Evening star., 1953-10-08

within the confines of the Vet
erans' Preference Act.
Robert Wiley, the Army De-
partment's acting civilian per-
sonnel director. advocated giving
career employees facing layoffs
a positive guarantee of reaSsign-
ment to another job in their
agency that would be within two
grades of their present one.
The goal would be to find
them a JOB at their current
grade, but in the event this
could not be done the employe
would be placed in a grade that
would be one or two grades
lower.
Mr.. Wiley said this would
greatly reduce the amount Of
"bumpingS" that occur when
layoffs are necessary in an
agency. Noting that sometimes
10 to 20 employees in a bureau
are affected by "bumpings" for
each employe who receives a
layof notice, Mr.. Wiley said
the quick placement of an en-
ploye in a job within two salaries
of his previous grade would
quickly end the necessity for 60
ing down the line and dislodg-
ing other workers in large-scale
bumpingS.
The Army official said that
employees thus reassigned would
have the opportunity and pri-
ority for promotions that would
take them up again to their old
grade. Also. the reassigned en-
ploye would start at the top
within-grade salary level of the
new grade, to minimize as much
as possible the cut in salary.
William TOrpey, personnel di-
rector of the Naval Research
Laboratory, complained of the
utter lack of human relations in
Government layoffs."
Mr.. Torpey said the present
rigid mechanical regulations
must be eased so that "the
human factor can be considered
in determining what should be
done. ~" The Navy official said
the present regulations are so
infexiple that even a days dif-
ference in employment tenure
can result in much more capa-
BILE employe being dropped in
favor OF a less competent one.
Z Glenn Stahl, executive assist
ant in the Civil Service Com
mission. said it was his personal
view that a large-scale outplace-
ment program should be de-
sveloped to find new Jobs for
displaced Federal workers.
"It seems to me that this type
of program would meet the least
resistance in Congress-" he de-
clared.
In this, the csc official was
seconded by Mr.. Wiley, who
urged a strong outplacement pro-
gram not only for career workers
but indefinite employees as we'll.
The Army personnel director said
every effort should be made to
find jobs for the separated en-
ployes in both the Government
and private industry.
Mr.. Torpey asked for a better
information system between
agencies so that bureaus might
better know where vacancies
might exist in Government and
therefore help place their out
going workers.
Edward McCrensky, q Navy
Department personnel officer,
urged action to clarity the per-
manent status problem in Gov
ernment. He declared that many
indefinite employees. who have
passed civil service exams but
who have been denied status be-
cause of the Written rider or
subsequent commission action,
are careerists "in the true sense
of the word" He urged that
action be taken to aid these
employees.
The Assembly also heard q
speech by Samuel May, professor
of public administration at the
University of California, in
which he charged that more and
more university graduates won't
enter the Government service