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OPM cites flaws in bill that returns it to CSC
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Posted on Jul 08 2008
The Office of Personnel Management has listed flaws in the latest version of a bill returning the CNMI government’s hiring agency to the control of the Civil Service Commission.
OPM director Mathilda Rosario said she supports the intent of the bill, but the new version, which has been proposed to substitute the original language of the bill, “will create more problems for the government than it will correct.”
Rosario, in a letter to the House Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations noted that the bill currently under review by the committee does not comply with federal law for several reasons. It omits protection against discrimination based on color, disability, and veteran status, and it mislabels “national origin” as “place of origin.” It also offers no protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation, which, while not covered by federal, is protected in the federal civil service system.
Rosario said the bill has no guidelines for the selection of Civil Service Commission members that would provide fair representation to the three senatorial districts, women, and Carolinian employees.
Another missing element is a provision allowing the government to hire on contractual basis professionals that might be unavailable through normal recruitment process, she said. Neither does the bill include a clear provision for the hiring of professionals that are not locally available, such as physicians, attorneys, nurses, and other medical or professional staff, outside of the civil service.
The bill provides no term for the OPM director and essentially makes it a lifetime appointment. There is also no statutory salary for the OPM director, Rosario added.
Further, there is no provision in the proposed legislation for a work experience equivalency for the college degree.
