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U.S. Office of Personnel ManagementVariations to Staffing Regulations |
| Notice No: 97-23 | Washington, DC 20415 |
| Date: May 16, 1997 |
Notice of OPM Variations
AGENCIES: THIS NOTICE PROVIDES INFORMATION RELATIVE TO VARIATION REQUESTS. Section 5.1 of civil service rule V requires the Office of Personnel Management to inform agencies about variations which it grants under that rule.
Heads of Departments and Independent Establishments:
| 1. | This notice describes non-precedent-setting variations to staffing regulations granted between January 1, 1997, and March 31, 1997. | |
| Extension of Term Appointments Beyond 4 Years | ||
| 2. | Eleven variations were granted to the 4-year service limit for term appointments contained in 5 CFR 316.301: |
- On January 7, 1997, an extension was granted until December 19, 1997, for a Personnel Clerk (Typing), GG-203-5, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in Washington, DC, to provide continued and uninterrupted support to the Personnel Services Branch in order to meet increased workload levels.
- On January 15, 1997, a second 1-year extension was granted for three Total Quality Management Implementation Specialists, GS-301-14, with the Department of the Navy in Pensacola, Florida, to implement a Total Quality Leadership Program throughout Navy.
- On January 15, 1997, a 13-month extension was granted for a Biological Science Laboratory Technician, GS-404-9, at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This permits the employee to complete work on a Medical Research Merit Review Program.
- On January 16, 1997, a 1-year extension was granted for an Archeologist, GS-193-12, with the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, to complete work on the National Register of Historic Places Program.
- On January 28, 1997, a 1-year extension was granted for a Geophysicist, GS-1313-12, with the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, to permit the employee to complete the conversion of automatic seismic data collection in the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory.
- On January 31, 1997, an extension was granted until December 31, 1997, for a Supervisory Contract Review Specialist, GG-1102-15, at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in Washington, DC, to complete audit and contract closeouts of Resolution Trust Corporation contracts.
- On January 31, 1997, a 3-year extension was granted for a Secretary (OA), GS-318-5, with the Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs. The employee is needed to provide administrative support to the Central and East European Technical Assistance Program so that the Bureau can meet its obligation to provide adequate service to its European clients.
- On February 13, 1997, a 1-year extension was granted for a Research Chemist, GS-1320-13, with the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, to provide scientific support for the New York, New Jersey Metro Project for predicting coastal erosion and sand extraction.
- On February 19, 1997, a 1-year extension was granted for an International Economist, GS-110-14, with the Department of Labor, Bureau of International Affairs, who is an Education Economist and provides education sector research and technical support to Africa.
- On February 26, 1997, a 2 1/2-year extension was granted for a Biological Science Laboratory Technician, GS-404-7, at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to complete work on the Merit Review research project associated with human hypertension.
- On March 28, 1997, a 6-month extension was granted to a Biological Science Laboratory Technician, GS-404-5, at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bath, New York, to support special toxicological and microbiological studies relevant to VA's medical and benefits entitlements.
| In keeping with the variation criteria and precedents, each of these variations: avoids unnecessary hardship to the agency that disruption to the project/work in which the employee is involved would cause if a staff change were to occur now; is within the spirit of the term appointment regulation by extending the employment in a manner consistent with the nonpermanent nature of the work; and promotes Government efficiency by enabling expeditious continuation of the project through retention of employees already knowledgeable of the ongoing work. | ||
| Correction of Erroneous Appointments | ||
| 3. | Three variations were granted to allow credit for career tenure and time-in-grade purposes for employees whose appointment did not meet the requirements of the authority used. The variations involve an exception to the requirements of 5 CFR 330.101 that positions in the competitive service be filled by one of the methods authorized in civil service law and regulations: |
- On January 23, 1997, variation was granted to allow service credit for an employee with the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office, in New York. On August 5, 1990, the agency appointed the individual to a career-conditional appointment as a Legal Technician (Typing), GS-986-7, incorrectly using a direct-hire authority that did not apply to the position. After discovering the error, the agency was able to properly appoint the employee to that position on April 28, 1996.
- On March 19, 1997, variation was granted to confer service credit for 9 employees of the Department of the Navy, Naval Research Laboratory, who were appointed by incorrectly using a direct-hire authority that had expired. The individuals were hired under career-conditional appointments in various positions during the period May 1996 through July 1996. All of them were properly appointed to their positions in September 1996.
- On March 24, 1997, variation was granted to allow service credit for an employee of the Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Lakewood, Colorado, who was erroneously reinstated to a career-conditional appointment on February 26, 1997, as an Administrative Program Assistant, GS-303-6. The individual's prior service was in the excepted service which did not confer reinstatement. On July 7, 1996, the agency was able to properly appoint the employee to that position.
| Three variations were granted to allow credit for career tenure and time-in-grade purposes for employees whose appointment did not meet the requirements of the authority used. The variations involve an exception to the requirements of 5 CFR 330.101 that positions in the competitive service be filled by one of the methods authorized in civil service law and regulations: | ||
| 4. | One variation was granted as an exception to 5 CFR 330.101 to permit retention of an employee whose appointment did not meet the requirement of the authority used: |
- On February 5, 1997, variation was granted to permit an employee of the Department of Energy to be retained with full service credit as a Program Support Specialist, GS-301-11, in Washington, DC. For this employee, the initial administrative error began over 17 years ago (1979), when another agency incorrectly reinstated the individual to a permanent position. After a break in service, the employee was again incorrectly reinstated in 1993 to another agency which failed to recognize the 1979 error. On October 30, 1994, the employee, who had never established competitive status, transferred to the current agency, where the previous errors were discovered.
| Variation was the only way to avoid the extreme hardship of separation. Following established precedent that treats old administrative errors, the variation permitted retention of the employee and also allowed full service credit, including career tenure and time-in-grade. Since so much has passed since the initial error, it was not possible to judge if the individual could have been reached for competitive appointment. | ||
| 5. | Section 5.1 of civil service rule V requires that like variations be granted in like circumstances. Therefore, if an agency believes it has a case which parallels one of those described in this notice, a variation may be requested. Agencies are reminded, however, that variation is appropriate only when no other authority exists to remedy the hardship or practical difficulty. All requests for variation must be sent through the headquarters of the agency or department involved and must be transmitted to the Office of Personnel Management for final action. Agencies do not have authority to approve variations. |
[signed]
James B. King
Director
Inquiries: Staffing Reinvention Office
Employment Service, (202) 606-0830
Page created October 16, 1997