President Obama Signs Defense Bill; NSPS Officially Repealed
October 28, 2009
President Obama today signed the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. Included in the bill was a provision to repeal the controversial National Security Personnel System (NSPS). The bill also contained several small provisions impacting retirement benefits for the federal workforce.
The NSPS provisions in the bill dictate a repeal of the system and a conversion of the over 200,000 covered employees back into existing pay systems by January 1, 2012. NSPS workers will be guaranteed the full annual GS pay adjustment over the transitional period.
Also included in the Defense Bill are provisions offering employees enrolled in the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) credit for their unused sick leave upon retirement, and extending locality pay to workers stationed outside of the mainland United States.
"We have been working toward this day for the last six years," said National President David J. Holway. "NSPS was designed to get rid of Defense labor unions, nothing more. We stuck together and fought the good fight, and now NSPS is gone. This is a major victory for Defense employees, and I applaud the hard work of our federal staff and leaders Jean Zeiler (Deputy General Counsel), Dale Dandrea (National Executive Board member and president of Local R1-144), Steve Lenkart (former legislative director), and Randy Irwin (federal legislative director), who put some much time and effort into this fight."