The objective of this audit was to determine whether employees hired at the Navy’s four public shipyards from January 23, 2016, through December 22, 2016, were affected by the lack of authorization of the Accelerated Promotion Program (APP) in 2016 and, if so, determine the number of employees affected. For employees affected, determine the monetary impact to those employees and whether they were entitled to additional compensation, and identify the amount.
Public Law 117‑81, “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022,” Section 1115, requires the DoD OIG to assess the impacts resulting from the Navy’s lack of authorization of the Entry Level Naval Shipyards Engineer APP from January 23, 2016, through December 22, 2016. Although the law refers to the term suspension, we determined that the Department of the Navy did not suspend its program, but rather lacked authorization for the Entry Level Naval Shipyards Engineer APP in place since May 1991. We determined that the APP referred to in Public Law 117‑81 is the Entry Level Naval Shipyards Engineer program. On December 22, 2016, the Office of Personnel Management re‑authorized the Entry Level Naval Shipyards Engineer APP. The purpose of an APP is to provide personnel with the opportunity to acquire the experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to qualify for another position or promotion at an accelerated rate.