Head Staff’s Guide to Federal Jobs Merit Promotion, VEOA and Time in Grade Oh my! Part 10 A

Head Staff’s Guide to Federal Jobs Merit Promotion, VEOA and Time in Grade Oh my! Part 10 A

The first motto of Head Staff is remember WHERE you are. If you have not read the other Head Staff Guides that I have posted, I would recommend you review them briefly.

In this post, we are going to talk about merit promotion in the competitive service- specifically 5 CFR 335 and exceptions to it. Most excepted service agencies have similar rules, but it will vary by the agency and type of excepted service appointment. As you will see, the procedures are similar to competitive examining that is open to the public but there are some important differences.

1. Veterans’ Preference The biggest difference is that under merit promotion rules, veterans’ preference does not apply. In some cases, usually under VEOA (Veterans Employment Opportunity Act), veterans can apply, they do not get preference, but are treated and ranked like other candidates.

2. Area of Consideration The next difference is area of consideration. Under Open competitive announcements, it’s pretty simple, all US citizens can be considered. Under merit promotion, only certain categories of people can be considered- this can vary by announcement. For example, an agency may decide to consider only current competitive service employees of that agency or even a subset of the agency. Usually, the area of consideration is current and former competitive service employees (those with reinstatement eligibility) and VEOA eligible veterans, but the are can include people eligible for interchange agreements, certain people with noncompetitive appointment eligibility (such as returning Peace Corp workers). Also, Military Spouse Preference (MSP). It’s important to understand what eligibilities you may be considered under.

3. Time in Grade Another difference is time in grade restrictions. Time in grade restrictions mean you must service 52 weeks in the next (or second lower grade) before you can be promoted. This only applies to GS promotions in the competitive service if you have held a GS position in the previous 52 weeks. This is different from qualifications- you could meet the minimum qualifications for the positions, but if you lack the required time in grade, you cannot be considered under merit promotion. If you have been separated for more than a year, time in grade does not apply.

4. Time After Competitive Appointment Restriction Last difference is time after competitive appointment restrictions. Again- it is important to know where you are. If you are in the competitive service, once you enter the competitive service from an open to the public announcement, you have to stay in the that position for 90 days before you can move to another position in the competitive service. Agencies vary on how this restriction is implemented- some require you to have been in the position for 90 days before the closing date of the announcement. Others may only require you to have been in the position for 60 or 45 days- read the announcement.

Application-

Application- particularly if you are applying for an internal agency announcement, there may be a special agency application form. Review your agency’s merit promotion plan and see what is required. 5 CFR 103 (b) (3) requires that” due weight” be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards. It is common for an agency to require a copy of your most recent performance appraisal- if you do not provide it, you may be rated out. If your performance appraisal is more than a year old or you have not received one, I recommend that you attach a note of explanation (just write a document) and upload it with your application. You should also compile a list of awards (QSIs, achievement awards, etc).- with dates and submit with your application.

Area of consideration- most agencies will require you to submit proof of your eligibility. For Veterans, this will be your DD214 and possibly a disability letter. If you are a current or former employee, you need to submit SF-50s that show you have “status” and if necessary, meet time in grade. You may need more that one SF-50 to show this. If you have an unusual situation, write a note of explanation.

Education- do not assume that your transcripts are “on file” somewhere or that if you are currently in a series that has a positive education requirement that you will not need to re-prove your education. Read the announcement, you will probably need to submit copies of your transcripts.

Eligibilities

The list of possible eligibilities is long. I cannot cover all of them here. If you have a special hiring authority and it is not mentioned in the announcement, I personally think it is worth applying even if not specified in the announcement, but opinions differ on this. The important thing to submit the necessary proof.

Career and career- conditional and reinstatement eligibility.

When you first enter the competitive service, you are given a career-conditional appointment. After three years of service (in some cases, prior service may count), you are converted to a career appointment. Having either a career or career conditional appointment gives you “status”, short for competitive status. You do not need to have career status or have completed your probationary period to apply for a position under merit promotion. You will be bound by the 90-day appointment restriction and time in grade, if you are a current employee, but you do not have to wait a year or three years.

If you held a career-conditional appointment and did not have veteran’s preference, you have three years after separation to be reinstated. This time limit can be extended if you held other types of employment in the Federal service (such as an excepted appointment) or military service.

If you are a preference eligible veteran, then you have NO expiration date for reinstatement eligibility.

Once you achieve career status, there is no expiration date for reinstatement eligibility.

Your SF-50 should show tenure group 1 (career) or 2 (career- conditional) and that you were in the competitive service

This announcement https://www.usajobs.gov/job/651210800 covers just about every special authority and does a good job of explaining what you need to use for each. Read the announcement. There is no substitution for a careful reading.

VEOA Veterans Employment Opportunity Act- if an agency in the competitive service opens an announcement to those outside its workforce, it must allow eligible veterans to apply and be considered. Veterans’ preference does not apply and they are ranked and considered like other status candidates. VEOA eligibility is explained here Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Special Hiring Authorities

CTAP, ICTAP, RPL- These are all programs for career and career conditional employees who have been involuntarily separated. If you were not RIF-ed (Reduction in Force), they don’t apply to you. Don’t check the box.

As always, comments and corrections welcomed. I will pick up how candidates are ranked and the difference between competitive and non-competitive selection in the next post.