News

Beginning January, 2024, the Profesional Standards Board (PSB) has been eliminated from federal agencies. The PSB was the board that determined the Grade and Step employees would be appointed as, as well as determining promotions. These boards were compromised of Subject Matter Experts (SME's) that would review all of the submitted documentation, including self assessments and qualifications, and would base their decision for appointments and promotios.

So how will the elemination of PSB's will impact our employees? Firstly, the chain of command will replace the board, which means that the direct supervisor will appoint the grade appointments and determine promotions. This poses a risk as it places employees at risk of not receiving promotions due to retaliation and/or having managers promote other employees based on conflicts of interest. To meet qualifications for promotion, employees must meet basic requirements along with supervisory recommendation, proficiency/rating is not linked to promotion any longer. Proficiency ratings will all be due at the fiscal year and for promotion considerations will be available based on employees anniversary date. Within step increases will not be affected by this change, so you will still be receiving your automatic step increase as it becomes due.

Although there is some concerns pertaining fair distribution of grade promotions, employees should be elegible as long as they meet the criteria for the next grade, the issue lies where it is not clear if the supervisors have the discretionary power to deny promotions. In preparation to this, employees should keep a record of their qualifications and let their local Union know if there is any suspicion and evidence of retaliation.