Department of the Interior
Departmental Manual
Effective Date: 2/4/91
Series: Delegation
Part 205: General Delegations
Chapter 8: Personnel Management
Originating Office: Office of Personnel Policy
205 DM 8
8.1 Personnel Management Authority.
A. Delegation. The Assistant Secretaries and the Solicitor are authorized to exercise the personnel management authority of the Secretary of the Interior. The exercise of this authority includes, but is not limited to the following activities and their associated personnel programs:
(1) Appointments
(2) Changes
(3) Position Classification and Pay
(4) Separations
(5) Designation of persons to administer oaths
(6) Determinations on avoidance of forfeiture or restoration of annual leave.
B. Authority. This authority is delegated under the provisions of section 2 of Reorganization Plan III of March 13, 1950 (64 Stat. 1262) and it may be redelegated in total, or by specific function such as the authority to administer oaths.
8.2 Limitations. The authority granted in 205 DM 8.1A excludes the exercise of specific authorities limited to the Secretary: Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget; the Director of Personnel or the Chief, Division of Personnel Services; set out below, in Part 212 of the DM and in the DM Additions to the FPM. Examples of these exclusions are:
A. Action in the absence of Secretarial approval on appointments, details, changes, separations, and removals requiring Secretarial approval (370 DM 311).
B. Approval of basic labor agreements, or amendments or terminations of such agreements, negotiated between a bureau or an organizational element thereof and labor organizations representing employees of the bureau which require the approval of the Director of Personnel (370 DM 711).
C. Position classification actions reserved to the Office of Personnel (370 DM 511).
D. Authority to make determinations that the exigencies of the public business are of such importance as to preclude the use of annual leave to avoid forfeiture, as provided in Public Law 93-181 (5 U.S.C. 6304), and pertinent regulations of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may not be redelegated below the head of a major field installation, provided that official=s leave status would not also be affected by the determination.
E. Any action by an Assistant Secretary, except the Assistant Secretary-Policy, Management and Budget, concerning a Secretarial Office without the approval of the Chief, Division of Personnel Services.
F. The following authorities or delegations from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are reserved to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or the Assistant Secretary-Policy, Management and Budget:
(1) Exclusion of Presidential Appointees from leave provisions (5 CFR 630.211).
(2) Executive Personnel Authorities subject to terms of the delegation agreement and any other guidance and limitations imposed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) concerning the establishment, final classification, salary setting, recruitment, appointing authority, and qualifications approval for positions in the Senior Executive Service; at grades GS-16, 17, and 18; and established under Section 3104 of 5 U.S.C. (PL 313 Type). The Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget may redelegate this authority to the Director of Personnel.
G. The following authorities or delegations from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) require the prior approval of the Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget:
(1) Appointment of United States citizens recruited overseas (5 CFR 301.201).
(2) Appointment of citizens recruited outside overseas areas (5 CFR 301.202).
(3) Appointment based on service in the Office of the President or Vice President or on the White House Staff (5 CFR 315.602).
(4) Appointment based on legislative or judicial service (5 U.S.C. 3304, FPM Chapter 315, Subchapter 6).
(5) Determination of manpower shortage for positions at level GS-16 and above or equivalents (5 CFR 572.201).
(6) Approval of Alternate Standards for Motor Vehicle Operations (5 CFR 930.105).
H. The authority from OPM to grant exceptions to Section 5533(a) of Title 5 U.S.C. to permit compensation from more that one civilian office (5 CFR 550.504) may not be redelegated below the level of associate or assistant head of a bureau or office.
I. The following authorities from OPM are reserved to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget, or the Director of Personnel:
(1) Temporary assignment of excepted employees to competitive positions (Schedule C only) (CS Rule 6.5).
(2) Training agreements.
(3) Controls on non-Government facility training (5 U.S.C. 4106(a) and (b)).
(4) Exceptions to prohibition on payment of premium pay for periods of training (5 U.S.C. 4109 (a)(1); 5 CFR 410.602(b); Section 401(a) of E.O. 11348).
J. The authority to waive time-in-grade requirements (5 CFR Part 300, Subpart F) may not be redelegated below the level of Assistant Secretary.
K. The authority to bring units of public or private enterprise or excepted positions into the competitive service (5 CFR 316.701 and 316.702) which is restricted to the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks and the Assistant Secretary - Water and Science, may not be redelegated below the level of Director, National Park Service and the Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation.
8.3 Authority to Suspend or Revoke Personnel Management Authority. This chapter does not limit the authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget by 209 DM 4. The Assistant Secretary - Policy, Management and Budget is authorized to limit, suspend, or revoke any authority granted by or pursuant to 205 DM 8.
8.4 Personnel Management Authority of the Inspector General. Nothing in this chapter affects the authority of the Inspector General, under the general supervision of the Secretary, to select, appoint, and employ an Assistant Inspector General for Auditing, an Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, and such other officers and employees as may be necessary to carry out the duties, functions, and powers of the Office of Inspector General in accordance with Subsections 3(d) and 6(a) of the Inspector General Act of 1978, 92 Stat. 1102 and 1104.
2/4/91 #2909
Replaces 7/15/80 #2278