Human Capital Reform: Will It Improve Homeland Security?

Abstract

In creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Congress assumed that “human capital reform” would be necessary to improve the new agency’s operational efficiency and effectiveness, and ultimately to increase public safety. To that end, Congress gave DHS authority to create its own personnel system. In the process, legislators allowed DHS to waive provisions for federal employee pay and classification, labor–management relations, and employee disciplinary appeals.