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Under a new policy announced last week, the Defense Department will begin to recruit up to 2,500 "highly qualified experts" and pay them wages greater than other civil servants would receive.

"This policy represents good news that is long overdue," said Defense Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs William Winkerwerder. "DoD will now benefit from the experience, expertise and wisdom of people who have practical experience in the private sector."

The new authority, granted in the fiscal 2004 Defense Authorization Act, is controversial, particularly among members of the Senior Executive Service, who fear that the department could use the 2,500 slots for political purposes. But Defense Undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness David Chu has vehemently denied that charge.

"It's so we can hire the nation's scientists to ensure that for the purposes of the future, we have the performance the country needs. It's not about political appointees," he said at a House Armed Services Committee hearing in May 2003.

Chu said that the new authority mirrored one that Congress had already granted to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the department's research and development organization. The program will enable the department to more aggressively recruit scientists, engineers and medical personnel who earn wages in the private sector far greater than the civil service pay structure would allow -- up to 50 percent more than many top SES members. Under the provision, each expert could serve for a maximum of six years.

In their announcement, Defense officials indicated their sensitivity to the concerns of civil servants, noting that "this new tool requires special handling by Defense managers." Under the program, Defense may hire only individuals possessing "uncommon, special knowledge or skills in a particular occupational field beyond the usual range or expertise." These experts must be "regarded by others as an authority or practitioner of unusual competence and skill."

The new hiring authority "cannot be used to perform continuing [Defense] functions, to bypass or undermine personnel ceiling or pay limitations, to give former federal employees preferential treatment or to do work performed by regular employees," department officials said.

Still, in testimony before the House Government Reform Committee last year, Senior Executives Association General Counsel Jerry Shaw said that the department had not made a strong case for the policy, that these expert positions could be used to supplant Defense's SES corps, and that it could weaken the SES system across government.

COMMENTS

• The new DOD policy to recruit up to 2500 "highly qualified experts" from the private sector at high salaries should be examined in light of OMB and DOD non-compliance with the Federal Pay Comparability Act of 1990. In particular, note Dr Chu's HASC testimony: "It's so we can hire the nation's scientists to ensure that for purposes of the future, we have the performance we need..." Under the Pay Comparability Act, OMB and DOD were required to make government salaries comparable with the private sector, to correct large differences in pay between government and private sector jobs. In particular, the salaries of DOD scientists and engineers severely lag behind those of their private sector counterparts. However, OMB and DOD have continually chosen to circumvent this law, and thus government S&E's salaries have fallen far below that of their private sector counterparts. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the DOD was having difficulty in attracting top private sector S&Es into the top government S&E jobs, when private sector S&Es would have to take a severe pay cut to work for the government. To make matters worse, this year the Administration is proposing pay adjustments for civilian workers that will not even match the 4.1% afforded the military, much less than the 13% nationwide average increase needed to achieve comparability with the private sector (an even higher increase would be needed for S&Es). So government S&Es will fall even further behind their private counterparts. This new policy for hiring outside experts is an admission by the DOD that there is a great disparity in pay, particularly with S&Es, and an admission that OMB/DOD's disregard of the Pay Comparability Act has been a flawed policy. Further, the new policy seems incongruous with the Administration's 2004 pay policy that further limits government civilian workers' salaries. This new outside expert hiring policy works against the government S&Es, who have served DOD at reduced salaries; it does nothing to remedy the growing pay discrepancy between government and private sector S&Es; and it now rewards S&Es who have chosen to earn higher salaries outside of government with the top paying positions in government, while those who have served the government are excluded from this opportunity. GovExec.com reader Posted March 12, 2004 10:02 AM
• Don't assume that all current federal employees have been federal employees since birth, never held responsible positions in the private sector and don't gain knowledge or practical experience in any of their private endeavors such as businesses, volunteerism, or continuing education. Give me a break! GovExec.com reader Posted March 11, 2004 3:13 PM
• I think it's a wonderful idea. After all the contractors have been hiring our Generals and Colonels after they retire for years. It's only the proper thing to do, recpricate and hire their CEO's and other corporate exec's. GovExec.com reader Posted March 11, 2004 8:02 AM