Handout from ELT Meeting, 6/24-25, 1998 To: "DC - All District Chiefs", "B - Branch Chiefs and Offices", "AO - All Administrative Officers" From: "Catherine L Hill, ACH/Operations, Reston, VA" Cc: "Catherine L Hill, ACH/Operations, Reston, VA" , "Stephen F Blanchard, Deputy ACHO, Reston, VA" , "Alice C Dilandro, Secretary (S), Reston, VA" Subject: Handout from ELT Meeting, 6/24-25, 1998 Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 08:35:32 -0400 Sender: "Alice C Dilandro, Secretary (S), Reston, VA" Attached is hiring information recently developed by the Office of Personnel for your information. Cathy N E W H R T O O L S APPOINTING AUTHORITIES Career/Career Conditional Appointments Career and Career-conditional appointments of individuals newly appointed to the government were previously accomplished through OPM registers. After changes in appropriated funding in 1995, OPM delegated examining authority to agencies. Agencies may contract with OPM on a fee for service basis, may examine for their own positions, or share the examining. Working with your servicing personnel office, you need to know when to utilize OPM services, when it might be cost effective to share advertising and examining procedures with OPM or when it might be appropriate to handle everything inhouse. In the Denver and Reston Personnel Offices we are taking steps to train personnel specialists to become examiners to determine if and when inhouse procedures are more efficient. Term Appointments Term appointments must be advertised and applicants certified in the same manner as permanent appointees. Term employees are eligible for health and retirement benefits, and appointments are made for more than 1 year but not more than 4 years, (may be extended with OPM approval in extenuating circumstances). Justifications for term appointments include, but are not limited to: project work, extraordinary workload, scheduled abolishment, reorganization or contracting out of a function, funding uncertainty, or the need to maintain permanent positions to place employees who would otherwise be displaced. It is management's responsibility to insure that term appointments are appropriate. OPM is currently reviewing recommendations by agencies and the National Performance Review to determine flexibilities within existing laws which could provide for conversions of term appointees to permanent positions. Temporary Limited Appointments Temporary limited appointments are to fill a short-term need not expected to last longer than 1 year. They may be extended one time for up to 1 additional year. Temporary limited appointments must be advertised, but do not need OPM certification. They do not confer health benefits until the second year, (employee pays own and government share of premiums). Student Educational Employment Program Appointments Student Temporary Employment Program - STEP Students pursuing educational programs are appointed to temporary positions not to exceed 1 year. Appointments may be extended in one-year increments as long as the student meets requirements. These students are not eligible for noncompetitive conversion, but may be converted to the Student Career Experience Program. Student Career Experience Program - SCEP Students pursuing educational programs are appointed to positions related to their academic/career goals, and noncompetitively converted to term or permanent positions upon completion of academic studies. Student must have 640 hours of work for conversion. Students in both SCEP and STEP programs are most appropriately viewed as trainee scientists and professionals to be carefully mentored, trained and developed for the permanent workforce. Post Docs NRC Post Doc Appointment of scientific and professional research associates at GS-11 and above, filled on a temporary basis by persons having a doctoral degree in an appropriate field of study for research activities of mutual interest to appointee and agency. Referrals are from the National Research Council (NRC) post-doctoral research program, and may not exceed 2 years. Both Geologic Division and Water Resources Division utilize NRC for these appointments. USGS Post Doc Geologic Division had an internal program 5 years ago, and plans to reinstate it in the near future. Advertisements are issued, appointments are made on a term basis. Future plans are to focus opportunities for scientific research toward Division science plan objectives and mentor appointees as a potential permanent recruitment source. Veterans Readjustment Authority - VRA Appointments Appointments are made at GS-11 and below without competition and may be converted to career-conditional appointment after 2 years of satisfactory service. Eligible veterans are those who served on active duty in the Armed Forces for more than 180 days and received other than a dishonorable discharge, or who were members of a Reserve component ordered to active duty during a period of war or a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge was authorized. Welfare-To-Work - Note: This is not an appointing authority This is an employment initiative instituted by executive memorandum to Federal Agency and Department Heads in March 1997 which requires agencies to do their fair share in providing employment opportunities for welfare recipients under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (also called the Welfare Reform Act). The Act requires work in exchange for time limited public assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs. The Secretary, USGS Directorate and each Division have goals to hire welfare recipients. Appointments may be made under any appointing authority to any position or grade level. However, the TAPER (or Worker-Trainee) appointing authority, which permits the hiring of unskilled workers at GS-1 without the need for OPM competition has been the most popular means of acquiring welfare-to-work employees thus far. There are complexities associated with this initiative, and with the TAPER appointing authority. We have a Welfare-To-Work site on the OPS Home Page under Human Resources, Employment, What's New? which provides information, guidance, procedures and goals for each division. Please go out and look - and familiarize yourself with it. Point of contact: Welfare-To-Work Coordinator in your servicing personnel office. Intergovernmental Personnel Act - IPA Temporary assignments of permanent employees between Federal agencies; State, local, and Indian tribal governments; institutions of higher education; and other eligible organizations for the purpose of completing work of mutual concern and benefit to both organizations. Assignments are made for up to 2 years, and may be extended for 2 more years with concurrence of the other parties to the agreement. Duties, length of assignment, salary reimbursement, travel, and other expenses are determined by written agreement between the parties. N E W D E L E G A T I O N S *PAY INCENTIVES Recruitment Bonus Payment of a recruitment bonus of up to 25 percent of the annual rate of basic pay is authorized to a newly appointed employee, provided there is a documented determination that, in the absence of such a bonus, management would have difficulty filling the position with a high quality candidate. For guidance and procedures, contact your servicing personnel specialist. Payments are made in a lump sum, are not considered part of the employee's rate of basic pay, and require the employee to sign a written service agreement prior to receipt. Relocation Bonus Payment of a relocation bonus of up to 25 percent of the annual rate of basic pay to an employee who must relocate to accept a position in a different commuting area, is authorized provided there is a documented determination that, in the absence of such a bonus, management would have difficulty filling the position. Payments are made in a lump sum, are not considered part of the employee's rate of basic pay, and require the employee to sign a written service agreement prior to receipt. Retention Allowance Payment of a retention allowance of up to 25 percent of the annual rate of basic pay to a current employee is authorized when the individual's unusually high or unique qualifications or services are critical to the agency's mission, and the agency determines that the employee would be likely to leave in the absence of a retention allowance. Payment is paid in the same manner and at the same time as basic pay, shall not be considered part of the employee's rate of basic pay, and may continue as long as the conditions giving rise to the original determination to pay the allowance exists, subject to annual review. Authority for all three of the above is delegated to: - Assistant Secretary/Policy, Management and Budget for SES, SL and ST Positions; - Assistant Secretary/Water and Science for GS-12 through 15; - Division Chiefs for GS-11 and below Superior Qualifications Appointments (Also known as Appointments Above the Minimum)An appointment may be made at a rate above the minimum step of the appropriate General Schedule grade level based on documented evidence of superior qualifications or special need of the agency for the individual's services. Superior qualifications appointments are made by new appointment or by reappointment of a former Federal employee who has had a break in service of at least 90 calendar days from the last period of Federal employment. For rates in excess of 20% of candidate's existing pay, authority remains with the Assistant Secretary/Water and Science. For rates 20% or below candidate's existing pay, authority rests with Division Chiefs. Waiver of Pay/Retirement Reduction for Certain Reemployed Military/Civilian Retirees Reemployed annuitants normally have their pay (for civilian retirees) or their retirement annuity (for military retirees) reduced if they accept Federal employment. OPM requires that any requests for exception of that authority be based on special needs and submitted on a case-by- case basis. OPM has recently approved a request from the Department of the Interior to waive such reductions for appointments of annuitants who will be engaged in activities associated with the Year 2000 conversion of automated systems. The waivers may only be utilized when, after extensive publicity and appropriate use of other available incentives (e.g., recruitment/relocation bonuses and retention allowances), the remaining fully qualified candidates will accept the position only if the deductions are waived. Requests to utilize the waiver require approval of the Assistant Secretary, Policy, Management and Budget on a case-by-case basis, and will be approved only for an employee serving on a temporary basis (not to exceed 12 months with one extension of up to 12 months), and only for as long as is necessary for the Year 2000 conversion. Reimbursement for Travel and Transportation Expenses for Preemployment interviews and New Appointees For SES, SL, ST positions authority rests with the Assistant Secretary, Policy, Management and Budget; For GS-15 and below, authority rests with Division Chiefs. Recruitment Initiatives Authority to utilize Paid advertising for Recruitment is delegated to Division Chiefs. Authority to contract with commercial recruiting firms or temporary help service firms. *Wherever Division Chiefs are referred to as the authority for action, this includes Deputy Director, Associate Directors, Division Chiefs, and Chief, OPS, and in some cases the authority may be redelegated in writing.