U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Request for Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority for Region III

Transcription

1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Request for Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority for Region III I. Introduction II. III. IV. Background Reshaping the Workforce Budget Neutrality/Costs/Savings V. Template for Combined VSIP/VERA Request Attachments: Attachment 1: Summary of Targeted Positions by Series and Grade Attachment 2: Offers to Targeted Positions by Office and Series Attachment 3: Workforce Reshaping by Division Attachment 4: Workforce Reshaping by Occupation

2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region III Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority I. Introduction In accordance with Section 1313(b) of the Chief Human Capital Officer s Act of 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III is requesting approval authority through 05/16/2014 for the use of Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP/Buy-Out) and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA/Early-Out). Region III will use these authorities to: Reshape and reduce the number of administrative support positions in the Region to better align with current and projected workload needs; Reshape and reduce the number of senior grade positions in the Region and redeploy these resources for future hiring of next generation talent to meet succession planning objectives; and Prepare the Region for organizational changes likely resulting from projected reductions in staffing levels and associated reductions in the number of organizational levels and/or units needed to accomplish the mission in the future. Both the VSIP and VERA opportunities will be offered to staff in targeted series in all of Region III s four geographic locations: Philadelphia, PA; Fort Meade, MD; Annapolis, MD; and Wheeling, WV. As noted in Section III, targeting decisions were made by senior managers based on the specific mission needs required to reshape their offices. This proposal sets a maximum number of VSIP/VERAs to be offered for each series in each office. Up to 163 offers will be made from 391 targeted positions. Decisions on who receives VSIPs will be made on the basis of the employee's permanent official division and position of record, occupational series and grade level. Decisions about who receives VERA and VSIP will be prioritized based upon the employee's official Service Computation Date with preference given to those with the highest years of combined service at the EPA should two or more applicants within a VERA and VSIP eligible category have the same Service Computation Date. II. Background The U.S. EPA Region III employs 852 permanent employees responsible for carrying out the EPA's environmental and human health mission with the cooperation of five states (Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia. In all of its congressionally mandated programs, the Region oversees State /District activities for conformance with law and regulation, and also independently conducts federal rulemaking, permitting, inspections, enforcement, grant administration and public outreach to compel compliance, protect human health and restore environmental conditions. Region III is organized into 11 separate offices or divisions. The media Divisions (Air Protection Division, Land and Chemicals Division, Hazardous Site Cleanup Division and Water Protection Division) are responsible for implementing the relevant environmental laws, such as the 2

3 Clean Air Act, Resources Conservation and Recovery Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, and Clean Water Act. The Office of Policy & Management manages the Region s resources, including personnel, facilities, and extramural funding. The Chesapeake Bay Program Office provides core scientific and management support to the Chesapeake Bay Program, and that office is located within Region III. The other Offices (Office of Regional Counsel, Office of Public Affairs, Office of State & Congressional Relations, Office of Enforcement, Compliance & Environmental Justice, Environmental Assessment & Innovation Division, and the Office of Civil Rights) are responsible for activities that cross divisional boundaries. In addition to the reasons noted in the previous section, Region III needs to reduce and rebalance grade levels and restructure our workforce to recruit the new skills and abilities to support the Next Generation Compliance Strategy, as well as other technological advances. The Next Generation Compliance Strategy will require new skills in our technical and legal staff to meet the demands of optimizing use of new monitoring technologies, working with communities and community-collected information on local sources and impacts, and developing/using innovative enforcement approaches to improve compliance. This paradigm shift also impacts the Region s regulatory and permitting personnel who must assist states in adopting/issuing more effective regulations and permits that are easier to implement and enforce, utilize advanced emissions monitoring and electronic reporting, including requiring information to be publically available. Finally, continued advancement in automation/it technologies will foster further streamlining and redefine our work, allowing people to manage workloads more effectively and with greater consistency. Taken together, these drivers, along with the budget realities, require the Region to reduce, rebalance and restructure our workforce in a manner not possible through current attrition rates, which have averaged about 4%. In fact, Region III is consistent with Agency-wide data indicating employees on average stay with the Agency 5 years past their retirement eligible date. In reviewing the Region's workforce demographics, we have determined that there is a current imbalance in two major components of our workforce: clerical/secretarial support occupations, and senior grade positions in technical and administrative occupations. To reshape the organizational grade levels within our offices and divisions, Region III requests approval to offer VERA with VSIP to eligible employees. This authority will be used to reduce and reshape our workforce to create a grade level balance that consolidates higher level work into fewer positions and provide a modest number of new entry level positions in order to bring in new skills to new program directions at a savings to the Region. Through increased voluntary attrition, our restructuring will provide us the ability to recruit employees at the entry level with the ability to integrate multi-media approaches and new technology to more efficiently and effectively accomplish environmental program objectives. VERA and VSIP allocations have been spread throughout the Region to minimize impacts to national and regional program objectives. The Region has determined that it needs to reduce and reshape its administrative support staff into smaller administrative support teams to perform work that has been re-engineered into complex automated systems (i.e., travel management systems, contracting and procurement actions, facility program office requests, requests for services involving recruitment, personnel changes, time and labor, training, performance management and other automated administrative work systems). The declining need for clerical and secretarial support has been a steady trend for the last twenty-five years or more. EPA has attempted to address this trend through early and creative solutions such as the Administrative 3

4 Support Career Management System (ASCMS) and associated New Skills, New Options programs of the early 1990 s, which recognized that: Automation was rapidly changing the roles and responsibilities of traditional secretarial positions; The use of word processing software by technical and programmatic staff virtually eliminated the need for typing support; Implementation of , scheduling and voic technology further eroded the need for support positions to handle these tasks; and These shifts provided opportunities for retooling some of these positions for official automation or other programmatic support work. Despite these efforts, the need for administrative support staff has continued to decline over the years as tools such as electronic timekeeping, webforms and travel manager have been deployed. While Region III rarely backfilled secretarial vacancies that have occurred, attrition alone has failed to balance this component of the workforce. authority is therefore being requested, along with limited hiring, to bring newer skills into the Region. In reviewing the Region's workforce demographics, we have also determined that there is an imbalance between the number of non-supervisory positions at the GS-13, GS-14 and GS-15 levels. While senior level employees are retiring, they are not doing so in sufficient numbers to put the organization on a demographically healthy path where there is a continual upward flow of talent to provide for succession planning, continual learning, and employee retention all critical to our ability to accomplish our mission over the next five to ten years. The VERA and VSIP approval will allow us to reduce the total number of non-supervisory positions at the GS-13 and above grade levels. With the vacancies created by the VERA and VSIP separations, Region III will consolidate and reassign the higher graded work to existing GS-13 and above employees, and restructure the remaining work into new positions with GS-12 established as the full performance level. Given the number of seasoned employees that are expected to remain on board after the VERA and VSIP is completed, we plan to recruit entry-level candidates interested in working on program and technical issues that require the integration of multi-media approaches and new technology skills to more efficiently and effectively implement program objectives. Ultimately, our reduction and restructuring plans will result in a more balanced grade level structure within the Region. As discussed below, the number of supervisory positions needed in the Region may also decline. authority will allow us to reduce the total number of supervisory and nonsupervisory positions at the GS-13/14/15 grade levels, while using the FTE to hire new entry-level workers to build our bench strength for the future. Finally, and consistent with the need for reshaping in these components of the workforce, there will likely be a need for at least some organizational changes in the Region resulting from staff losses and smaller supervisory ratios in the Region as our FTE continues to decline. While it will take substantial planning and analysis to determine how best to restructure in FY 2015 or beyond, having fewer employees in highly specialized and/or supervisory senior grade positions and more 4

5 employees in more fungible lower and mid-grade positions will allow the Region greater flexibility when the time comes to do so. Thus, authority will be an essential tool to help position us for these changes. III. Reshaping the Workforce A. Clerical and Administrative Support Region III currently employs 49 employees in the following administrative occupations: Series Title Number 318 Secretary Environmental Protection Assistant Office/Program Support Assistant Office Automation File Clerk Equipment Operator 1 The role of the traditional secretarial profession has changed rapidly over the last few years. As technology has expanded, many of the activities of the traditional secretary (e.g., typing, filing, screening calls, scheduling meetings, photocopying, mailing documents, time keeping, and making travel reservations) have been assumed by the office's professional and technical staff that perform these functions electronically at their desktop without a need for secretarial assistance. This change in the work environment has diminished the need for positions in the secretarial field. While Region III still requires some administrative support at various levels of its organization, the nature of the support needed is vastly different. The administrative skills that Region III requires in today's work environment include project tracking, software proficiency for report development and database management, meeting planning and scheduling, coordination, and sophisticated electronic formatting of documents. To address the change, Region III would like to use authorities to reduce the number of secretarial positions, provide for modest hiring to bring employees on board with the skills described above, and restructure the resulting staff into smaller administrative support teams. There is significant imbalance in the deployment of these resources as attrition has occurred differently across organizations over time, workload has been collapsed/combined as positions were vacated, and new business processes have been adopted. There have been continual changes to the nature and volume of work in these occupations as business processes have been automated. Among these changes has been the introduction of increasingly effective electronic calendar scheduling, voic , timekeeping, records management, travel management and purchasing, to name a few. While there has been significant attrition in this component of the workforce over the years, it has not been enough to continue to support current on-board levels. At this juncture, some organizations have surplus support resources while others have too few. A simple redistribution of existing resources, however, would still result in a higher ratio of support than is needed and would not address opportunities for significant efficiencies and cost savings that could be attained by the 5

6 centralization of at least some administrative support functions, such as travel, timekeeping, purchasing and FOIA processing. Therefore, we are requesting the for 39 employees in the following administrative occupations and grades: Series Title Number 318 Secretary (GS 5-11) Environmental Protection Assistant (GS-7) Office/Program Support Assistant (GS-6,7) File Clerk (GS-5) Office Automation (GS-6) Equipment Operator (GS- 5) 1 B. Supervisory and Non-Supervisory GS-13, GS-14 and GS-15 Region III currently employs 475 non supervisory GS-13, GS-14 and GS-15 employees in the following occupations: Series Title Number 028 Environmental Protection Specialist Human Resources Specialist Miscellaneous Program Specialist Management/Program Analyst Life Scientist Ecologist Toxicologist Soil Conservationist Financial Specialist Accountant Budget Analyst Environmental Engineer Attorney Advisor Communications Specialist Public Affairs Specialist Physical Scientist Hydrologist Chemist Geologist Information Technology Specialist 13 6

7 Region III also currently employs 87 supervisory GS-14 and 15 employees in the following occupations: Series Title and Grade Number 028 Supv Environmental Protection Specialist Human Resources Manager Equal Employment Manager Miscellaneous Program Specialist Program Manager Mgmt & Program Analysis Officer Supv Life Scientist Financial Manager Supv Environmental Engineer Supv Attorney Advisor Supv Public Affairs Specialist Supv Contract Specialist Supv Grants Management Specialist Supv Physical Scientist Supv Chemist Supv Information Technology Specialist 2 We conducted a review of our resource management and workforce demographics and have determined that the workforce has become significantly skewed at the GS-13, 14 and 15 grade levels. Over 72 percent of the Region III workforce is at the GS-13 level and above. Furthermore, our current attrition rate is not generating enough attrition to create a sufficient number of vacancies to rebalance our workforce to be able to fill vacant positions at entry grade levels. With regard to environmental program and IT positions, we plan to use VERA and VSIP to reduce and restructure our workforce through attrition gained by VERA and VSIP. The Region will reassign the most complex work to existing higher graded positions to concentrate the assignment of this work into fewer positions. When higher graded employees leave, we plan to consolidate and reassign the higher level work to existing GS-13, GS-14 and GS-15 positions. Based upon our modest replacement plan (one hire for every three vacancies) we would backfill vacancies that can be filled externally at the entry-level. Hiring new employees at the entry-level will allow Region III to more evenly balance the grade level of our workforce between the GS-13 grade level and positions established with a full promotion potential to the GS-12 grade level. Also, it will allow us to recruit candidates with new technology and multi-media skills needed to support a high performing organization. With regard to attorney advisor positions, a reduction of supervisory and non-supervisory positions will occur as the VERA and VSIP will be offered to both supervisory and non-supervisory GS- 14 and GS positions. Through attrition gained by VERA and VSIP, the Region will reassign the most complex work (i.e., GS-15 level) to existing higher graded positions to concentrate the assignment of this work into fewer positions. The less complex work will be restructured into lower-graded positions. Overall, the Region intends to backfill a smaller number of positions, consistent with our overall future workforce projections. In addition, these positions will be offered at the entry level for 7

8 attorney-advisors, which will create a more diverse workforce profile while they are progressing to the full performance level of GS-14. Finally, the limited attorney hires will also be focused on a different skill set supporting multimedia approaches and greater use of technology in evidence gathering and communications. We are requesting the for 284 non-supervisory GS-13, GS-14 and 15 employees in the following occupations and grades: Series Title Number 028 Environmental Protection Specialist (GS-13,14,15) Human Resources Specialist (GS-14) Miscellaneous Program Specialist (GS-14) Management/Program Analyst (GS-14) Life Scientist (GS-13,14) Ecologist (GS-13,14) Toxicologist (GS-14) Soil Conservationist (GS-13) Financial Specialist (GS-14) Accountant (GS-14) Budget Analyst (GS-14) Environmental Engineer (GS-13,14) Attorney/Advisor (GS-14,15) Communication Specialist (GS 14) Public Affairs Specialist (GS-14) Physical Scientist (GS-13,14) Hydrologist (GS-13,14) Chemist (GS-13,14) Geologist (GS-13,14) Information Technology Specialist (GS-13,14) 9 We are also requesting the for 68 supervisory GS-14 and 15 employees in the following occupations: Series Title Number 028 Supv. Environmental Protection Specialist Human Resources Manager Equal Employment Manager Facilities Administrative Officer Program Manager Mgmt & Program Analysis Officer Supv Life Scientist Financial Manager Supv Environmental Engineer Supv Attorney Advisor 9 8

9 1035 Supv Public Affairs Specialist Supv Contract Specialist Supv Grants Mgmt Specialist Supv Physical Scientist Supv Chemist Supv Information Technology Specialist 1 Attachment 1 provides a summary of employees eligible for the in targeted occupations by title and grade. Information is presented for employees eligible for optional retirement (also called voluntary retirement) and the number of employees who are eligible for early retirement, based on a combination of age and years of service under VERA. Attachment 2 provides the targeted positions and maximum number of s to be offered to targeted positions by series and location. Each voluntary separation created through the use of the VSIP and VERA authority will be carefully evaluated, with an overall goal of ensuring that staffing levels for Region III do not exceed than FY15 staffing level requirements. IV. Budget Neutrality/Costs/Savings. Budget Neutrality This request for VSIP and VERA, if approved, will be conducted so that no funds or resources other than those appropriated for use in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 will be used or required. As mandated by the Office of Management and Budget for early-out/buy-out requests, Region III's request certifies that the early-out/buy-out will be budget neutral. This means the early-out/buy-out authority will not result in any increased costs above current or future FY appropriations to pay for costs incurred for buy-out cash payments, annual leave cash payouts, or any other costs, including those associated with refilling the resulting vacancies. The following tables detail calculations showing how Region III has assured budget neutrality in the proposal for FY 14. The direct maximum costs associated with VERA and VSIP is $6,737,898. Table A provides details of the direct costs associated with VERA and VSIP. Savings projected through FY 2016 as a result of the VERA and VSIP are estimated to be more than $43 million. Table B provides the detailed calculations of the savings achieved in FY 2014, FY 2015, and FY The savings will be used to meet Region IIIs ongoing program goals and responsibilities. Direct Costs Targeted Positions Table A - Direct Costs for 163 Targeted Positions for VSIP X $25,000 (maximum cash buy-out) $4,075,000 9

10 Annual Leave Buyout for 163 Targeted Positions for VERA, Optional Retirement or Resignation* ($68.07 per hr. X 240) X 163 $2,662,898 Total Maximum Direct Costs $6,737,898 Estimated Savings Table B - Estimated Savings for FY 2014 through FY 2016 Estimated FY 2014 Savings Estimated FY 2015 Savings Estimated FY 2016 Savings A. Total Annual Payroll Costs (based on FY 13 actuals before ) $112,055,700 $112,055,700 $112,055,700 B. Payroll Savings (Payroll for 163 targeted positions with April 1, 2014 Buyout Date with 50% of year remaining in 2014)* -$11,539,911 -$23,079,822 -$23,079,822 C. Working Capital Fund Savings** -$252,650 -$505,300 -$505,300 D. VSIP Buyout ($25,000 X 163) $4,075,000 E. Leave Payout Estimate (presumes 240 hours at average salary)* X 163 $2,662,898 F. Payroll for 54 new hires*** $3,755,700 $4,207,572 G. Working Capital Costs*** for 54 New Hires $167,400 $167,400 Total Costs $107,001,037 $92,393,678 $92,845,550 Total Projected Savings with $5,054,663 $19,662,022 $19,210,150 If the organization is under a Continuing Spending Resolution (CR), Region III will comply with all applicable funding restrictions to pay for the VSIP and annual leave payout, if the VSIP is approved. If necessary, our rehiring plans may be adjusted to ensure we expend only those resources allocated for use in FY 14. Notes: *Payroll savings calculations are based on the Region III GS-13 average salary, which is $107,268 annually or $51.57 per hour, with an additional 32 percent increase to account for benefits, which results in $141,594 annually or $68.07 per hour. **Working Capital Fund costs are based on an annual rate of $3,100 per position. Savings for FY 2014 assume a separation date of April 1, 2014; therefore, savings accrue only for half of the FY. ***Payroll calculations for 54 new hires (start date of October 1, 2014) are based on Region III GS-7 average salary, which is $52,293 annually or $25.14 per hour, with an additional 32 percent increase to 10

11 account for benefits, which results in $69,550 annually or $33.43 per hour. Since new hires will promote to GS-9 at the beginning of FY 16, payroll calculations for FY 16 are based on the Region III GS- 9 average salary ($59,029 or $29.38 per hour) with an additional 32 percent increase to account for benefits, which results $77,918 annually or $37.46 per hour. No pay adjustment for 2015 or 2016 was factored into the estimate. Indirect Costs The indirect costs are difficult to gauge because most are specific to the employee. Indirect costs, such as security clearances, are based on the position and employee. If the employee already has one the cost is reduced. Transit subsidy is another example of an indirect cost that is employee specific and can only be determined after the employee has been recruited and tentatively selected. V. Combined Request for Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) Agency: EPA Covered Component(s): Region III VSIP and VERA 1. Explain the workforce situation the organization needs to address through VSIP and VERA that would otherwise require involuntary personnel actions, e.g., delayering, reorganization, reduction in force, transfer of function, or other workforce restructuring or reshaping. Region III needs to reduce, rebalance grade levels and restructure our workforce to recruit in the new skills and abilities to support the Next Generation Compliance Strategy and other technological advances. The Next Generation Compliance Strategy will require new skills in our technical and legal staff to meet the demands of optimizing use of new monitoring technologies, working with communities and community-collected information on local sources and impacts, and developing/using innovative enforcement approaches to improve compliance. This paradigm shift also impacts the Region s regulatory and permitting personnel who must assist states in adopting/issuing more effective regulations and permits that are easier to implement and enforce, utilize advanced emissions monitoring and electronic reporting, including requiring information to be publically available. Continued advancement in automation/it technologies will foster further streamlining and redefine our work, allowing people to manage workloads more effectively and with greater consistency. Finally, in reviewing the Region's workforce demographics, we have determined that there is an imbalance between the number of non-supervisory positions at the GS-13, GS-14, and GS-15 levels verses the number of positions in which the career ladders is limited to the GS-12 level. Taken together, these drivers, along with our budget realities, require the Region to reduce, rebalance and restructure our workforce in a manner not possible through current attrition rates, which have averaged about 4%. Region III will use these authorities to: 11

12 Reshape and reduce the number of administrative support positions in the Region to better align with current and projected workload needs; Reshape and reduce the number of senior grade positions in the Region and redeploy these resources for future hiring of next generation talent to meet succession planning objectives; With regard to environmental program and IT positions, GS-13, 14 and 15s, we plan to use VERA and VSIP to reduce and restructure our workforce through attrition gained by VERA and VSIP. The Region will reassign the most complex work to existing higher graded positions in order to concentrate the assignment of this work into fewer positions. When higher graded employees leave, we plan to consolidate and reassign the higher level work to existing GS-13, GS-14 and GS-15 positions. Based upon our modest replacement plan (one hire for every three vacancies) we would backfill vacancies that can be filled externally at the entry-level. Hiring new employees at the entry-level will allow Region III to more evenly balance the grade level our workforce between the GS-13 grade level and positions established with a full promotion potential to the GS-12 grade level. Also, it will allow us to recruit candidates with new technology and multi-media skills needed to support a high performing organization; Prepare the Region for organizational changes likely resulting from projected reductions in staffing levels and associated reductions in the number of organizational levels and/or units needed to accomplish the mission in the future. To ensure we have a sufficient pool of applicants, we will open the buyout/early out to all the 13/14/15s listed below, whether supervisory or nonsupervisory; and, Reduce our workforce from 852 permanent employees to for FY 2015, while ensuring the future hires, through a modest replacement plan (approximately one hire for every three vacancies), have the skill set needed to meet today and tomorrow s requirements, described above. 2. Identify the end date for separations under VSIP and VERA. The time period for the authorities is from the date of approval through May 16, Voluntary separations will occur prior to April 5, Required information for VSIP request 3. Identify the specific positions and functions to be reduced or eliminated by organizational unit, geographical location, occupational category, grade level, and any other factors related to the position, such as skills and knowledge gaps. See attachments 3 and 4, which describe the workforce reshaping by occupation and by division. 4. Describe the categories of employees who will be offered VSIP by organizational unit, geographical location, occupational category, grade level, and any other factors related to the position such as skills or knowledge gaps, or retirement eligibility. This should be a description of all groups of employees who will receive VSIP offers. The agency should use categories such as position titles, occupational series, grade levels or function(s) performed (e.g., maintenance workers, support staff, etc.). The request should also specify the geographic area(s) where the employees are located. 12

13 We are requesting VSIPs for 39 employees in the following administrative occupations and grades: Series Title Number 318 Secretary (GS 5-11) Environmental Protection Assistant (GS-7) Office/Program Support Assistant (GS-6) File Clerk (GS-5) Office Automation (GS-6) Equipment Operator (GS-5) 1 We are requesting VSIPs for 284 non-supervisory GS-13, 14 and 15 employees in the following occupations and grades: Series Title Number 028 Environmental Protection Specialist (GS-13,14,15) Human Resources Specialist (GS-14) Miscellaneous Program Specialist (GS-14) Management/Program Analyst (GS-14) Life Scientist (GS-13,14) Ecologist (GS-13,14) Toxicologist (GS-14) Soil Conservationist (GS-13) Financial Specialist (GS-14) Accountant (GS-14) Budget Analyst (GS-14) Environmental Engineer (GS-13,14) Attorney/Advisor (GS-14,15) Communication Specialist (GS-14) Public Affairs Specialist (GS-14) Physical Scientist (GS-13,14) Hydrologist (GS-13,14) Chemist (GS-13,14) Geologist (GS-13,14) Information Technology Specialist (GS-13,14) 9 We are requesting VSIPs for 68 supervisory GS-14 and 15 employees in the following occupations: Series Title Number 028 Supv. Environmental Protection Specialist Human Resources Manager Equal Employment Manager 1 13

14 301 Facilities Administrative Officer Program Manager Mgmt & Program Analysis Officer Supv Life Scientist Financial Manager Supv Environmental Engineer Supv Attorney Advisor Supv Public Affairs Specialist Supv Contract Specialist Supv Grants Mgmt Specialist Supv Physical Scientist Supv Chemist Supv Information Technology Specialist 1 Attachments 1 and 2 provide a summary of employees eligible for the in targeted occupations by Series and Grade and the maximum number of VERA/ VISP Offers that will be accepted. 5. Identify the number of VSIPs to be paid and the maximum amount of each VSIP (up to $25,000). We will be offering VSIPs to 391 employees and will approve up to a total 163 VSIPs. The maximum amount of each VSIP will be $25, Describe how the organization will operate without the eliminated positions and functions identified in number 1. To address the change, Region III would like to use VSIP authorities to reduce the number of secretarial positions and restructure the remaining positions into smaller administrative support teams. We plan to use VERA and VSIP to reduce and restructure our workforce through attrition gained by VERA and VSIP. The Region will reassign the most complex work to existing higher graded positions in order to concentrate the assignment of this work into fewer positions. When higher graded employees leave, we plan to consolidate and reassign the higher level work to existing GS-13, GS-14 and GS-15 positions. Based upon our modest replacement plan (one hire for every three vacancies) we would backfill vacancies that can be filled externally at the entry-level. Hiring new employees at the entry-level will allow Region III to more evenly balance the grade level of our workforce between the GS-13 grade level and positions established with a full promotion potential to the GS-12 grade level. Also, it will allow us to recruit candidates with new technology and multi-media skills needed to support a high performing organization. For the attorney positions (Series 0905) Region III will, through a modest re-hiring program, backfill a smaller number of entry level positions, focusing on a skill set supporting multimedia 14

15 approaches, greater use of technology in evidence gathering and communications, and more comprehensive settlements as opposed to individual rule violations. 7. Provide a proposed organization chart showing the expected changes to the organization s structure after completing the VSIP plan. This chart should show the agency (or component within the agency, if the VSIP request is for a single component) minus the eliminated or restructured or redescribed positions (different grade, title, function(s), etc.). In order to effectively show the meaning of this information, it would be useful to display a current organization chart as well. Please see Attachment 3, Workforce Reshaping by Division; and, Attachment 4, Workforce Reshaping by Occupation. 8. If requesting, or will request, VERA, describe how that authority will be used in conjunction with VSIP. This discussion should explain the extent to which the agency believes it will reach its voluntary separation goals by combining VERA with VSIP as an enticement for voluntary separation. If the agency believes the VERA, when used with VSIP may entice certain employees to retire early to receive a VSIP, it should provide that information and explain the anticipated, positive effect that VERA will have on the VSIP acceptance rate. Region III has a substantial number of employees eligible for optional retirement and an even higher number of VERA-eligible employees. However, given our current attrition rate and the fact that many of our optional retirement-eligible employees have continued to work years beyond retirement eligibility, we are requesting authority to offer VERA with VSIP to supplement our number in order to reach our goal of 163 voluntary separations. Offering VERA with VSIP is more appealing than VERA alone and most likely will help us achieve the voluntary separations needed to support restructuring the grade level of our workforce by recruiting a modest number of entry-level employees with the new skills needed to support our high performance organization. 9. If offering VSIPs under another statutory authority, describe how VSIPs are being used under that authority. Not applicable. Required information for VERA request 10. Provide the anticipated effective date of the substantial delayering, reorganization, reduction in force, transfer of function, or other workforce restructuring or reshaping described in number 1. The projected effective date is first quarter of Fiscal Year Provide the total number of permanent employees in the agency or covered component(s). 15

16 The U.S. EPA Region III employs 852 permanent employees. 12. Provide the total number of permanent employees in the agency or covered component(s) who are expected to be involuntarily separated, downgraded, transferred, or reassigned as a result of the reason(s) in number 1. We will not be involuntarily separating, downgrading, or transferring any permanent employees. The total number of anticipated actions resulting from the VERA/VISP is expected to be approximately 325, resulting from retirements, internal reassignments and details, and recruit actions to implement the reshaping of our workforce, restructure the grade levels of our workforce and reduce the overall number of positions in the Region to meet FY 2015 staff levels. 13. Provide the total number of employees in the agency or covered component(s) who are eligible for voluntary early retirement. (Do not include employees eligible for optional retirement.) There are currently 270 employees eligible for early retirement; 221 of these are in positions targeted for the VERA offers. 14. Provide an estimate of the number of employees in the agency or covered component(s) who are expected to take voluntary early retirement. Of those employees eligible for early retirement, we will be offering VERA to 221 employees and expect that 55 VERA eligible employees will take the VERA offer. 15. Describe the types of personnel actions anticipated as a result of the reason(s) in number 1 (e.g., reassignments, downgrades, separations) that would occur without VERA. Directed Reassignments Details Voluntary Separations Abolish and/or Reclassify Positions Internal and External Recruitments Attachments: Attachment 1: Summary of Targeted Positions by Series and Grade Attachment 2: VERA/VISP Offers for Targeted Positions by Office and Series Attachment 3: Workforce Reshaping by Division Attachment 4: Workforce Reshaping by Occupation 16

17 Attachment 1 - Summary of Targeted Positions by Series/Grade Administrative Positions Series Title/Grade Total Eligible for Onboard Regular Eligible as Positions as Retirement as of 3/31/14 of 11/1/2013 of 3/31/ Environmental Protection Assistant (GS-7) Office Assistant (OA) (GS-6), Program Support Assistant (GS-7) File Clerk (GS-5) Secretary (GS-8), Secretary (OA) (GS-5,6,7,8,9,10,11) Office Automation Assistant (GS-6) Copy Equipment Operator (GS-5) Administrative Total Series 028 Non-Supervisory GS 13/14/15 Positions Total Eligible for Onboard Regular Title/Grade Positions as Retirement as of 11/1/2013 of 3/31/14 Environmental Protection Specialist Eligible as of 3/31/ (GS-13,14,15) 201 Human Resources Specialist (GS-14) Program Specialist (GS-14) Management/Program Analyst (GS-14) Life Scientist (GS-13,14) Ecologist (GS- 13,14) Toxicologist (GS-14) Soil Conservationist (GS-13) Financial Specialist (GS-14) Accountant (GS-14) Budget Analyst (GS-14) Environmental Engineer (GS-13,14) Attorney/Advisor (GS-14,15) Communication Specialist (GS-14) Public Affairs Specialist (GS-14) Physical Scientist (GS-13,14) Hydrologist (GS-13,14) Chemist (GS-13,14) Geologist (GS-13,14) IT Specialist (GS-13,14) Non-Supervisory GS 13/14/15 Total

18 Attachment 1 - Summary of Targeted Positions by Series/Grade Series Title/Grade Supervisory Positions Total Onboard Positions as of 11/1/2013 Eligible for Regular Retirement as of 3/31/14 Eligible as of 3/31/ Supervisory EPS (GS-14,15) Human Resources Officer (GS-15) Equal Employment Manager (GS-14) Facilities Administrative Officer (GS-15) Program Manager (GS-15) Management and Program Analysis Officer (GS-15) Supervisory Life Scientist (GS-14,15) Financial Manager (GS-15) Supervisory Environmental Engineer (GS-14,15) Supervisory General Attorney (GS-15) Supervisory Public Affairs Specialist (GS- 14) Supervisory Contract Specialist(GS-15) Supervisory Grants Management Specialist (GS-15) Supervisory Physical Scientist (GS-14,15) Supervisory Chemist (GS-14) Supervisory IT Specialist (GS-15) Supervisory GS 14/15 Total Grand Totals Administrative, Non-Supervisory GS 13/14/15, and Supervisory GS 14/

19 Attachment 2 Offers for Targeted Positions by Office and Series Duty Station Philadelphia, PA Administrative Positions Title/Grade Environmental Protection Assistant (GS-7) Office Assistant (OA) (GS-6), Program Support Assistant (GS-7) File Clerk (GS-5) Secretary (GS-8), Secretary (OA) (GS- 5,6,7,8,9,10,11) Office Automation Assistant (GS-6) Copy Equipment Operator (GS-5) Number of Positions Targeted 37 (4-0029; ; ; ; ; ) Maximum # of s Offers in Job Series Up to 19 Annapolis, MD Secretary (OA) (GS-7,9) 1 Up to 1 Wheeling, WV Office Assistant (OA) (GS-6) 1 Up to 1 19

20 Attachment 2 Offers for Targeted Positions by Office and Series Duty Station Philadelphia, PA GS 13/14/15 Positions Title/Grade Environmental Protection Specialist (GS-13,14,15), Supv EPS (GS-14,15) Life Scientist (GS-13,14), Supv Life Scientist (GS-14,15) Ecologist (GS-13,14) Soil Conservationist (GS-13) Environmental Engineer (GS-13,14), Supv Environmental Engineer (GS-14,15) Physical Scientist (GS-13,14), Supv Physical Scientist (GS-14,15) Number of Positions Targeted 212 ( ; ; ; ; ; ) Maximum # of Offers in Job Series Up to Toxicologist (GS-14) 3 Up to Hydrologist (GS-13,14), Geologist (GS-13,14) 9 (4 1315; ) Up to Chemist (GS-13) 1 Up to Human Resources Specialist (GS-14), Human Resources Officer (GS-15) Equal Employment Manager (GS-14) Program Specialist (GS-14), Facilities Administrative Officer (GS-15) Program Manager (GS-15) Program Analyst (GS- 14), Management and Program Analysis Officer (GS-15) Communication Specialist (GS-14) Public Affairs Specialist (GS-14), Supv Public Affairs Specialist (GS-14) Financial Specialist (GS-14) Financial Manager (GS-15) Accountant (GS-14) Budget Analyst (GS-14) Supv Contract Specialist (GS-15) Supv Grants Management Specialist (GS-15) 17 (2 0201; ; ; ; ; ; ) 7 (1 0501; ; ; ; ; ) Up to 8 Up to IT Specialist (GS-13,14), Supv IT Specialist (GS-15) 10 Up to 3 20

21 Attachment 2 Offers for Targeted Positions by Office and Series Duty Station Annapolis, MD Fort Meade, MD Wheeling, WV GS 13/14/15 Positions Title/Grade Environmental Protection Specialist (GS-13,14,15), Supv EPS (GS-15) Physical Scientist (GS-13,14), Supv Physical Scientist (GS-15) Program Manager (GS-15) Management/Program Analyst (GS-14) Environmental Protection Specialist (GS-13,14,15) Environmental Engineer (GS-13,14) Physical Scientist (GS-13,14), Supv Physical Scientist (GS-15) Chemist (GS-13,14), Supv Chemist (GS-14) Number of Positions Targeted 8 (5 0028; ) 2 (1 0340; ) 10 (2 0028; ; ) Maximum # of Offers in Job Series Up to 3 Up to 1 Up to 4 10 Up to Program Specialist (GS-14) 1 Up to Environmental Protection Specialist (GS-13) Environmental Engineer (GS-13) Physical Scientist (GS-13,14) 6 (2 0028; ; ) Up to 3 Richmond, VA Physical Scientist (GS-14) 1 Up to 1 Stroudsburg, PA Physical Scientist (GS-13) 1 Up to 1 Titusville, PA Physical Scientist (GS-13) 1 Up to 1 Duty Station Philadelphia, PA Attorney Positions Title/Grade Attorney/Advisor (GS-14,15), Supv General Attorney (GS-15) Number of Positions Targeted Maximum # of Offers in Job Series 52 Up to 12 Fort Meade, MD Attorney/Advisor (GS-14,15) 1 Up to 1 Grand Totals Administrative and GS 13/14/15 Positions 391 Up to

22 Attachment 3 Workforce Reshaping by Division (Post ) Division/Office Current Staffing Level of Administrative and Targeted GS-13/14/15 Positions as of 11/01/13 Projected Attrition Projected Ceiling of Administrative and Targeted GS-13/14/15 Positions After Air Protection Division Chesapeake Bay Program Office Environmental Assessment and Innovation Division Hazardous Site Cleanup Division Land and Chemicals Division Office of Enforcement, Compliance, and Environmental Justice Office of Policy and Management Office of Public Affairs Office of Regional Counsel Office of State and Congressional Relations Office of the Regional Administrator Water Protection Division Grand Totals

23 Attachment 4 Workforce Reshaping by Occupation (Post ) Administrative Positions Occupation Current Staffing Level Projected Attrition Projected Ceiling After Environmental Protection Assistant (GS-7), Office Assistant (OA) (GS-6), Program Support Assistant (GS-7), File Clerk (GS-5), Secretary (GS-8), Secretary (OA) (GS- 5,6,7,8,9,10,11), Office Automation Assistant (GS-6), Copy Equipment Operator (GS-5)

24 Attachment 4 Workforce Reshaping by Occupation (Post ) Targeted GS 13/14/15 Positions Current Occupation Staffing Level Environmental Protection Specialist (GS-13,14,15), Supv EPS (GS-14,15) Life Scientist (GS-13,14), Supervisory Life Scientist (GS-14,15) Ecologist (GS-13,14) Soil Conservationist (GS-13) Environmental Engineer (GS-13,14), Supv Environmental Engineer (GS-14,15) Physical Scientist (GS-13,14), Occupation 0905, Attorney/Advisor (GS-14,15), Supv General Attorney (GS-15) Attorney Positions Current Staffing Level Projected Attrition Projected Attrition Projected Ceiling After Supv Physical Scientist (GS-14,15) Toxicologist (GS-14) Hydrologist (GS-14), Geologist (GS-13,14) Chemist (GS-13,14), Supv Chemist (GS-14) Human Resources Specialist (GS-14), Human Resources Officer (GS-15) Equal Employment Manager (GS-14) Program Specialist (GS-14), Facilities Administrative Officer (GS-15) Program Manager (GS-15) Program Analyst (GS- 14), Management and Program Analysis Officer (GS-15) Communication Specialist (GS-14) Public Affairs Specialist (GS-14), Supv Public Affairs Specialist (GS-14) Financial Specialist (GS-14) Financial Manager (GS-15) Accountant (GS-14) Budget Analyst (GS-14) Supv Contract Specialist (GS-15) Supv Grants Management Specialist(GS-15) 2210 IT Specialist (GS-13,14), Supv IT Specialist (GS15) Projected Ceiling After Grand Totals