Washington, D.C. 20530

September 25, 2006

MEMORANDUM FOR BUREAU HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICERS

Human Resources (HR) officers are delegated personnel authority to determine the minimum areas of consideration for positions advertised at grades GS-13 and below. In utilizing this delegation, HR officers must:

1. Ensure that the areas of consideration for competitive vacancy announcements are sufficiently broad to ensure the availability of high quality candidates, taking into account the nature and level of the positions to be filled; and



2. Ensure that the minimum areas of consideration for bargaining unit positions are consistent with bargaining unit agreements.

For positions advertised at grades GS-14 and above, HR officers must request an exception to the Department-wide minimum area of consideration requirement. Exceptions may be granted under this authority on a case-by-case basis for positions to be filled:

• during a hiring freeze;
• during times of severe budget constraints; or
• for which a sufficient number of highly qualified candidates (3 or more) are available for selection from within the organization.

Exceptions must be submitted to the Justice Management Division, Personnel Staff, in writing. In addition, exceptions to the Department-wide minimum area of consideration must be documented in the merit promotion case files.

Questions regarding this delegation of authority may be referred to Tia Murphy. Ms. Murphy may be reached at (202) 305-1757 or by electronic mail at Tia.R.Murphy@usdoi.gov.