U.S. Office of Personnel Management Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness Report of a Special Study A WORK IN PROGRESS: Openness in the Employment Process II July 2001 A WORK IN PROGRESS: OPENNESS IN THE EMPLOYMENT PROCESS II TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Executive Summary...............................................1 II. Introduction...................................................3 III. Findings......................................................5 IV. Conclusion....................................................11 V. Actions Taken Since the Initial Study..........................11 VI. Recommendations...............................................13 Appendices A. Legal and Regulatory Citations...........................A-1 B. Public Notice Study Survey Results.......................B-1 C. Sampling Methodology.....................................C-1 D. Request to Agency Human Resources Managers...............D-1 E. Examples of Reasons Cited for Erroneously Not Posting....E-1 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The merit system principles state that recruitment should be fair and open. Public notice of available opportunities is central to meeting this expectation. Two years ago, we conducted a study of fiscal year (FY) 1997 placement actions to determine the extent to which Federal agencies announced vacancies that were subject to public notice requirements. We found that almost one-third of the personnel actions requiring public notice were not posted as required. Because of the importance of the vacancy announcement process in ensuring an open system, we followed up on the 1997 study as soon as data were available so that we could assess the impact of our previous study. FY 1999 was the first year that included placements in jobs that could have been announced after agencies were notified of the public notice problem through our March 1999 study. Although the agencies had less than six months to work on this problem, we are pleased to note that positive significant change occurred. At the same time, the study findings indicate that agencies need to continue their improvement efforts. Below is a summary of the findings regarding FY 1999 public notice: - Federal agencies announced the vacancies for more than three-quarters of all FY 1999 personnel actions that required public notice. This is a 9 percent increase over the 67 percent figure in FY 1997. - Non-Defense agencies showed modest improvement, announcing vacancies for 79 percent of FY 1999 placement actions requiring public notice. This is an increase of 5 percentage points from 74 percent in FY 1997. - The Department of Defense showed significant improvement, announcing vacancies on USAJOBS for 69 percent of their FY 1999 hiring actions. This is an increase of 18 percentage points over its lower FY 1997 figure of 51 percent. - In FY 1999, agencies did not provide public notice for 35 percent of time-limited appointments, 26 percent of transfer and reinstatement actions, and 14 percent of career and career-conditional appointments. - Although there has been improvement, some agency installations still do not fully understand their responsibilities and the requirements in providing public notice. - OPM will continue to improve guidance, monitor compliance, and emphasize the importance of public notice as an intrinsic component of the merit system. II. INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND The first Merit System Principle, in section 2301 of title 5, United States Code, states: Recruitment should be from qualified individuals from appropriate sources in an endeavor to achieve a workforce from all segments of society, and selection and advancement should be determined solely on the basis of relative ability, knowledge, and skills, after fair and open competition which assures that all receive equal opportunity. To achieve fair and open competition, agencies must give citizens the opportunity to compete for Federal positions. In addition, more recent laws and regulations require that agencies advertise vacancies whenever they are hiring from outside their own workforce to afford job opportunities to displaced Federal employees and veterans of the Armed Forces(*1). Agencies satisfy these requirements by entering vacancy announcements for competitive service positions on the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM’s) USAJOBS Governmentwide Automated Employment Information System. Two years ago, we conducted a study to systematically determine the extent of Governmentwide compliance with public notice requirements and to explore the possible causes of non-compliance(*2). We found that agencies did not meet these requirements for almost one-third of the FY 1997 placement actions requiring vacancy announcements on USAJOBS. This study is a follow-up to see if the percentage of jobs announced has improved and to determine the reasons for non-compliance. METHODOLOGY We identified 129,069 competitive service personnel actions potentially subject to public notice in our FY 1999 Central Personnel Data File (CPDF).(*3) We stratified the population by Defense/non-Defense agencies and appointment type (career and career-conditional appointments, both new appointments and conversions; time-limited appointments; and transfers and reinstatements). We allocated the overall sample size of 1,500 among the strata to optimize the statistical reliability of compliance estimates for each agency category and each appointment type. In each stratum, we selected a random sample of actions to review for compliance with public notice requirements.(*4) We then requested the responsible personnel office to verify that a vacancy announcement had been entered in the USAJOBS System. If the announcement had not been entered, we requested an explanation.(*5) We received 1,051 responses, which provided a statistically representative sample from which to estimate the overall level of compliance with requirements and identify the reasons agencies did not post individual vacancies. Of the responses received, 42 actions did not require vacancy announcements on USAJOBS. For nine other actions, agencies could not provide any background information. This brought our sample survey response size for actions requiring posting on USAJOBS to 1,000. Using this information, we estimate that a total of 123,988 actions required posting on USAJOBS. Because of the difficulties related to differing data field definitions between CPDF and USAJOBS that we encountered in the prior study, we decided to adjust the methodology for the FY 1999 study. In the first study, we tried to match the two databases and, making some assumptions, determined if there were corresponding vacancy announcements on USAJOBS. We then selected a sample from the actions for which we did not find corresponding announcements to verify the accuracy of the matching process and get information regarding why vacancies were not posted. For this study, we bypassed the computer-matching program, selected a sample of actions directly from the CPDF, and contacted the agencies to obtain announcement information. Although the methodology is slightly different, both studies yielded statistically valid data that is comparable. III. FINDINGS COMPLIANCE STUDY RESULTS - We estimate that 123,988 placement actions in FY 1999 required public notice on USAJOBS. ================================================================== FY99 AND FY97 PLACEMENTS ANNOUNCED ================================================================== OVERALL DEFENSE NON-DEFENSE ------------------------------------------------------------------ FY97 67 51 74 ------------------------------------------------------------------ FY99 76 69 79 __________________________________________________________________ - Chart 1 - - We found that agencies had entered vacancy announcements for almost 76 percent of the FY 1999 placement actions requiring public notice.(*6) This is an increase over the compliance rate of 67 percent in FY 1997. Even more important, we can assume that this improvement occurred in the last six months of the fiscal year since agencies did not become aware of the public notice problem until our previous report was released in March 1999. Chart 1 displays these results and compares Defense and non-Defense agency results. - Chart 1 illustrates a significant improvement of 18 percentage points in Defense compliance in FY 1999. However, their rate of compliance still fell below the compliance rate for non-Defense agencies, even with their more modest improvement of 5 percentage points. ================================================================== FY 99 PLACEMENTS NOT ANNOUNCED BY APPOINTMENT TYPE ================================================================== OVERALL :::::::::::::::::::::::: 24% TIME-LIMITED ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 35% CAREER/CAREER-CONDITIONAL :::::::::::::: 14% TRANSFERS/REINSTATEMENTS :::::::::::::::::::::::::: 26% __________________________________________________________________ - Chart 2 - - We found noteworthy differences in the level of non-compliance by appointment types. As shown in Chart 2, agencies did not meet public notice requirements for 35 percent of FY 1999 time-limited (temporary and term) appointments and for 14 percent of career and career-conditional appointments and conversions. For transfers and reinstatements, agencies failed to meet public notice requirements in 26 percent of the actions. The higher non-compliance rate for time-limited appointments is not surprising. In FY 1997, failure to meet public notice requirements for time-limited appointments also occurred at a higher rate (39 percent) than for other appointments. For career and career-conditional actions in FY 1997, agencies failed to meet requirements in 21 percent of the actions. REASONS CITED FOR NOT POSTING - Of the 1,000 responses, agencies did not announce, or could not provide evidence of announcing, vacancies on USAJOBS for 259 hiring actions. Although the numbers were too small to draw statistically reliable conclusions regarding why vacancies were not announced, the agency responses provided some insight. Chart 3 summarizes those reasons. ============================================================================= REASONS CITED BY AGENCY RESPONDENTS FOR FAILURE TO ANNOUNCE* ============================================================================= ANNOUCEMENT REQUIREMENTS NOT UNDERSTOOD ::::::::::: 59% POSTING TO USAJOBS CLAIMED BUT NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT CLAIM ::::::: 37% ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT :: 3% UNABLE TO ACCESS USAJOBS OR SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE DATA ENTRY : 1% ____________________________________________________________________________ - Chart 3 - *Where agency gave multiple reasons, we categorized the action based on the primary reason. - In the majority of the non-posted cases, installations apparently failed to understand the requirements to announce vacancies on the USAJOBS System. In FY 1997, this was also the major reason installations did not enter vacancy announcements on the system. The percent of cases in this category has increased to 59 percent from 49 percent in FY 1997. This increase reflects the proportion of responses for this reason in relation to responses citing other reasons, not increased confusion over the requirements. Because agencies cited other reasons less frequently, this percentage is larger. - In 37 percent of the non-posted cases, installations indicated that vacancies were posted on the USAJOBS System, but they could not provide evidence to support this assertion. Some installations stated that another organization, either in the same agency or a different agency, was responsible for posting the vacancy. We attempted to track down announcements, but this category represents the hiring actions for which we could not find corresponding vacancy announcements. - In FY 1997, many installations stated that they entered postings into their own internal posting systems, assuming that their systems would automatically upload announcements to the USAJOBS System, which did not occur. Some installations responded that they sent copies to OPM service centers, expecting that the service centers would enter them on the System, although there were no agreements with the service centers to do so. In FY 1999, agency installations did not give these reasons, suggesting that agencies have improved their automated links to the USAJOBS System and are more aware of their own responsibility to ensure announcement entry on the System. - In 3 percent of the FY 1999 actions, responding agency installations stated that they did not announce vacancies on the USAJOBS System due to administrative error/oversight. Although they were aware of the requirements, they failed to announce the vacancies on the system. In FY 1997, installations failed to meet requirements for this reason in 4 percent of the cases. - Agency installations indicated that they were unable to post vacancies on USAJOBS because they were unable to access the system or successfully complete job entry in only 1 percent of the FY 1999 cases. This suggests that installations have greater accessibility to the System and less technical difficulty in entering announcements than they had in FY 1997 since, for that fiscal year, responding agency installations gave access related reasons in 5 percent of the cases. - Chart 4 displays a further analysis of the reasons agencies gave as to why they believed that they were not required to announce their vacancies for the category "Announcement Requirements Not Understood." ============================================================================ ANNOUNCEMENT REQUIREMENTS NOT UNDERSTOOD BY CATEGORY FY 1999 ============================================================================ APPOINTMENT WAS BASED ON PRIOR SERVICE ::::::::::::::: 56% AGENCY DID NOT KNOW POSTING ON USAJOBS WAS REQUIRED ::::::: 14% FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT REQUIREMENT ::: 6% TEMP/TERM APPOINTMENT BASED ON VRA ELIGIBILITY ::: 6% OUTSTANDING SCHOLAR APPOINTMENT :: 4% OTHER ::::::: 14% ____________________________________________________________________________ - Chart 4 - - The most common reason agencies cited for not posting on USAJOBS was that the person hired had previous Federal experience (56 percent, or 85 of 151 cases, where requirements were not understood). Appointments in this category included reinstatements, transfers, and reappointment of former temporary employees. This was also the most common reason cited for FY 1997 (36 percent, or 101 of 281 cases). Prior to the Interagency Career Transition Plan (ICTAP) regulations in 1996 for displaced Federal employees and the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA), these "non-competitive" placement actions would not have required announcement. However, under current regulations, the vacancies are required to be announced. Although this reason is a much higher percentage of the FY 1999 cases, we do not believe the problem is escalating. Because agencies cited other reasons less frequently, this problem became a larger percentage of the total errors. Also, because of the timing of the release of our original study, the full impact of agency retraining efforts on this issue would not show up in FY 1999 data. - More than one-half of the appointments based on prior Federal service were made to temporary positions. Many of these actions were seasonal re-hires. In these cases, agency installations believed that, since the returning employees met the eligibility requirements for reappointment, they could re-hire them without announcing. However, the ICTAP regulations require announcement and, although many of these positions are located in remote areas and the returning employees are already trained, these vacancies must be announced to allow displaced Federal employees the opportunity to apply. - In 14 percent of the cases, installations stated that they did not know that posting was required. A majority of these actions were temporary appointments. In two-thirds of the cases, installations did not offer any further rationale. In the remaining third, agencies stated that they issued agency announcements, but did not enter announcements on the USAJOBS System. - In 6 percent of the cases, agencies did not understand the requirement to post temporary positions of more than 120 days on USAJOBS. We found a notable improvement in this area; in FY 1997, agencies gave this reason in 13 percent of the cases. - Some agencies stated that they did not announce their temporary or term vacancies because they appointed persons based on their eligibility for "excepted" appointments under the Veterans’ Readjustment Appointment (VRA) Authority. This is a misconception. Although the appointee’s eligibility for a temporary or term appointment is based on VRA eligibility, the temporary and term positions are in the competitive service and must be announced. Agencies gave this as a reason in 6 percent of the FY 1999 cases. This is similar to the FY 1997 figure of 7 percent. - In 4 percent of the cases, agency respondents stated that announcements on USAJOBS were not required because the placement actions were Outstanding Scholar appointments. Agencies are required to announce these positions to afford job opportunities to displaced Federal employees. - Finally, we grouped 14 percent of the cases in which agencies failed to understand posting requirements in the "Other" category. This category includes a variety of agency responses that were too few in number for meaningful grouping and did not properly belong in the other categories. - In two of the cases in this group, agency respondents indicated that they did not post the vacancies on USAJOBS because the positions were located overseas. These cases account for 1 percent of the reasons responding agencies failed to announce positions on USAJOBS because they did not understand the requirements. This figure represents an improvement over the 8 percent of overseas placement actions not posted for the same reason in FY 1997 IV. CONCLUSION Between FY 1997 and FY 1999, we found considerable improvement in public notice - an increase from 67 percent compliance to 76 percent compliance. This improvement occurred despite the fact that agency awareness of the problem occurred only during the second half of FY 1999. The major barrier to full public notice remains the same - lack of understanding about announcement requirements. This lack of understanding is most evident when agencies fill time-limited positions and hire former Federal employees. We are concerned about the large percentage of cases where installations indicated they announced the jobs, but did not provide evidence. While we believe that some of these jobs were posted and that posting would increase the 76 percent compliance rate, we have no way of verifying this assumption without documentation. Clearly, ensuring appropriate public notice is a work in progress that requires continual education and monitoring. V. ACTIONS TAKEN SINCE THE INITIAL STUDY To emphasize the importance of public notice, we publicized our initial report and briefed agencies’ human resources professionals in various venues. As a result, a number of agencies made special efforts to communicate requirements to staff members responsible for making the critical decisions regarding posting vacancies on USAJOBS. We increased emphasis on public notice requirements in delegated examining training for agency human resources staff. We also included more guidance regarding public notice requirements in the "Delegated Examining Operations Handbook." We emphasized public notice in our oversight evaluations of agency staffing programs and delegated examining units. This emphasis has increased awareness of public notice requirements in agencies’ human resources offices and processing centers. Our technical customer service staff has been working with agencies to resolve computer-related problems encountered when entering jobs to the USAJOBS System. They report that they are receiving fewer calls in this area. Working with an interagency work group, we redesigned the USAJOBS web entry program in 1999. VI. RECOMMENDATIONS OPM will: Continue to emphasize public notice to agencies We will continue to emphasize the importance of publicizing vacancies through direct communication with the Federal human resources community at all levels by oral, written, and electronic means. This includes briefings with appropriate stakeholder groups. Provide public notice guidance to agencies We are developing an area on our USAJOBS web entry program for Job Entry Bulletins, information, and guidance. We will include public notice requirements in this area. Because much of our guidance is associated with delegated examining and with our job entry systems, we will issue a separate document, both in hard copy and on the web, that contains public notice requirements and guidance. This is intended to reach human resources staff who might not otherwise access public notice information when planning to fill vacancies. Continue to emphasize public notice in OPM oversight evaluations Compliance with public notice requirements is one of the areas our evaluators routinely assess when reviewing agencies’ staffing programs and delegated examining operations. We will continue to review a significant sample of personnel actions for compliance with posting requirements. Federal agencies should: Communicate posting requirements to responsible employees Although we have seen improvement, our study indicates that there are many human resources employees who do not fully understand public notice requirements. In many cases, individual agency laws, programs, policies, and labor agreements affect, and are affected by, public notice requirements. Agencies should provide full and clear guidance to their appropriate staff, incorporating both agency-specific policies and public notice requirements. Document posting to USAJOBS Where agencies could not provide evidence of posting, we had to assume the agencies had not announced the vacancies. Although we searched the USAJOBS database, we were unable to identify corresponding vacancy announcements. However, we suspect that, in some of the cases, the agencies posted the vacancies. Agencies could have avoided this confusion by simply maintaining copies of their job listings from USAJOBS. Use agency accountability systems to ensure compliance Agencies should address public notice in their accountability systems because fair and open competition is a key element in sustaining a merit system. This may be achieved by identifying organizations and individuals responsible for meeting public notice requirements, periodically reviewing for compliance, and holding those organizations and individuals accountable. APPENDIX A LEGAL AND REGULATORY CITATIONS 5 U.S.C. 3327(b). Subject to such regulations that the Office may issue, each agency shall promptly notify the Office and the employment offices of the United States Employment Service of-- (1) each vacant position in the agency which is in the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service and for which the agency seeks applications from persons outside the Federal service, and (2) the period during which applications will be accepted. 5 U.S.C. 3330(b). The Office of Personnel Management shall establish and keep current a comprehensive list of all announcements of vacant positions in the competitive service within each agency that are to be filled by appointment for more than one year and for which applications are being (or will soon be) accepted from outside the agency’s workforce. 5 U.S.C. 3304(f)(4). The area of consideration for all merit promotion announcements which include consideration of individuals of the Federal workforce shall indicate that preference eligibles and veterans who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after 3 years or more of active service are eligible to apply. The announcements shall be publicized in accordance with section 3327. 5 CFR 330.102(a)(1). Notice required-(i) Under 5 U.S.C. 3327, Federal agencies must notify OPM promptly of: (A) Open competitive examinations; (B) Vacancies in the competitive service to be filled under direct hire procedures or part 333 of this chapter; ... 5 CFR 330.102(b)(1). Notice Required. Under 5 U.S.C. 3330, OPM must maintain, and make available to the public, a list of agency vacancy announcements for positions in the competitive service. Under section 330.707 of this chapter, agencies must notify OPM promptly of competitive service vacancies to be filled for more than 120 days when the agency will accept applications from individuals outside the agency’s own workforce. 5 CFR 330.707. (a) Agencies are required to report all competitive service vacancies to OPM when accepting applications from outside the agency (including applications for temporary positions lasting 121 or more days), except when they elect to fill a position by the transfer or reassignment of an ICTAP eligible from another agency. (b) (b) Content. ... In addition, for all positions reported, agencies are required to provide OPM with an electronic file of the complete vacancy announcement or recruiting bulletin ... 5 CFR 333.102. Under 5 U.S.C. 3327 and 3330, agencies are required to report job announcements to OPM when recruiting outside the register. This requirement is implemented through section 330.102 of this chapter. 5 CFR 335.105. Under 5 U.S.C. 3330, agencies are required to report job announcements to OPM for vacancies for which an agency will accept applications from outside the agency’s workforce. This requirement is implemented through section 330.102 of this chapter. 5 CFR 335.106. Preference eligibles or veterans who have been separated under honorable conditions from the armed forces after 3 or more years of continuous active military service may compete for vacancies under merit promotion when an agency accepts applications from individuals outside its own workforce. APPENDIX B PUBLIC NOTICE STUDY SURVEY RESULTS =============================================================================== Sub-population Total CPDF Sample Percentage Confidence Actions Size Posted Interval =============================================================================== Overall 123,988 1000 75.6% 73.0%-78.3% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Defense 35,788 354 68.7% 63.7%-73.7% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-Defense 88,200 646 78.5% 75.3%-81.6% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Career/CC Appt. 57,310 371 85.7% 82.2%-89.1% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time-Limited Appt. 52,465 387 65.2% 60.4%-70.0% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transfer/Reinstatement 14,213 242 73.5% 68.1%-78.9% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Defense-C/CC Appt 16,167 118 75.4% 67.7%-83.2% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-Defense-C/CC Appt 41,143 253 89.7% 86.0%-93.5% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Defense-Time-Limited 16,014 152 64.5% 56.9%-72.0% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-Defense-Time-Limited 36,451 235 65.5% 59.5%-71.6% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Defense-Transfers/Rein 3,607 84 57.1% 46.7%-67.6% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-Defense-Transfers/Rein 10,606 158 79.1% 72.8%-85.4% ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See Appendix C for Sampling Methodology. Information on this study's statistical methodology is available upon request to OPM's Office of Merit Systems Oversight. COLUMN DEFINITIONS Sub-population Placement action categories. Total CPDF Actions Number of placement actions in the Central Personnel Data File subject to public notice included in this study. Sample Size Number of FY 1999 personnel actions that required public notice on USAJOBS. We determined which actions required public notice from agencies’ responses to the survey. Percentage Posted Percentage of actions that required public notice and were posted on USAJOBS. Confidence Interval Statistical measure showing, at the 95% confidence level, the percentage range of actions that required public notice and were posted on USAJOBS. APPENDIX C SAMPLING METHODOLOGY Population Parameters We identified 129,069 personnel actions potentially subject to public notice. We derived this by identifying data in the CPDF for personnel actions associated with competitive service placements as reported by Federal agencies. Sample Size and Stratification To determine the extent of compliance, we selected a sample of 1,500 personnel actions that potentially required public notice to USAJOBS from the population identified. We chose a total sample size of 1,500, anticipating a two-thirds response rate. That rate provided us with a sufficient number of responses to draw conclusions with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of about 3 percent. To select the actions, we divided the population into two groups, Defense and non-Defense agencies. We further stratified each of these two groups into three subgroups by appointment types: career and career-conditional appointments, both new appointments and conversions to those types of appointments; time-limited appointments; and transfers and reinstatements. We randomly selected a predetermined number of personnel actions from each of these groups. We determined the number selected from each subgroup to optimize the reliability of results for each group and subgroup. Assumptions 1. Agency responses giving a valid reason for no public notice or providing evidence of posting to USAJOBS were accurate. 2. Agency respondents who indicated they had announced vacancies on USAJOBS but did not provide verifiable proof of announcements had not provided public notice. Additional information about this study's statistical methodology is available upon request to OPM's Office of Merit Systems Oversight. APPENDIX D United States Office of Personnel Management Chicago Oversight Division 230 South Dearborn, 30th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60604-1687 In Reply Refer To: POI: xxxx Your Reference: Case: xxxx June 21, 2000 Ms. HR Manager Name HR Manager Address The Office of Personnel Management is conducting a study to assess the extent to which agencies are complying with the requirements to announce competitive service vacancies to the public and the Federal community. To meet these requirements, agencies must post vacancies to OPM’s Federal jobs database, USAJOBS. The information gathered in the study will be used to help us identify problems that agencies may be experiencing in providing public notice and to develop recommendations for systemic improvement. We are following-up on our study of two years ago involving fiscal year 1997 vacancies. The actions(s) listed on the enclosed form(s) were selected from the Central Personnel Data File (CPDF) for fiscal year 1999 and appear to be subject to public notice requirements. We are contacting the personnel office that serviced each vacancy to learn more about the action, and to determine if the vacancy was announced using the USAJOBS database. Please complete the questions about the specific personnel action(s) on the enclosed form(s) and return your response in the enclosed postage-paid envelope or fax it to us at (312) 353-8479 by July 12, 2000. No corrective action will be required on individual appointments as a result of your response. If your office is unable to respond to this inquiry, complete the appropriate section of the enclosure(s). If you have any questions about this inquiry, please contact Mr. Harold Anderson or Ms. Marge Chambers of the Chicago Oversight Division at (312) 353-0387. Thank you for your assistance in this study. Sincerely, Phyllis M. Stabbe Director Chicago Oversight Division Enclosure(s) Agency Code: XXXX Case: XXXX Group: XX AGENCY RESPONSE Please answer the questions about the personnel action identified below, print your name and title, sign, and return this form to us in the enclosed self-addressed return envelope or fax (both sides) to us at (312) 353-8479 by July 12, 2000. =============================================================================== PART I - PERSONNEL ACTION INFORMATION (From CPDF) =============================================================================== Employee Name: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Social Security Number: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Action: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Effective Date: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nature of Action Code: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Legal Authority Code(s): ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Position Title: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pay Plan, Series, & Grade: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duty Location: (Location code: ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART II - AGENCY RESPONSE Please check the appropriate box below concerning the personnel action identified above. [ ] 1. The vacancy was posted on USAJOBS. I have attached a screen print, or I have noted the OPM Control Number and the opening and closing dates of the announcement. (Skip the remaining questions in this Part, and proceed to Part III of this form.) [ ] 2. The vacancy was not posted on USAJOBS. The reason is checked below. [ ] A. We did not know USAJOBS posting was required. [ ] B. We believe it was not necessary to post this vacancy on USAJOBS, because (Please print or type reason here.) ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ [ ] C. Other -- (Please print or type reason here.) _____ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ [ ] 3. We are unable to respond to these questions, because this office does not have access to this information. Please contact the person identified below for the requested information: Please Print or Type Contact’s Name:_____________________________________________ Title: _____________________________________________________ Address:____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Telephone Number: (___)_____________________________________ Fax Number: (___)___________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ PART III - INFORMATION ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL COMPLETING THIS FORM: Please Print or Type Your Name: _________________________________________________ Your Title: ________________________________________________ Your Address: ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ Your Telephone Number: (___)_______________________________ Your Signature: ____________________________________________ APPENDIX E EXAMPLES OF REASONS CITED FOR ERRONEOUSLY NOT POSTING Failure to understand that temporary vacancies must be announced on USAJOBS "Because it was a temporary position." "This position was filled using the Current Recruitment List (CRL). This provided an applicant supply file to use in filling temporary jobs. The CRL is no longer used." "Agreement with the State of Montana Job Service to do recruitment for temp NTE positions. Job Service announcement #xxxx." "This was inadvertently not placed on USAJOBS because it was a temporary announcement; however, we now realize that even temporary jobs expected to last more than 120 days must go on USAJOBS." "Temporary Summer time frame. Failed to clear ICTAP." " This position was only authorized to be filled temporarily due to A-76 contracting out (eff. 4/1/00). PPP was properly cleared with no mater[ial sic] received." Confusion concerning temporary/term appointments based on VRA eligibility "Position was originally established for one month. The conversion to one year occurred when the workload increased. The incumbent is VRA eligible and was converted based on his VRA eligibility." "Applicants selected from open continuous listing of eligible veterans." "An employee who was already on the rolls at this facility was interested in the position and was eligible for a VRA appointment." Confusion related to re-hiring former temporary employees "Appt is seasonal. Employee did not work more than 1039 hours in the previous year" "Employee was selected based on rehire authority." "This action was a non-competitive rehire to the same position/location. This action was for a temporary employee." "Employee eligible for non-competitive rehire. Did not need to reapply for position." "No vacancy announcement was done. This employee has had rehire eligibility for years." "This appointment (eff. 4/11/99) was a rehire of a temporary employee. Employee was originally selected from Vacancy Announcement xxxx-xxx-xx (115 MXM) which opened 4/1/96; closed 4/15/96. In 1996 we were not entering vacancies into USAJOBS. Under MXM authority (1040) the person can be non-competitively rehired each year as long as they do not go over 1040 hours, which is the case in this situation." Confusion concerning transfers "No vacancy announcement. Filled by non-competitive transfer." "Noncompetitive Action Processed to transfer Applicant from another agency." "Transfer-Lateral Appt." Confusion concerning reinstatements "This announcement was posted locally seeking applicants with eligibility. Mr. _____ was previously an employee at this facility with career-conditional status and resigned on 8/21/97 as a Program Support Assistant, GS-303-5. He voluntarily submitted his application for this position based on his eligibility for reinstatement. He was reinstated on 4/11/99 to the same series and grade he previously held." "The position was filled with a reinstatement eligible." "This action was a non-competitive conversion of an individual who previously had career status." "The Applicant Supply File was the only source utilized." "This vacancy was filled using a form DD359." Did not know posting on USAJOBS is required "Vacancy was announced ___ Agency-Wide." Confusion about Outstanding Scholar Appointments "Position filled through Outstanding Scholar Program special hiring authority." Did not think USAJOBS announcement would attract qualified candidates "The employee retired on 1/2/99 and was reappointed on an intermittent basis on 1/17/99 because his expertise was needed to continue the research support. We believe that if this position was posted, it would not have attracted qualified applicants because the employee would work only when there was need." Confusion about announcing a successor position which differed substantially from the position originally announced "As a result of a position review the position was changed to a WG-4749-09, Maintenance Mechanic, from a WG-4607-09, Carpenter. This was considered a successor position. The Carpenter position control number was xxxx-xxxxxxxx." ----------------------------------F-O-O-T-E-R-S-------------------------------------- *1 See Appendix A of this report for title 5 statutory and regulatory citations concerning vacancy notification requirements. *2 The report of this study, "Opportunity Lost: Openness in the Employment Process" (March 1999) may be accessed on our website at http://www.opm.gov/studies/index.htm *3 A list of personnel actions requiring public notice is available in the Delegated Examining Operations Handbook, Appendix I at http://www.opm.gov/deu. *4 Population and sample data are included in Appendix B. Additional information and sampling methodology is contained in Appendix C. *5 See Appendix D for a sample letter and agency response form. *6 Findings are at a 95 percent confidence level. See Appendix B for statistical information. *7 See Appendix E for examples of reasons cited for not posting vacancies to the USAJOBS System.