Information on the Downgrading of Bureau of Prisons' Wage Supervisor Positions
Gao ID: GGD-85-87 September 30, 1985Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) reclassification of its wage supervisor positions to determine whether proper procedures and regulations were followed in the reclassifications.
GAO found that: (1) some of the decisions to downgrade positions were being appealed; (2) BOP used an improper classification methodology for the supervisory positions; (3) the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sustained about 85 percent of the Department of Justice decisions; (4) the appellate process was functioning in accordance with established policy and procedures; (5) OPM has gone beyond what its regulations require in order to help ensure that its regional offices are adjudicating the appealed cases on a consistent basis; (6) OPM suspended the regional offices' authority to issue decisions until it could provide them with additional guidance; and (7) OPM complied with the required statutory provisions and consistently applied the standards by which the jobs were to be graded.