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Three weeks after Energy Department officials announced they were postponing all employee bonuses until Congress votes on the agency's funding for fiscal 2007, the National Treasury Employees Union filed a grievance.

NTEU, which represents all bargaining unit employees in the department's Washington headquarters, asked Energy officials to pay the bonuses immediately. Jeff Pon, the agency's chief human capital officer, said in a Nov. 14 memorandum to employees that it would not be clear whether the department has enough money for performance-based awards or even to avoid layoffs until lawmakers approve the Energy appropriations bill.

Lawmakers passed a continuing resolution sustaining the Energy Department at the level equal to what the House passed so far. They are unlikely to vote on the agency's final 2007 appropriations until the next session of Congress, which begins in January.

NTEU President Colleen Kelley said in her grievance letter that delaying bonuses violates the union contract, which calls for performance-based awards to be paid by Jan. 31, 2007. Kelley said the department's decision to hold off on awards "makes a mockery of the collective bargaining process and ignores elementary principles of the laws of contracts."

Kelley also said Energy officials gave union representatives only 15 minutes notice before informing employees of the bonus deferral, which was not sufficient time to for the union to have a say in the decision.

Department officials said they made a hard but necessary decision.

"We're certainly disappointed that the union has taken this myopic view as we're trying to save people's jobs," Energy spokesman Craig Stevens said. "It would be a disturbing irony if people receive holiday bonuses and then pink slips in February."

There is one area of the potential fiscal 2007 budget that is of particular concern to Energy officials. Two amendments were attached to the House's version of the Energy appropriations bill that collectively would cut funding for the departmental administration account from a requested $278 million to $225 million. That account pays for a number of offices, including the general counsel and human resources. Fiscal 2006 funding for the office, which has about 1,000 employees, was $251 million.

If the cuts go through, Stevens said, reductions in force may be necessary.

But in the grievance, Kelley said threatening layoffs was akin to hanging "a sword of Damocles over the employees' heads," alluding to the ancient myth of a tyrant who suspended a sword over Damocles' head by a single hair.

Kelley said in a separate statement that "if the agency cannot find the money to reward its best employees, we would be glad to sit down and go over expenses with the agency."

NTEU asked Energy officials to respond to requests for additional information by Dec. 15.

COMMENTS

• How will NSPS work? In DFAS we were told that there was a pot of money to provide for performance awards for deserving employees. Now we are being told that because DFAS supervisors are going under NSPS in Jan 2007, that money is being thrown into the pot to pay for their increased salaries under NSPS. How is morale? After BRAC and Lean6 and now this, we have to reach up to touch bottom. DFAS management (or should I say manglement?) couldn't be more clueless. GovExec.com reader Posted December 14, 2006 7:15 AM
• This is a prime example of the absolutely bad management in government! In my department, the general came in and changed the standards for bonuses at the last minute so that those of us that had done what was required were left out in the cold. The bonuses went to those who were "teacher’s pets," but according to the general, they went to those who worked beyond their job standards. It is total bull, because one of the guys who got the bonus only assumed his job in July! Bonuses were decided in September. Not only that but he did a bad job in the area however the general has no way to know what is proper in the area and the supervisor of the area only came on board in May! You think NSPS is going to work? Here is a prime example of totally incompetent management that will be in charge of administration of NSPS - what a joke! It is no wonder we have not won a war since World War II -- this of course assumes the Gulf War was only the start of the current problems in Iraq. Obviously the Gulf War was not won but was stopped and delayed until we got to the current situation in Iraq. The Bush family is responsible for both! Taxpayer Posted December 8, 2006 6:41 AM
• It is really too bad that the partnership is dead between labor and management. The fact that almost the entire government is in a continuing resolution-- the war has drained the coffers dry and the union wishes to invoke a contract provision that may result in a RIF at the Energy Department to pay for performance awards is shocking. Such a lack of the ability to compromise and the trust level thanks to this administration is zero. The unions are out for blood even if it means killing their bargaining units through potential RIFs. Simply amazing. HR Specialist GovExec.com reader Posted December 8, 2006 7:40 AM