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

Implementation Guidelines

When an excepted service authority exists that fits your agency's vacancy, a public announcement on USAJOBS is not required and procedures for traditional competitive hiring do not apply. However, agencies still must provide veterans' preference and place persons with "priority consideration." This section presents implementation guidelines for:

• 30-Day Critical Needs Appointments
• Appointing Individuals With Mental Retardation, or Severe Physical or Psychiatric Disabilities
• Agency-Specific Schedule A and B Authorities

30-Day Critical Needs Appointments

To make a 30-Day Critical Needs Appointment:

• Step 1: Identify the critical hiring need requirement. If the critical hiring need requirement cannot be met within the 30- to 60-day period, determine how to meet the need on a longer term basis while the critical hiring need appointment is in effect. Without exception, only one 30-day extension of the initial 30-day appointment is allowed.
• Step 2: Determine the qualifications required to meet the critical hiring need.
• Step 3: Identify the individual(s) who can meet the critical hiring need.
• Step 4: Appoint the individual for 30 days; extend the appointment if necessary for an additional 30 days.

Appointing Individuals With Mental Retardation, or Severe Physical or Psychiatric Disabilities

To hire individuals with disabilities under excepted service:

• Step 1: Identify an agency coordinator to help agency managers recruit, hire, and accommodate individuals with disabilities.
• Step 2: Develop and disseminate information about the requirements associated with provisions for hiring people with disabilities.
• Step 3: Determine the essential duties of positions that could be filled by individuals with disabilities.
• Step 4: Work with public and private organizations to identify and place individuals with disabilities.
• Step 5: Evaluate the effectiveness of the placements for the individuals and the agency; make changes to improve effectiveness.

For more detailed information on hiring individuals with disabilities, select this OPM Web site: Federal Employment of People With Disabilities.

Agency-Specific Schedule A and B Authorities

When an agency has a hiring problem that is not remedied by using traditional competitive hiring procedures, the agency may ask OPM to grant an exception under Schedule A or B. Requests must describe the problem and show why using traditional competitive procedures prevents the agency from meeting the hiring need for the jobs or situation. To hire an individual under agency-specific authority:

• Step 1: Develop a justification for agency-specific authority and submit it to OPM. Include the following information:
  • The occupation and duties involved.
  • A complete description of why previous attempts to hire competitively did not work.
  • Reasons why recruitment and competitive examining are not possible.
  • Remedies and alternatives that have been used to resolve recruitment and examining problems.
• Step 2: Implement the authority if granted by OPM.
  • Determine recruitment sources.
  • Disseminate information about hiring requirements.
  • Appoint individuals using the OPM-granted authority.
• Step 3: Evaluate the effectiveness of using the authority; make changes to improve effectiveness.

Select the Next button to continue.