Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-08-06
LANCER Bills 10 Seek
EmpIoye Classification
By Pay and Grades

Chairman LANCER of the. Senate
Post ONCE and Civil Service Com
mittee plans to introduce legislation
to set up a new Federal employees
classification system for all nom
postal employees and to establish a
new system for paying such workers.
The proposals are included in two
separate bills for reference to the
LANCER committee and seton in the
Eighty-first Congress next year.
One measure, Senator LANCER ex-
planned, would establish "a realistic
and modern classification system for
the entire Government non-poStal
service" 1t is intended to bring
into the system about $4,000 en-
ployes of the Judicial Branch of the
Government, the military, foreign
service, and, about 100000 skilled
tradesmen. including employees of
the Naval Gun Factory here.
Would Affect 100000.
Grand total of employees who would
be affected by this Redistribution
Is estimated at more than 100000.
The second bill would devise
methods for payment of salaries
and wages in Government service.
Such a separation of classical
ton into grades on the one hand
and pay scales on the other would
greatly revise the present Federal
law.
The two bills prepared by the
LANCER committee follow one re-
Gently introduced by him and Sena-
tor Johnston, Democrat, of South
Carolina to benefit the field service
of the Post Office Department.
All three measures are expected
to receive no study at the present
time by the committee in view of
the imminent adjournment of the
special session. But the bills are
being introduced, Senator LANCER
recently explained, so all persons
interested will have time to study
them before the Eighty-frst Con-
gress takes them up for considera-
ton.
Cuts Grades to 19.
The classification bill for nom
postal employees, Senator LANCER ex-
planned, calls for 10 grades, instead
of the more than 40 grades being
used today, and provides sufficient
f1eXibility for any purpose.
Position classification and pay"
Senator LANCER said, ARE in sep
arate bills, because they are two dis
tinct subjects. Combination of the
two has had the effect of reducing
of pay, when in reality it must serve
multiple uses if efficient personnel
management is to be accomplished.
Because of this past close asso-
citation of classification and pay,
the classification system has OBJ
viously failed to fulfill all its right
full uses, such as in recruitment,
training. budget planning, efficiency
determination, reduction in force
processes and others of its multiple
uses"
Regarding the second bill, gov
erning pay, Senator LANCER eX-
planned that, with the Federal Gov
eminent the largest single employer
in the country, the proposed system
is designed Ito provide uniformity
of position pricing, for gigantic
spraWling organization engaged in
everything from research on
nuclear energy to selling cigarettes
to soldiers"
Saving Estimated.
The general level of rates paid in
the Federal Government, the Sem
ator emphasized, should be kept in
satisfactory relation to the rates
paid by private industry in the
same labor market from which the
employees are drawn, thus eliminat-
ing the contention that the Gov
eminent pays less for the same
class of work and responsibility.
Informal estimates, it was said,
indicate that, if Federal Govern
ment workers were paid on the basis
of prevailing trends of the COM
munity, an eventual saving of about
$1,OO0,OOO,000 year would result.
A Senate committee aide said the
system would grant pay raise OF
$270 to some classified workers.
Nineteen pay levels are provided
by the pay bill, but each includes a
range of steps to permit recogni-
ton of differences in individual
performance"
THE step rate assigned to an in
dividual will reflect his performance
in the position he holds rather than
his length of service or his state
of need" it was said.