[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 166 (Monday, August 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50950-50952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7210]


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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 Expansion of the Department of Commerce Personnel 
Management Demonstration Project.

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SUMMARY: Title VI of the Civil Service Reform Act, now codified in 5 
U.S.C. 4703, 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). OPM has 
authority to implement new legislation affecting demonstration projects 
(5 U.S.C. 4703 and 5 CFR 470.101(b) and 470.103). Modifications to the 
demonstration project plan also require OPM approval (5 CFR 470.315).
    As provided for in title II of Public Law 109-108, Department of 
Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2006, signed 
November 22, 2005, this notice expands the coverage of the DOC 
Demonstration Project to include up to 3,500 additional employees in 
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) increasing 
the total number of employees in NOAA to 6,925, as well as additional 
NOAA organizations and locations. This expansion results in the total 
number of employees covered by the DOC Demonstration Project to 8,500 
individuals. 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 NOAA organizations 
new to the demonstration project as part of the expansion.

DATES: This notice expanding the DOC Demonstration Project is effective 
August 28, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Department of Commerce: Joan 
Jorgenson, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue 
NW., Room 5004, Washington, DC 20230, (202) 482-4233. Office of 
Personnel Management: Jill Rajaee, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, 
1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC 20415, (202) 606-0836.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background

    The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approved the 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 5 years as stated 
in an administrative letter from OPM, dated February 14, 2003. The 
project was approved for expansion in the Federal Register Volume 68, 
Number 180 [Notices] [Pages 54505-54507], on Wednesday, September 17, 
2003, to include an addition 1,505 employees. The demonstration project 
was again modified on Tuesday, July 5, 2005, Volume 70, Number 127 
[Notices] [Pages 38732-38733]. The demonstration project was again 
modified on Monday, May 1, 2006, Volume 71, Number 83, [Notices] [Pages 
25615-25616] to revise existing authorities for retention, recruitment 
and relocation allowances.
    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 flexibility, and modified reduction-in-force procedures.

2. Overview

    This notice serves to list all NOAA organizations and their 
locations that will be included in the DOC Demonstration Project. This 
notice also lists additional occupational series that will be included 
in the DOC Demonstration Project. Additional changes to the plan are 
made to accommodate the expansion. These changes include composition of 
the Departmental Personnel Management Board, pre-project cost formulas 
for new organizations entering the demonstration project during this 
expansion phase, and edits to the pay administration provisions to 
reflect the use of law enforcement officer special base rates under 
section 403 of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 
(Pub. L. 101-509) for certain law enforcement officers that will be 
added to the project through this expansion. This notice also 
incorporates minor changes to the pay administration provisions for 
consistency with the amendments made to the General Schedule pay-
setting rules by the Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004 (Pub. L. 
108-411) and OPM's implementing regulations. The Department of Commerce 
will follow the project plan as published in the Federal Register dated 
December 24, 1997, and subsequent modifications as listed in the 
Background Section of this notice.

Office of Personnel Management.
Linda M. Springer,
Director.

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary
II. Basis of Project Plan Expansion
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 recruiting and examining to attract highly qualified candidates 
and hire them more quickly. The DOC Demonstration 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 six 
offices of the Chief Financial Officer/Assistant Secretary of 
Administration in the Office of the Secretary, Technology 
Administration, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Institute for 
Telecommunication Sciences, and five units of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Environmental 
Satellite, Data,

[[Page 50951]]

and Information Service, the National Weather Service and the NOAA 
Office of Program Planning and Integration.

II. Basis of Project Plan Expansion

A. Purpose

    The DOC Demonstration Project is designed to provide managers at 
the lowest organizational level, the authority, control and flexibility 
needed to recruit, retain, develop, recognize and motivate its 
workforce, while ensuring adequate accountability and oversight. 
Expansion of the DOC Demonstration Project will allow the Department to 
broaden the scope of this test to additional organizations with 
different missions. This should improve the Department 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 DOC 
Demonstration Project plan, as published in the Federal Register, dated 
December 24, 1997, and subsequent published modifications, will apply.

B. Participating Employees

    Employee notification of this expansion proposal is being 
accomplished by providing a full set of briefings to employees and 
managers and providing electronic access to all DOC Demonstration 
Project policies, procedures, evaluations and published Federal 
Register notices on the project plan and subsequent modifications. 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 of the expansion.

C. Labor Participation

    Labor organizations are being separately notified about the 
project's expansion pertaining to their bargaining unit membership. DOC 
is proceeding to fulfill its obligation in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 
4703(f).

III. Changes to the Project Plan

A. Section VII. Project Management

    The Departmental Personnel Management Board (DPMB) will expand to 
include additional board DPMB 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 DPMB reflects the diversity of 
employee groups to ensure the objectives of the demonstration project 
are achieved in an equitable and consistent manner.

B. Section V B. Base Cost Assessment

    The current plan identifies Fiscal Years (FY) 1994, 1995, and 1996 
as the basis of analysis of pre-project costs to determine whether 
project costs are being maintained at acceptable levels. For those 
organizations that have never participated in the demonstration 
project, costs will be computed as annual averages over the past three 
pre-project fiscal years immediately preceding implementation. For 
those NOAA organizations that are already part of the demonstration 
project, costs will continue to be computed using FY 1994--1996.

C. Section II D. Participating Organizations

    The following organizations will be added to the project plan, 
Section II D Participating Organizations:
    Within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, up to 
3,500 new GS/GM employees from the following offices and locations will 
be added to the DOC Demonstration Project as part of the expansion:

Office of the Under Secretary, non-bargaining unit employees, all 
locations
Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation, all locations
Office of Human Resources, all locations
Office of Chief Financial Officer, all locations
Office of Chief Administrative Officer, non-bargaining unit employees, 
all locations
Office of Sustainable Development, all locations
National Ocean Service, non-bargaining unit employees, all locations
NOAA Marine and Aviation Office, all locations

Within the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research:
    Climate Program Office, Silver Spring, MD


    Within the National Marine Fisheries Service:
    Office of Seafood Inspection, non-bargaining unit employees, all 
locations
    Office of Law Enforcement, all locations

Additional employees in the following organizations:
    Southeast Fisheries Science Center, all locations
    Northwest Fisheries Science Center, all locations
    Alaska Fisheries Science Center, all locations

D. Section II F. Labor Participation

    The following bargaining units are added to Table 4--Bargaining 
Unit Coverage.

 
 
 
NMAO............................  Norfolk, VA.......  IBEW Local 80
CFO.............................  Boulder, CO.......  AFGE Local 2186
NMFS-SEFSC......................  Miami, FL.........  AFGE Local 2875
                                  Panama City, FL...  NAGE R--106
NMFS-NWFSC......................  All Locations.....  IFPTE Local 8A
NMFS-AKFSC......................  Seattle, WA.......  IFPTE Local 8A
 

E. Section II E. Participating Employees

    The following series are added to Table 2:

Scientific and Engineering (ZP) Career Path

0415, Toxicology Series
0199, Social Science Student Trainee Series

Administrative (ZA) Career Path

0028, Environmental Protection Specialist Series
0199, Social Science Student Trainee Series
0399, Administrative Trainee Series
0511, Auditing Series
1601, General Facilities and Equipment Series
1071, Audiovisual Production Series
1710, Education and Vocational Training Series
1801, General Inspection, Investigation and Compliance Series
1811, Criminal Investigating Series
1812, Game Law Enforcement Series
2003, Supply Program Management Series

Support (ZS) Career Path

1603, Equipment, Facilities and Services Assistant Series
1001, General Arts and Information Series
0119, Economics Assistant Series
    F. This section provides changes to the project plan to accommodate 
law enforcement officer special base rates and the recent changes to 
the General Schedule pay administration rules. The following page 
numbers refer to the pages of the project plan, published December 24, 
1997, in the Federal Register.
    (1) Page 67448: Section III.A.3. In third sentence, insert ``under 
5 U.S.C. 5305'' after first ``special rate''. After third sentence, 
insert ``For a law enforcement officer (LEO) covered by special base 
rates under section 403 of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act 
of 1990 (section 529 of Public Law 101-509, November 5, 1990, as 
amended), when the minimum or maximum grade in the LEO's band is any 
one of grades GS-3 through GS-10 (e.g., ZA Bands I and II), the band's 
minimum and maximum rate of pay will be set for that LEO using 
applicable

[[Page 50952]]

LEO special base rates, as adjusted by the applicable locality 
payment.''
    (2) Page 67452: Section III.D.5.--In the first sentence, insert 
``LEO special base rate,'' after ``GS rate,''.
    (3) Page 67452. Section III.D.6. In the second sentence, insert 
``GS base'' after ``maximum'' and ``or LEO special base rates'' before 
``of each band''. In the third sentence, insert ``under 5 U.S.C. 5305'' 
after ``special rates''.
    (4) Page 67452: Section III.D.7. Replace ``special salary rate'' 
with ``special rate'' throughout paragraph 7. In the first sentence, 
insert ``under 5 U.S.C. 5305'' before ``will be used''. In the second 
sentence, replace ``5 CFR 530.303'' with ``5 CFR 530.304''.
    (5) Page 67453: Section III.D.13. In the second sentence, insert 
``GS base rate, LEO special base rate,'' before ``locality rate'' in 
the parenthetical.
    (6) Page 67453: Section III.D. 14. In the second sentence, insert 
``GS base rate, LEO special base rate,'' before ``locality rate'' in 
the parenthetical.
    (7) Page 67455: Section IV.A.1. In the first sentence, insert ``or 
LEO special base schedule'' after ``GS base schedule'' in the 
parenthetical.
    (8) Page 67455: Section IV.B.2. In the first sentence, insert ``or 
LEO special base schedule'' after ``GS base schedule'' in the 
parenthetical.
    (9) Page 67455: Section IV.B.3. In the third sentence, insert ``or 
LEO special base rate'' after ``GS base rate''. Delete the last 
parenthetical.
    (10) Page 67455--67456: Section IV.B.5. Delete all text in 
paragraph 5. after the first sentence.
    (11) Page 67456; Section IV.B.6. In the second sentence, replace 
``GS rate'' with ``GS rates'' and delete ``of basic pay (or converted 
special rate, if applicable)''.
    (12) Page 67456. Section IV.C. Replace last sentence with ``(See 5 
CFR 531.407(b) for additional information on equivalent increase 
determinations.)''

[FR Doc. 06-7210 Filed 8-24-06; 11:07 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-43-P