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

A. If a notice of proposed action has been given to the employee, a change to an appraisal program should have no effect on the action. Part 430 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, contains a specific provision, called the "savings provision," that safeguards administrative procedures pending under a previously approved appraisal program, from being disrupted by the implementation of new programs covered by these regulations. The Office of Personnel Management's system approval procedures require agency appraisal programs to have a similar provision to safeguard pending administrative procedures when programs change. (See related question for impact of a program change on an opportunity period.)

A. An opportunity period, or a PIP as it is often called, provides a reasonable chance for the employee whose performance has been determined to be unacceptable in one or more critical elements to demonstrate acceptable performance in the critical elements(s) at issue. What an agency should do with a PIP that is in progress when a program is changed depends on the nature of the changes between the old program and the new one. If neither the performance standards nor the retention level communicated to the employee at the start of the PIP have changed, the agency should be able to proceed with the opportunity period or PIP. However, a substantive change in standards or the retention level would require that the current PIP end. For example, if an agency goes from a program that provided for an appraisal level between Fully Successful and Unacceptable to one that does not, it should amend the opportunity period or PIP specifying that performance now must be improved to the Fully Successful level, which is now the retention level. Additional time may need to be given to the employee to allow the employee sufficient time to demonstrate improved performance at the new retention level. This example still presumes that the Fully Successful standard has not been changed. If the performance standard has changed, the employee has to perform for the agency's minimum period under the new standard before a determination of unacceptable performance can be made and a new opportunity period or PIP started.

A. The regulations addressing the requirements for taking performance-based actions are found in part 432 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, not in the appraisal regulations at part 430. The law and regulations require agencies to assist unacceptable employees to improve, and, if the provisions at section 4303 of title 5, United States Code, and part 432 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), are going to be used in proposing and taking an adverse action based on unacceptable performance, an opportunity to demonstrate acceptable performance must be provided. The regulations in part 430 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations refer more generally to taking an action based on unacceptable performance. This action could be pursued either under the provisions of 5 United States Code, chapter 43 or under the adverse action provisions of 5 United States Code, chapter 75, which has no specific requirement for an opportunity period.