Article No. 26-07

Standard: General Schedule Supervisory Guide (July 1999)

Factor: N/A

Issue: Coverage of the General Schedule Supervisory Guide (GSSG)

Identification of the Classification Issue

The appellant's position was classified as General Engineer, GS-801-13. The appellant had full supervision over two subordinate GS-12 employees, one collocated with the appellant on the west coast and the other in the agency's office on the east coast. He also assumed the duties of his supervisor, the Division Chief, in his absence. He claimed that these supervisory responsibilities consumed 25-50 percent of his work time and that his position should be classified as a supervisor.

Resolution

OPM found that the position did not meet the coverage requirements for application of the GSSG. An analysis of the two subordinate position descriptions and comparison to the relevant classification standards at the GS-12 level disclosed that both positions operated with limited technical supervision and exercised considerable initiative, ingenuity, judgment, and independence in performing their work. Moreover, the subordinate employee in the east coast office frequently received assignments and work review from an engineer in that office and occasionally received assignments and work review from the Division Chief. The frequency of those assignments and the level of review removed the subordinate employee from the appellant's technical supervision in many instances. Given such a small workforce, as well as the subordinates' grade levels and degree of independence, OPM concluded that the appellant did not meet the minimum 25 percent threshold while supervising the two positions and, therefore, his position could not be evaluated using the GSSG.

"Back to the Basics"

In determining the applicability of the GSSG, it is important to ensure that the position fully meets the basic coverage requirements. In analyzing a potential supervisory job, position management issues should be examined to confirm that each criterion for coverage is met. This sometimes requires that subordinate positions be reviewed to determine their relationship to the supervisor's position and how they actually operate within the given work situation.

Link to C-0801-13-02