[Federal Register: August 1, 1995 (Volume 60, Number 147)] [Rules and Regulations] [Page 39101] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr01au95-1] ======================================================================== Rules and Regulations Federal Register ________________________________________________________________________ This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510. The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each week. ======================================================================== [[Page 39101]] OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 5 CFR Part 316 RIN 3206-AG 62 Bringing Nonpermanent Excepted Positions Into the Competitive Service AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management. ACTION: Final regulations. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is revising its regulations governing retention of employees whose excepted positions are brought into the competitive service to permit the employees to receive term appointments if their excepted appointments had time limits longer than 1 year. This will avoid hardship to the employees, who could otherwise be retained only as temporary employees without benefits. EFFECTIVE DATE: August 31, 1995. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tracy E. Spencer, (202) 606-0830, or fax (202) 606-0390. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Civil Service Rule III (5 CFR 3.1) authorizes OPM to prescribe conditions under which ``a person who occupies a permanent position when it is placed in the competitive service * * * or is otherwise made subject to competitive examination'' may acquire a competitive status. OPM's regulations implementing this authority are found in 5 CFR 315.701, 316.701, and 316.702. Currently, those regulations permit nonpermanent employees whose positions are brought into the competitive service to be retained only under temporary appointments limited to 1 year or less. However, some nonpermanent excepted appointments are more comparable to term appointments, i.e., they are made for periods longer than 1 year and confer eligibility for within-grade increases, promotions and reassignments, and retirement and insurance benefits. On April 7, 1995 (60 FR 17655), we proposed regulations to permit employees holding such appointments to receive noncompetitive term appointments if their positions are brought into the competitive service. We received no substantive comments on the proposed regulations and are adopting them as final regulations with no change. The regulations also make editorial changes and remove obsolete references to the Federal Personnel Manual. Regulatory Flexibility Act I certify that these regulations will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities (including small businesses, small organizational units, and small governmental jurisdictions) because they apply only to Federal employees. List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 316 Government employees. Office of Personnel Management. James B. King, Director. Accordingly, OPM is amending 5 CFR part 316 as follows: PART 316--TEMPORARY AND TERM EMPLOYMENT 1. The authority citation for part 316 continues to read as follows: Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3301, 3302, and E.O. 10577 (3 CFR 1954-1958 Comp., p. 218); Sec. 316.302 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3304(c), 38 U.S.C. 2014, and E.O. 12362, as revised by E.O. 12585; Sec. 316.402 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3304(c) and 3312, 22 U.S.C. 2506 (93 Stat. 371), E.O. 12137, 38 U.S.C. 2014, and E.O. 12362, as revised by E.O. 12585 and E.O. 12721. 2. In Sec. 316.701, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows: Sec. 316.701 Public or private enterprise taken over by the Government. * * * * * (c) An agency may retain an employee under paragraph (a) of this section in a position that it determines is noncontinuing under a temporary appointment. That appointment may be made for a period not to exceed 1 year and will be subject to the time limits set out in Sec. 316.402. 3. In Sec. 316.702, paragraphs (b)(1) and (c) are revised and a new paragraph (d) is added to read as follows: Sec. 316.702 Excepted positions brought into the competitive service. * * * * * (b)(1) When an agency retains an employee under paragraph (a) of this section who was serving in an excepted position under an indefinite appointment or an appointment without time limit, the agency may convert that employee's appointment to career or career-conditional under Sec. 315-701. * * * * * (c) An employee who was serving under an excepted appointment limited to 1 year or less may be retained as a temporary employee under paragraph (a) of this section until the scheduled expiration date of the employee's excepted appointment. Extension of the employee's temporary appointment beyond that date will be subject to the provisions of Sec. 316.402. (d) An employee who was serving under an excepted appointment with a definite time limit longer than 1 year may be retained under a term appointment. The appointment will be subject to all conditions generally applicable to term appointments and may be extended up to the maximum limit for term appointments established under Sec. 316.301. Service under the employee's excepted appointment counts against the maximum limit for the term appointment. [FR Doc. 95-18709 Filed 7-31-95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6325-01-M