U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20250
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DEPARTMENTAL REGULATION |
NUMBER: 4030-330-001 |
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SUBJECT: Special Placement Program |
DATE: August
5, 2005 |
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OPI: Office
of Human Capital Management |
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The purpose of this regulation is to update and set
forth the authority, policy and guidelines for managing the Special Placement
Program within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Special Placement Program includes the Career
Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and the Reemployment Priority List (RPL).
In 5 CFR Part 330, the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM) has established provisions for Executive Branch Agencies of the United
States Government that govern when special placement procedures must be used. The Director, Office of Human Capital
Management (OHCM), is delegated the authority to set policy and provide overall
guidance and direction for the USDA Special Placement Program that implements
those procedures. This regulation is
intended to provide a general understanding of the special placement
authorities and required processes. It
is to be used in conjunction with support and advice from human resources
offices (HRO). More detailed guidance
is set out in 5 CFR Part 330.
3 REFERENCES
AND RESOURCES
a Title 5 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR), Part 330, Recruitment, Selection, and Placement (General)
b Title 5 United States Code (U.S.C),
Section 5724a(g), Travel and Transportation Subsistence
c Internet sites: http://www.usda.gov/da/employ/CTAP-website-2a.htm
http://www.usda.gov/da/employ/reemployment-priority-list.htm
This regulation supersedes Departmental Personnel
Bulletin 330-6, USDA Career Transition
Assistance Plan, dated January 3, 2000, and Departmental Personnel Bulletin
330-2, USDA Reemployment Priority List, dated February 25, 1997.
The Director, Office of Human Capital
Management (OHCM), is responsible for setting policy and providing overall
technical guidance and direction for the Department’s Special Placement
Program. OHCM will provide staff
assistance and monitor compliance with Departmental policy and will ensure that
information regarding the Special Placement Program is available and accessible
to ALL of its employees affected by downsizing, streamlining, reorganization and
budget constraints who may ultimately be separated. Management officials have the responsibility for upholding the
intent of the Department’s Special Placement Plan.
The USDA Special Placement Program covers the
following employees:
a Those in Tenure Groups I and II in
both the competitive and the excepted service.
b Senior
Executive Service, ST (scientific/professional), and SL (senior level) who have
been identified as surplus; who have received a notice of separation; or who
have been separated from their Federal jobs as a result of agency workforce
reductions, reorganization, a disability or a compensable injury.
Agencies may use the Departmental Regulation (DR) if
it meets their organizational needs. If the Departmental Regulation does not
meet the agency’s needs, the agency is required to establish a supplement to actively
assist its surplus and displaced employees.
This DR will provide the
framework for agency supplements. All
supplements must identify types of career transition services to be
provided. Supplements will not deviate
from the Department’s Plan without OHCM approval. All supplements will be forwarded to the Department for review
and will not violate collective bargaining agreements.
Each agency is responsible for assuring that the
provisions of its supplement is uniformly and consistently applied to all of
its employees.
a Affected
Employee: Those displaced or surplus employees who are
eligible for
placement
services.
d Eligible
Employee: A surplus or displaced
employee who meets conditions
set
forth in 5 CFR §330.605(a).
e Local Commuting Area: The geographic area that usually constitutes
one area
for employment purposes as determined by
the agency. This includes any
population center and the surrounding localities in which people live and can
reasonably be expected to travel back and forth daily to their usual
employment.
f Mission Area: The term used within USDA to denote one or
more agencies that report to an Under Secretary.
g Reduction-In-Force (RIF): The process used in the Federal government
to identify one or more employees who will be separated or downgraded for a
reason such as reorganization, lack of work, shortage of funds, insufficient
personnel ceiling, or the exercise of certain reemployment or restoration
rights.
h Reorganization: The planned elimination or redistribution of
work function
within
an agency, normally announced in writing.
i Special
Selection Priority: Except as
provided in 5 CFR 330.606(d), the process
used
to select surplus and displaced employees over any other candidate for
vacancies
in the local commuting area for which they applied and were found
“well-qualified”.
in the competitive service employee in Tenure Group I or II, at GS-15 or
equivalent and below, who has received a certificate of expected separation or
other official certification issued by the agency indicating that the position
is surplus, for example, a notice of position abolishment, or a notice that the
employee is eligible for discontinued service retirement; or at the agency’s
discretion, a current Executive Branch employee serving on a Schedule A or B
excepted appointment without time limit, at grade levels GS-15 or equivalent
and below, who has been issued a
certificate of expected separation or other official certification issued by
the agency indicating that the position is surplus, for example, a notice of
position abolishment, or an official notice stating that the employee is
eligible for discontinued service retirement; or an employee at grade levels
GS-15 or equivalent and below, who has received a RIF notice of separation, or
a notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed
reassignment outside of the local commuting area.
k Vacancy: A position which will be filled for 121 days
or more.
l “Well-Qualified” Employee: An eligible employee who possesses the
knowledge, skills and abilities that
clearly exceeds the minimum qualification requirements for the position.
a Eligibility
To be eligible for the special selection priority, an
individual must meet all of the following criteria:
(1)
Is a displaced or surplus employee
(still on agency rolls).
(2)
Has a current performance rating of
record of at least fully successful or equivalent.
(3)
Applies
for a vacancy that is at or below the grade level that has no greater promotion
potential, than the position from which the employee may be or is being
separated.
(4)
Occupies a position in the same local
commuting area as the vacancy.
(5)
Files an application for a specific
vacancy within established time
frames
by the agency and provides proof of eligibility as required under
5 CFR §330.608(a)(2).
(6)
Is determined by the agency to be
“well-qualified” for the specific
vacancy.
(7) Eligibility begins on the date the
agency issues the employee a RIF separation notice, certificate of expected
separation, or notice of proposed separation for declining a directed
reassignment or TOF outside the local commuting area, or other official agency
certification.
b Expiration of Eligibility
Eligibility
expires on the earliest of:
(1)
The RIF separation date, the date the
employee resigns, retires or separates from the agency.
(2)
Cancellation of the RIF separation notice, certificate of expected
separation, notice of proposed removal for declining a directed reassignment or
TOF outside the commuting area or other agency certification identifying the employee
as surplus.
(3)
The eligible employee receives a career, career
conditional, or excepted appointment without time limit in any agency at any
grade level.
(4)
The eligible employee declines a career,
career conditional, or excepted appointment without time limit within the
agency for which the employee has
applied and has been rated “well-qualified”.
c USDA
Transition Services
A minimum level of services will be available to ALL employees affected by downsizing, streamlining, budget reductions, reorganization, or similar events.
The minimum level should encompass the following:
(1)
Government job vacancy
information.
(2)
Job preparation and
search information.
(3)
Career transition
workshops, training, and skills development.
(4)
Employee Assistance
Program (EAP). These programs are
staffed by professional counselors who provide free, confidential assistance to
employees on a number of issues.
Employees may contact their EAP provider directly for assistance. Agencies will provide information on how to
contact EAP counselors.
(5)
Mission Area human
resources offices will have a specific point-of-contact for those employees who
have been displaced or have been identified as surplus.
(6)
Agencies are reminded they must reasonably accommodate employees with disabilities
who are entitled to services under this plan.
d Use of Excused Absence
Each affected employee who requests it, will be
granted at least 40 hours of
administrative leave to make use of the service and facilities provided. Additional time may be provided, as warranted by individual situations. Consideration should be given to grant official time for job interviews.
Interviews within USDA that are within the commuting area should be considered as other official functions, agencies must be prepared to reimburse individuals for travel expenses to activities which the agency makes available. Supervisors should verify that time granted for these purposes is used appropriately.
e Use of Services and Facilities
Displaced employees will have access to career
transition services and facilities for 90 days after being separated.
f Training for Employees, Managers,
Supervisors and Union Representatives on the Use of Services and Eligibility
for Selection Priority
OHCM will coordinate the development of any
shared-cost services for Mission Areas.
Each Mission Area will provide information to its employees on the use
of transition services, and the supervisors and managers on the meaning of
selection priority. They will also
provide a specific orientation session for surplus and displaced employees as
specified in 5 CFR §330.602(a)(1)(iv), at the
time they become eligible for services and selection priority. Agencies must ensure that both training and
materials are suitable for employees with disabilities and alternative formats
are to be provided upon request.
g Retraining
Efforts
Mission Areas will, to the extent possible, retrain
surplus/displaced employees for other occupations needed by their organizations
before hiring external candidates to fill a USDA vacancy. Managers should make every effort to provide
training to internal employees who lack specialized knowledge in a specific
program area, but who are basically qualified to perform the job. However, to ensure that all affected
employees receive adequate training opportunities, prudence should be used in
the number of courses authorized, including such considerations as budget
constraints, training costs, the parity of spending and the likelihood of
making placements.
Those employees who begin training before the
effective date of separation may complete their training after separation from
the service. Selections for training
that is governed by merit promotion regulations must be from those in the
best-qualified grouping.
h Availability of information on
federal, state, or local assistance to support career transition for employees
with disabilities
Mission Areas will designate a coordinator to make available information on or provide contacts for federal, state or local availability of persons to support career transition for persons with disabilities. Upon employee request, printed materials will be provided in suitable formats.
(1) Notification
of Surplus and Displaced Employees.
Employees receiving a surplus certification, or a
separation notice due to RIF or failure to accept relocation to a different
commuting area, must be informed through documentation of their eligibility for
priority placement and career transition services. Similarly, when an agency identifies a former employee as displaced
under §330.703(b), they will be notified of
their eligibility under Subpart G of 5 CFR Part 330.
(2) Tracking
of Affected Employees.
Each Mission Area will establish a method of tracking
its affected employees and furnishing information on current eligibility. In addition, each human resources office
employing a displaced employee on a basis that affects their eligibility under
CTAP shall notify the former employing office of the action taken.
j USDA
CTAP Website
OHCM has developed a website to post contact
information on current USDA CTAP letter issuances, including location, contact
names (one primary contact and one alternate contact) phone numbers, and
current grade. OHCM has the responsibility of updating and maintaining the website. The Mission Area agency has the responsibility
of submitting the contact information when a surplus letter is issued.
Additionally, cancellations and changes to
information on the CTAP website must be provided to OHCM. Information
may be obtained from the website address at: http://www.usda.gov/da/employ/CTAP-website-2a.htm.
k CTAP
Vacancy Announcements
A
vacancy announcement must be issued if there are any affected employees in
the
local commuting area that are eligible for selection priority. Vacancy
announcements
may be initially restricted to applicants in the commuting area
who
are affected employees of USDA. The
initial area of consideration may be
set
as desired, provided it is consistent with the order of consideration in the
applicable
CTAP plan.
Vacancy announcements must contain
information on how eligible employees
can apply, proof of eligibility and the
definition of “well-qualified”.
Mission Area human resources offices must
take reasonable steps to ensure eligible employees are notified of all
vacancies to be filled in locations where there are CTAP eligibles and what is
required for them to be determined “well-qualified”.
l Order
of Selection
(1)
Mission
Areas must decide the specific order of selection of its CTAP eligible
employees within the provision set forth in 5 CFR §330.606(a) (e.g., to select
displaced employees before surplus employees or select surplus and/or displaced
employees from within a particular component of the agency rather than another
component of the agency).
(2) If
two or more eligible employees apply for a vacancy and are determined to be
“well-qualified,” any of those employees may be selected.
(3) Surplus
and displaced employees must be advised in writing the results of their application,
and whether or not they were determined to be “well-qualified” for specific
vacancy announcements within the local commuting area. If an applicant is found to be
“well-qualified” and another“well-qualified” applicant is selected, the
applicant must be informed of his/her non-selection. If they were not found to be “well-qualified”, such notification
should include results from an independent, second review, consistent with 5
CFR §330.609.
(4) When
the obligation to select employees under CTAP has been met, priority selection
may be provided to surplus and displaced employees from another commuting area.
(6)
If no
eligible employees apply or none are deemed “well-qualified,” then another
agency employee may be selected consistent with 5 CFR §330.708(b)(3). Selections cannot be made from within or outside the agency if
“well-qualified” employees are available for the vacancy or vacancies.
m Qualification
Reviews
Mission Areas will ensure that documented, independent
second review is conducted whenever an otherwise eligible employee is
determined to be not “well-qualified”.
The applicant must be advised in writing of the results of the second
review.
10 REEMPLOYMENT
PRIORITY LIST (RPL)
In accordance with 5 CFR §330.201(a), Mission Areas may consider RPL registrants
already separated prior to consideration of other USDA employees not eligible for priority consideration under CTAP. RPL registrants must be given priority consideration over certain outside job applicants. Employees eligible for such consideration will be notified if they are required to apply for a vacancy.
a General Provisions
Mission Area human resources offices are
responsible for ensuring that USDA employees separated by RIF or those who are
fully recovered from a compensable injury after more than 1 year receive
reemployment priority consideration to positions for which qualified and are
available. The reemployment priority
consideration requires careful review of the basic qualifications of the RPL
eligible, followed by contact to determine interest and availability. Eligibility for RPL is limited to
competitive service employees in Tenure Groups I and II in accordance with 5
CFR §330.203 and §330.204
respectively. Human
resources officials are expected to liberally interpret OPM’s qualification
standards, minimum educational requirements and selective placement factors to
find basically qualified RPL eligibles for the positions they are filling.
Mission Area human resources offices need
to determine when to check the RPL for any permanent or temporary vacancy. For example, in conducting external and
internal recruitment, they may want to consider RPL eligibles at one of the
following stages of the process:
(1) Prior to announcing the vacancy or requesting a certificate issued
by OPM or a delegated examining unit.
(2)
Prior to referring a certificate of eligibles
or prior to making an offer of employment.
b Establishment of the RPL List
The Recruitment and Employee Development
Division (REDD) is required to establish and maintain the RPL for the
Department. The USDA RPL lists each
duty station for which an employee has been separated by RIF or who is fully
recovered from a compensable injury after more than 1 year.
c Commuting Area
According to 5 CFR §330.604(d), commuting
area is defined as the geographic area that usually constitutes one area for
employment purposes. It includes any population
center (of two or more neighboring ones) and surrounding localities in which
people live and can reasonably be expected to travel back and forth daily to
their usual employment. The Washington,
D.C., metropolitan area includes the District of Columbia; Prince George’s,
Montgomery and Charles counties in Maryland; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax,
and Falls Church in Virginia; and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William,
Stafford, and King George counties in Virginia.
d Application
An RPL eligible must request reemployment consideration by
submitting an application within 30 calendar days after the date of the RIF
separation action or 30 calendar days after the date compensation ceases for a
work related injury. An employee who
fails to submit a timely application is not entitled to placement on the
RPL. The application form will be
submitted to the mission area human resources office, specifying the grade(s),
occupation(s) and work schedule(s) for RPL registration. The Mission Area human resources office is
responsible for faxing the completed Registration Sheet to REDD no later than
10 calendar days after
receipt of an application or request.
They may contact REDD for any additions/deletions to RPL
information. A list of Duty Station
codes can be obtained from REDD. RPL
eligibles may apply for designated population centers within a commuting
area. However, RPL eligibles cannot be
removed from the list for refusing an offer outside of designated population
centers for which they have registered.
At any time, an RPL eligible may further expand or reduce their availability
within a commuting area. Servicing
human resources offices are responsible
for tracking each registrant’s registration period to advise them of
their options.
Information can be obtained from the web site address at: http://www.usda.gov/da/employ/reemployment-priority-list.htm.
e Filling
Positions
All offers to RPL eligibles will be in
writing and contain the Agency; official title, pay plan, series, grade,
salary; duty station; type of appointment and work schedule; position
description; effect of acceptance or declination on RPL status; and candidate
acceptance or declination.
f Selection
in Priority Order
When an agency hires from the RPL, it must make selections in tenure group and
subgroup order with Group I eligibles being considered before Group II
eligibles. Tenure Group I are career
employees eligible for 2 years from date entered on RPL; Tenure Group II are
career-conditional employees eligible for 1 year. In each tenure group, veteran preference eligibles are given
priority over non-preference eligibles.
Within each tenure group, subgroup AD is veterans who have a compensable
service-connected disability of 30 percent or more. Agencies may select RPL
eligibles in a subgroup without regard to retention standing within the
subgroup. Subgroup A is other veterans,
and subgroup B is non-veterans. If there are no qualified and available RPL eligibles
whose last work schedule matches that of the vacancy, they may consider RPL
eligibles with other work schedules.
g Use of Qualification Standards
Selecting officials and human resources
officials are encouraged to use the flexibilities in the qualification
standards including modification of qualification standards, which will result
in the greatest possible leeway in finding RPL eligibles qualified for
vacancies.
h Termination of Eligibility
The
period of eligibility expires when a RIF eligible:
(1) Resigns,
retires or separates from USDA.
(2)
Requests in writing removal from RPL.
(3)
Accepts a career or career-conditional
position.
(4)
Declines an offer of career,
career-conditional, or excepted appointment without time limit or fails to
reply to an inquiry.
(5)
Declines an interview or fails to
appear for a scheduled interview when advance notification is given.
(6)
The period of eligibility for RPL has
elapsed.
i Payment of Travel and Relocation Expenses
A former employee separated under RIF or
TOF who, within 1 year after the separation is reemployed under a non-temporary
appointment at a different geographical location other than that from which
separated, may be authorized travel and relocation expenses under 5 U.S.C.
5724a(g).