[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 185 (Monday, September 26, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23716]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 26, 1994]
VOL. 59, NO. 185
Monday, September 26, 1994
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Part 213
RIN 3206-AF53
Temporary, Seasonal, and Intermittent Employment in the Excepted
Service
agency: Office of Personnel Management.
action: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
summary: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposes to revise
its regulations to consolidate excepted service authorities for filling
temporary, intermittent, and seasonal jobs, to remove coverage for
appointments that no longer meet the criteria for exception, and to
establish a new excepted service authority which could be used by
agencies to meet urgent, short-term hiring needs.
dates: Comments must be received on or before November 25, 1994.
addresses: Send or deliver written comments to Leonard R. Klein,
Associate Director for Career Entry, Office of Personnel Management,
Room 6F08, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 20415.
for further information contact: Tracy E. Spencer, (202) 606-0830, or
fax (202) 606-2329.
supplementary information: This proposal is the second step in OPM's
program to simplify temporary hiring authorities and ensure their
appropriate use. Regulations were proposed on February 1, 1994, (59 FR
4601) to set a uniform service limit for temporary appointments in both
the competitive and the excepted service at 1 year with no more than
one 1-year extension. The regulations now proposed would revise and
consolidate paragraphs (i) and (m) of Sec. 213.3102, which both cover
temporary, intermittent, and seasonal employment in the excepted
service. The revision would eliminate overlapping and obsolete
appointing authorities.
In July 1993, OPM advised all agencies that use Schedule A
authorities which were established specifically for temporary or
seasonal employment that, if they wished to retain the authorities,
they would need to justify why examining for the positions is
impracticable. Our intent was to identify the situations where excepted
service hiring is appropriate and to replace individual agencies'
authorities with a Governmentwide authority that could be used by any
agency in those situations. However, agencies reported only one
situation that would have general applicability and one that may have
general applicability. The rest are so agency-specific that creation of
a Governmentwide authority would serve no practical purpose.
Temporary and less-than-full-time hiring in remote locations.
Several agencies need to hire short-term or supplemental staff, often
on short notice, in locations that are remote or isolated from a
population center. Examining for these jobs is impracticable when: Only
residents of the immediate area can be expected to reach the work site
whenever they are needed; the amount of employment involved would not
encourage outside applicants to move to the isolated area; and staff
from an OPM or agency examining office could not readily reach the
location to administer tests or conduct recruiting.
We propose to establish a Schedule A authority that would define
``remote/isolated location'' and would limit excepted employment to
1,040 working hours in a service year. Any agency could use the
authority, without prior OPM approval, for jobs that meet the
conditions set out in the regulation.
Urgent, short-term hiring needs. OPM is abolishing the Federal
Personnel Manual (FPM), as recommended by the National Performance
Review. OPM has granted certain authorities to agencies through the FPM
that are not specifically reflected in regulations. One of those
authorities (set out in section 2-9 of FPM Chapter 316) allows agencies
to make temporary appointments not to exceed 30 days and to extend
those appointments for no more than 30 additional days without regard
to normal appointment procedures. Unless that authority is incorporated
in a regulation, it will be lost when FPM Chapter 316 is abolished in
December 1994.
We believe the special need authority serves a valid purpose and
should be continued as an excepted service appointing authority.
(Competitive requirements have never applied to special need
appointments.) Service limits and conditions for use of the current
special need authority would remain the same. The new Schedule A
authority would be available for use by any agency without prior OPM
approval.
Fellowships and related programs. Three agencies suggested creation
of a Governmentwide authority covering post-doctoral fellowships,
internships, and similar programs designed to increase the pool of
candidates in a particular specialty for all employers, not just the
Federal Government. On May 13, 1994, we published proposed regulations
that would create a consolidated authority for employment of students.
However, several agencies have internship or fellowship programs that
provide professional experience to individuals who have completed their
formal education.
We agree that a consolidated authority for those appointments would
be appropriate. We expect to consider consolidation of most Schedule A
and B appointing authorities--not only those covering temporary
hiring--and may propose creation of a fellowship authority. In the
meantime, however, we are not sure that such an authority should be
restricted to temporary employment. Many appointments under existing
programs are made for periods longer than 1 year.
Consequently, we have not included a specific provision for
internship or fellowship appointments in the proposed authority for
temporary Schedule A appointments. We welcome your comments on this
issue, however, and will add such a provision if there is sufficient
interest. If there is not enough interest to justify a Governmentwide
authority, we would entertain requests for single-agency exceptions
from agencies wishing to establish temporary fellowship programs.
Other positions. Several agencies reported specific situations in
which competitive hiring procedures would not be appropriate or
effective. However, because each of these situations is unique to the
agency involved, issuance of Governmentwide Schedule A authorities
would serve no practical purpose. Therefore, the proposed regulation
would provide for exception of additional positions with prior OPM
approval.
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 213
Government employees, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Office of Personnel Management.
James B. King,
Director.
Accordingly, OPM proposes to amend 5 CFR part 213 as follows:
PART 213--EXCEPTED SERVICE
1. The authority citation for part 213 is revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3301 and 3302, E.O. 10577, 3 CFR 1954-1958
Comp., p. 218; Sec. 213.101 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 2103;
Sec. 213.3102 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3301, 3302 (E.O. 12364, 47
FR 22931), 3307, 8337(h), and 8456.
2. In Sec. 213.3102, paragraph (i) is revised and paragraph (m) is
removed and reserved, as follows:
Sec. 213.3102 Entire executive civil service.
* * * * *
(i) Temporary and less-than-full-time positions, as follows:
(1) Positions in remote/isolated locations where examination is
impracticable. A remote/isolated location is outside the local
commuting area of a population center from which an employee can
reasonably be expected to travel on short notice under adverse weather
and/or road conditions which are normal for the area. For this purpose,
a population center is a town with housing, schools, health care,
stores and other businesses in which the servicing examining office can
schedule tests and/or reasonably expect to attract applicants. An
individual appointed under this authority may not be employed in the
same agency under a combination of this and any other appointment for
more than 1,040 working hours in a service year. Temporary appointments
under this authority may be extended in 1-year increments, with no
limit on the number of such extensions, as an exception to the service
limits in Sec. 213.104.
(2) Positions for which a critical hiring need exists. This
includes both short-term positions and continuing positions that an
agency must fill on an interim basis pending completion of competitive
examining, clearances, or other procedures required for a longer
appointment. Appointments under this authority may not exceed 30 days
and may be extended for up to an additional 30 days if continued
employment is essential to the agency's operations. The appointments
may not be used to extend the service limit of any other appointing
authority. An agency may not employ the same individual under this
authority for more than 60 days in any 12-month period.
(3) Other positions for which OPM determines that examining is
impracticable.
* * * * *
(m) [Reserved]
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 94-23716 Filed 9-23-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-01-M