Appeals Court Rejects Federal Employee Pay Overhaul

[Rose Siding]

A federal appeals court delivered another legal blow to the Bush administration's sweeping plan to overhaul the federal employee personnel system, ruling today that the proposed changes would illegally limit the scope of collective bargaining.

The opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said new Homeland Security Department personnel rules dealing with working conditions and employee appeals were illegal. The court upheld two earlier rulings by a U.S. District judge that found the government overstepped the authority given by Congress to rewrite personnel rules when it created the department in 2002.

Elated union leaders said the decision could effectively scuttle the attempt to replace the 15-grade General Schedule pay system with one of broad salary ranges known as pay bands, and to more strongly tie annual raises to performance evaluations. The administration hopes to expand the system throughout the federal government.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/27/AR2006062700944.html

[Traditional Liberal]

1. That's interesting news

The entire point of the reforms was to give political appointees the ability to
purge the agencies they are put in charge of without needing a reason.
Nice victory for the civil service.

[Tellurian]

2. Not really the only reason...

The reference was made to change the paygrading system and ultimately the
allocation of the pension retirement process. Bush is gouging at every system
which accrues huge pools of unaccessible federal revenue. If he were able to
change the existing process all those funds would be freed up to do with what he
wills. And at the same time, stripping (all)federal employees of what is rightfully
theirs simply by virtue of reallocation.

[Rex]

3. So what, Bush don't have to follow any laws

At least that is what he signed into law for himself. In effect, he took a giant DUMP on his own party! :rofl:

[Moderator]

4. Kick

[Omaha Steve]

5. Bush Attack on Homeland Security Personnel System Illegal

Full short article: http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/06/28/bush-attack-on-homeland-security-personnel-system-illegal

Bush Attack on Homeland Security Personnel System Illegal

The Bush administration’s attempt to upend personnel rules of the Department of Homeland Security—part of a broader attack on the personnel system that dictates pay and working conditions for federal workers—illegally interferes with workers’ collective bargaining rights, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that allowing the department to unilaterally break negotiated contracts is “plainly unlawful,'’ The Washington Post reports.

snip We’ll have more soon on this huge victory for federal workers.

[TomInTib]

6. Really bad news for the Norquist crowd.

This was obviously and blatantly illegal for over 4 years and the bastards fought it all the way.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

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