASA), approximately 450 new employees from the following offices
covering all their duty locations will be added at this time to the
demonstration project as part of the expansion:
Office of Security
Office of Management and Organization
Office of Financial Management
Office of Human Resources Management
Office of Administrative Services
Office of Acquisition Management
The DoC demonstration project will also be expanded to include
1,055 additional employees in the following organizations and locations
within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
Within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
Program Planning and Integration Office, Silver Spring, MD
Within the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research:
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Research Laboratory, Princeton, N.J.
Within the National Marine Fisheries Service:
Pacific Islands Regional Office, Honolulu, HI.
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI.
Nonbargaining unit employees in the following organizations:
Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, MA, and Laboratories in
Narragansett, RI, Milford, CT, Sandy Hook, NJ, and Washington, DC.
Southeast Regional Office, St. Petersburg, FL.
Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami, FL, and Laboratories at
Panama City, FL, Pascagoula and Bay St. Louis, MS, and Galveston, TX.
Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, CA, and Laboratories in
Santa Cruz and Pacific Grove, CA.
Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA, and Laboratories in
Newport and Hammond, OR, and Manchester, Pasco, and Mukilteo, WA.
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA, and Auke Bay Laboratory
in Juneau, AK.
Within the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information
Service:
Nonbargaining unit employees in the following organization:
Wallops Island Command and Data Acquisition Station, Wallops Island,
VA.
C. Changes to the Plan
(1) Section II. E: Participating Employees
The following series are added to Table 2.
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Scientific and Engineering (ZP) Career Path
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0410............................ Zoology Series.
0413............................ Physiology Series.
0440............................ Genetics Series.
0690............................ Industrial Hygiene Series.
0808............................ Architecture Series.
0819............................ Environmental Engineering Series.
0871............................ Naval Architecture Series.
0896............................ Industrial Engineering Series.
1370............................ Cartography Series.
2210............................ Information Technology Management
Series.
2299............................ Information Technology Student Trainee
Series.
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Scientific and Engineering Technician (ZT) Career Path
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0350............................ Equipment Operator Series.
0817............................ Surveying Technician Series.
1371............................ Cartographic Technician Series.
1374............................ Geodetic Technician Series.
1862............................ Consumer Safety Inspection Series.
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Administrative (ZA) Career Path
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0080............................ Security Administration Series.
0083............................ Police Series.
0085............................ Security Guard Series.
0018............................ Safety and Occupational Health
Management Series.
0150............................ Georgraphy Series.
0170............................ History Series.
0201............................ Human Resources Management Series.
0399............................ Administration and Office Support
Student Trainee Series.
0505............................ Financial Management Series.
0599............................ Financial Management Student Trainee.
0828............................ Construction Analyst Series.
0963............................ Legal Instruments Examining Series.
1008............................ Interior Design Series.
1015............................ Museum Curator Series.
1016............................ Museum Specialist and Technician
Series.
1020............................ Illustrating Series.
1060............................ Photography Series.
1102............................ Contracting Series.
1104............................ Property Disposal Series.
1152............................ Production Control Series.
1170............................ Realty Series.
1176............................ Building Management Series.
1361............................ Navigational Information Series.
1640............................ Facility Operations Services Series.
1701............................ General Education and Training Series.
2001............................ General Supply Series.
2010............................ Inventory Management Series.
2030............................ Distribution Facilities and Storage
Management Series.
2101............................ Transportation Specialist Series.
2130............................ Traffic Management Series.
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Support (ZS) Career Path
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0086............................ Security Clerical and Assistance
Series.
0203............................ Human Resources Assistance Series.
0351............................ Printing Clerical Series.
0356............................ Data Transcriber Series.
0361............................ Equal Opportunity Assistance Series.
0503............................ Financial Clerical and Assistance
Series.
0544............................ Civilian Pay Series.
1106............................ Procurement Clerical and Technician
Series.
1421............................ Archives Technician Series.
1802............................ Compliance Inspection and Support
Series.
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(2) Section VII: Project Management
The Departmental Personnel Management Board will expand to include
additional board members representing the new major operating units
included in the project. It is the intent of the DoC to ensure the
composition of the board reflects the diversity of employee groups to
ensure the objectives of the demonstration project are achieved in an
equitable and consistent manner.
(3) Section V: B. Base Cost Assessment
The current plan identifies Fiscal Years 1994, 1995, and 1996 as
the basis of analysis of pre-project costs to determine whether project
costs are being maintained at acceptable levels. Since CFO/ASA has
never participated in the demonstration project, costs will be computed
as annual averages over the past three pre-project fiscal years
immediately preceding implementation, within CFO/ASA offices. NOAA will
continue using FY 1994-96 as its cost basis, since it was part of the
demonstration project during these years.
[FR Doc. 03-23688 Filed 9-16-03; 8:45 am]
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