FAIR AND REASONABLE STANDARDS. The Parties recognize that fair and reasonable standards are an important and integral part of maintaining the integrity of the passport issuance process. Fair and reasonable performance standards for the adjudication and production of United States passports are a necessity.
a. A “fair” and “reasonable” performance standard is a standard that provides sufficient explanation of expectations or requirements established for each critical element at each rating level. Performance standards will, to the extent feasible, permit the evaluation of a bargaining unit employee’s performance of the duties and responsibilities of his/her job on the basis of measurable criteria. Bargaining unit employees at each grade level must be provided a fair and reasonable amount of time to accomplish the required steps and procedures to complete the required tasks.
b. Passport Application Adjudication Numerical Performance Standards:
i. The Employer agrees that adequate time must be provided to bargaining unit employees when adjudicating passports, to include diligent scrutiny of fraud indicators. The Employer agrees to continue to monitor, evaluate and where appropriate, implement changes to the technology and methods of adjudicating passports to enhance both the quality and quantity of passport adjudication. The Employer agrees to monitor, evaluate, and where appropriate, adjust numerical passport adjudication standards.
ii. Nationwide numerical performance standards for BUE shall be based on the same job requirements (e.g., the same steps and procedures in completing the same tasks).
iii. Management recognizes that additional steps and procedures added to performance requirements may require additional time.
iv. When measuring Passport Specialists against numerical performance standards, the calculation of production shall include:
1. The number of applications approved;
2. The number of applications suspended; and
3. The number of applications referred for further action or investigation.
c. Bargaining unit employees shall be notified of errors in a timely fashion (normally within two weeks) after they are discovered. It is understood that a bargaining unit employee may challenge the determination of the error at that time and that such a challenge will not waive the bargaining unit employee's right to grieve alleged errors or their weight in his/her annual appraisal.
d. Passport Specialists shall have a minimum of 60 minutes of the day counted as non- productive time when a...
