Career and Career-Conditional Appointments
Purpose
Permanent employees are generally hired into the Federal government under a
career-conditional appointment. A career-conditional employee must complete
three years of substantially continuous service before becoming a full career
employee. This 3-year period is used to determine whether or not the Government
is able to offer the employee a career.
Service Requirement for Career Tenure
An employee must have 3 years of substantially continuous creditable service to
become a career employee, i.e. obtain career tenure. The 3-year period must
begin and end with nontemporary employment in the competitive service.
Generally, substantially continuous creditable service must not include any
break in service of more than 30 calendar days. If an employee does not
complete the 3-year period, a single break in service of more than 30 calendar
days will require the employee to serve a new 3-year period. (Periods of time
in a nonpay status are not breaks in service and do not require the employee to
begin a new 3-year period. However, they may extend the service time needed for
career tenure.) Career-conditional employees automatically become career
employees upon completion of this service requirement. Additionally, employees
with career tenure have a higher retention standing during layoffs.
Required Probationary Period
The first year of service of an employee who is given a career-conditional
appointment is considered a probationary period. The probationary period is
really the final and most important step in the examining process. It affords
the supervisor an opportunity to evaluate the employee's performance and
conduct on the job, and to remove the person without undue formality, if
necessary. A person who is transferred, promoted, demoted, or reassigned before
completing probation is required to complete the probationary period in the new
position. Prior Federal civilian service counts toward completion of probation
if it is in the same agency, same line of work, and without a break in service.
Care should be taken to distinguish the 1-year probationary period from the
3-year career-conditional period. The probationary period is used to determine
the employee's ability and fitness required for permanent Government service.
The 3-year career-conditional period is established only to measure the
employee's interest in, and the Government's ability to provide, a career in
the Federal service.
Acquiring Competitive Status
Competitive status is a person's basic eligibility for assignment (e.g., by
transfer, promotion,reassignment, demotion, or reinstatement) to a position in
the competitive service without having to compete with members of the general
public in an open competitive examination. When a vacancy announcement
indicates that status candidates are eligible to apply, career employees and
career-conditional employees who have served at least 90 days after competitive
appointment may apply. Once acquired, status belongs to the individual, not to
a position.
For more information on career and career-conditional appointments,
probationary period, tenure, and competitive status, consult Title 5 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 5 CFR Part 315.
AS OF: 09-23-1999
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