U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

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Q. Must agencies still file Standard Forms 50 (SF50) for awards in employees' Official Personnel Files (OPF)?

A. No. As of January 1, 1999, agencies are no longer required or authorized to file documentation for the following awards on the right side (i.e., the long-term side) of the OPF:

Award	Nature of Action Code
Time Off	872
Foreign Language	873
Gainsharing	874
Suggestion	875
Invention	876
Special Act or Service	877
SES Performance	879
Performance	885

 

Agencies must still file SF50s for SES Rank awards and Quality Step Increases (QSI). Agencies must document QSIs because they are pay actions that affect employees' basic pay.

In its Redefinition of Official Personnel Actions memo dated June 3, 1998, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) revised documentation procedures to streamline paperwork. This change will reduce personnel offices' OPF filing requirements by an estimated 1.6 million documents a year.

Agencies may file documentation of these award actions in the Employee Performance File or on the left side of the OPF (temporary documents) at their option. Any actions kept on the left side of the OPF should be removed when the employee leaves the agency. Standard Forms 50 or earlier types of documentation already filed in the OPF will remain in the folder.

These changes do not affect Central Personnel Data File (CPDF) reporting requirements for these actions. Agencies are still required to report all of these actions in CPDF dynamics submissions. The actions must be reported in the current CPDF file format, using the nature of action codes prescribed in the OPM Operating Manual, The Guide to Processing Personnel Actions.

If you have further questions on this topic, you may contact us at pay-performance-policy@opm.gov, fax us at (202) 606-2395, or telephone us at (202) 606-2720.

Originally published on June 1999