{
  "id": "RL34673",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL34673",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, Federation of American Scientists",
  "versions": [
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      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 354644,
      "date": "2009-12-18",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T02:08:21.348356",
      "title": "Pay-for-Performance: Lessons from the National Security Personnel System",
      "summary": "Most federal employees (59.8%) are paid on the General Schedule, a pay scale that consists of 15 pay grades in which an employee\u2019s pay increases are to be based on performance and length of service. Some Members of Congress, citizens, and public administration scholars have argued that federal employee pay advancement should be more closely linked to job performance. With explicit congressional authorization enacted in 2003, the Department of Defense (DOD) created the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) as a unique pay scale attempting to more closely link employee pay to job performance. \nNSPS has been plagued by criticisms since it went into effect in 2006. The system has faced legal and political challenges from unions and employees who claim it is inconsistently applied and causes undeserved pay inequities, among other concerns. \nOn October 7, 2009, House and Senate conferees reported a version of the National Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2010 that included language to terminate NSPS. On October 8, 2009, the House agreed to the conference report. The Senate agreed to the conference report on October 22, 2009. On October 28, 2009, the President signed the bill into law (P.L. 111-84). DOD must now return the employees currently enrolled in NSPS to the GS or to the pay scale in which they were previously enrolled. The return to the GS or other pay scales must be completed by 2012, pursuant to the legislation.\nNSPS was initially intended to cover all DOD employees, but has a current enrollment of roughly 211,000 civilian employees, or 29.4% of the department\u2019s 717,000-person workforce. \nLike other performance-based pay systems, NSPS makes job performance a predominant factor in determining employee pay. A supervisor and an employee who use NSPS are to work together to create an annual appraisal plan that accurately reflects an employee\u2019s performance. A supervisor then is to use the appraisal to evaluate the employee. At the end of each appraisal year, an employee may be assigned a percentage increase in pay based on his or her performance. These increases are called pay shares. Lower-performing employees may receive fewer pay shares or no pay shares. An employee must acquire at least a satisfactory performance rating to be eligible for any performance-based bonuses.\nThis report reviews the creation of the NSPS, examines how NSPS operates, discusses litigation against it, and analyzes lessons that can be learned from NSPS as Congress decides whether to maintain the GS, create a new federal pay system, or modify existing ones. It will be updated as necessary.",
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    },
    {
      "source": "Federation of American Scientists",
      "sourceLink": "https://sgp.fas.org/crs/",
      "id": "RL34673_FAS",
      "date": "2008-09-17",
      "retrieved": "2016-10-20T23:29:46",
      "title": "Pay-for-Performance: The National Security Personnel System",
      "summary": null,
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORT",
      "active": false,
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    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "National Defense"
  ]
}