FORSCOM Employees Prepare for NSPS to GS Transition

By Ms. Dot Young (FORSCOM)April 30, 2010

FORSCOM Employees Prepare for NSPS to GS Transition
Ronna Garrett, director, Human Resources Division, U.S. Army Forces Command discusses the May 23, 2010 National Security Personnel System to General Schedule transition with FORSCOM employees during a April 27, 2010 town hall meeting at Fort McPherso... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT MCPHERSON, Ga. (April 30, 2010) - U.S. Army Forces Command's Department of the Army Civilians, currently administered under the National Security Personnel System (NSPS), will transition to the General Schedule (GS) system May 23.

Affected employees were informed during an "NSPS-to-GS" Town Hall Meeting Tuesday at FORSCOM headquarters.

Brig. Gen. Eric Porter, FORSCOM G-1, and his Human Resources Division staff hosted the Town Hall to explain key aspects of the transition process.

"The bottom line is no one will experience a loss of or decrease in pay at the time of the conversion," said Ronna Garrett, FORSCOM's Human Resources Director.

Garrett addressed several issues and answered employee questions during her portion of the meeting:

How will employees be impacted by the change'

They will:

Aca,!Ac No longer be covered by NSPS rules, but will have pay set by GS rules.

Aca,!Ac Be covered under the Total Army Performance Evaluation System (TAPES).

How will salary amounts be determined'

Aca,!Ac Employees will be assigned to the GS grade reflected on the position description for their NSPS position.

Aca,!Ac Pay will be set at one of the 10 steps within the assigned GS grade; e.g., GS-12 step 3.

Aca,!Ac If the NSPS adjusted salary falls between two steps, salary will be set at the higher step.

Aca,!Ac Within grade or step increases will occur as follows: Steps 1-4 will be awarded each year; steps 5-7 will be awarded every two years and steps 8-10 every three years

Aca,!Ac If the NSPS adjusted salary exceeds step 10 of the grade, employees will be placed on retained pay which will maintain current salary

Aca,!Ac Employees on pay retention also will receive pay increases equal to 50 percent of the general pay increase

How will employees' performance be evaluated'

Aca,!Ac Since there are no more pay pools after the transition, employees will be covered by TAPES. A TAPES Performance Plan must be established within 30 days of transitioning out of NSPS or NLT June 22, 2010. NSPS job objectives should be used as a starting point for Performance Plans.

Aca,!Ac FOR THIS YEAR ONLY, the 2010 rating cycle for work performed (including all employees NSPS and TAPES) will be Oct. 1, 2009 - Oct. 31, 2010. The normal rating cycles are: GS 1-8 - annual; GS 9-12 - 1 OCT-31 OCT; GS 13 and above - 1 JUL-30 JUN and SES - 1 OCT-30 SEP.

"The Army is developing more guidance on the transition process, and we will share that information when we receive it," said Garrett.

For more information, employees may contact Terry McGee, FORSCOM NSPS Action Officer, at (404) 464-6816 or via e-mail at terry.l.mcgee@conus.army.mil.

For G-1 updates and information regarding the transition, employees can also visit the FORSCOM Sharepoint Portal; select G1 > HRD, then "NSPS Information" on the bottom left. The site also features links to Department of the Army and Department of Defense NSPS Web sites.