Homeland Security Ends Pay Tied To Job Performance

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will end its practice of pay-for-performance covering agency workers due to legislation passed last month, a move welcomed by Federal employee unions.

JOHN GAGE: 'Win preserves Federal merit system.'

President Bush Sept. 30 signed the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance and Continuing Appropriations Act, which contained language revoking funding for the practice. DHS Chief Human Capital Officer Thomas Cairns informed labor leaders of the change Oct. 1.

'Victory for Members and Public'

"This truly is a win not just for our members, but for the public who had been saddled with paying for this costly personnel experiment," American Federation of Governmental Employees President John Gage said in a statement. "This victory ensures that our country still will have a merit-based civil service system that works for Federal employees and for the public they serve."

White House officials had argued that the system, called MaxHR, would make it easier to reward and promote deserving employees. MaxHR gave managers more latitude in handing out punishments to workers and allowed supervisors to bypass union negotiations when introducing new technology to the workplace. It also allowed managers to shift employees at will to meet staffing needs.

National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen M. Kelley had also lobbied Congress to outlaw the DHS pay-for-performance system, which she claimed resulted in a capricious promotion system that reduced employee morale.

"The fact that Congress included this funding prohibition in the continuing resolution demonstrates that these proposed rules were a terrible idea for everyone — the agency, its employees and our nation," she said in a statement. "DHS now has an opportunity to work with employees and their representatives to improve morale that is at or near the bottom among major Federal agencies."