[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 82 (Tuesday, April 29, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23126-23127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-11048]



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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 334

RIN 3206-AG61


Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Final regulations.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final 
regulations governing mobility assignments between Federal agencies and 
non-Federal entities. In keeping with the OPM philosophy of 
transferring more responsibility for operational programs to agencies, 
these revised regulations will allow agencies to operate the mobility 
program in a more efficient and productive manner.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 29, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tony Ryan on 202-606-1181 or FAX 202-606-3577.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By Executive Order 11589 of April 1, 1971, 
the President delegated to the Office of Personnel Management the 
authority to issue regulations necessary to administer the temporary 
assignment of personnel between the Federal Government and State or 
local governments, institutions of higher education, Indian tribal 
governments and other eligible organizations (the Intergovernmental 
Personnel Act Mobility Program).
    On December 11, 1996, OPM published a proposed revision of its 
regulations (61 FR 65189) dealing with this program for a 30-day 
comment period. We received comments from sixteen Federal agencies. The 
Department of Energy (DOE) recommended that we remove federally funded 
research and development centers from the definition of ``other 
organization'' in Sec. 334.102. Since an ``other organization'' must be 
certified to participate, and federally funded research and development 
centers which are on a list maintained by the National Science 
Foundation (NSF) are automatically eligible, we agree with this 
suggestion and, consequently, Sec. 334.102, as it currently appears in 
the regulations, will not be changed.
    Throughout the proposed regulations there are references to ``the 
head of the Federal agency.'' The Department of Justice suggested that 
we add ``or his or her designee'' after this phrase. Since, in many 
agencies, the IPA program has already been delegated to Bureau or 
Component level or below, this suggestion seems to mirror the way 
things actually are. Changes have been made where needed.
    Section 334.103 deals with organizations which must be approved for 
participation in the IPA program. This approval or certification 
process is being shifted from OPM to agencies. Federal agencies will 
now deal directly with those non-Federal entities with whom they hope 
to share an assignment. If an organization is certified by an agency, 
this certification is permanent and may apply throughout the Federal 
Government. Another agency can accept this certification or require the 
organization to submit the appropriate paperwork for review. If an 
organization is denied certification, it may appeal this denial to OPM. 
The Department of Transportation asked if those organizations that have 
already been certified will be ``grandfathered'' in when this change 
occurs. No, they will not. As of the effective date of these 
regulations, any organization wishing to participate in the mobility 
program will need to be certified or recertified when they enter into 
an IPA agreement. Those organizations in a current assignment on the 
effective date of these regulations may complete those assignments, but 
will need to go through the certification process before starting a new 
assignment.
    Many agencies, including the Departments of Commerce and Defense as 
well as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, thought that OPM 
should maintain a clearinghouse of organizations which have had their 
eligibility certified. However, we feel that a clearinghouse is 
unnecessary. An agency could simply ask an organization whether it had 
already been certified by another Federal agency. If it had, then that 
certification, once verified, would allow an agency to move ahead with 
a new IPA assignment. This removes a heavy administrative 
responsibility from OPM but does not unduly impact other Federal 
agencies. One agency, DOE, pointed out that it is actually 
``eligibility'' which agencies are certifying, not ``notprofit 
status.'' We have revised Sec. 334.103(a) to reflect this distinction.
    We received numerous comments regarding Sec. 334.104, which deals 
with the length of the IPA assignment. Some agencies believe that the 
proposed provisions are more restrictive than the present ones. A few 
agencies, including NSF, felt that rather than providing additional 
flexibility, the suggested changes actually limit the flexibility they 
now have under the current regulations.
    Section 334.104(b) would place a 6-year lifetime on both Federal 
and non-Federal assignees. This drew quite a bit of criticism from 
agencies, especially those involved in research and development (R&D) 
like the Office of Naval Research. They felt that this regulation could 
severely damage their ability to utilize non-Federal scientific 
expertise. They argue that it takes a considerable amount of time for a 
scientist to become knowledgeable on a research project and it would be 
fiscally irresponsible to have to bring in a new person because of the 
6-year limit. We certainly don't want to limit the flexibility agencies 
will need to effectively operate this program by placing unnecessary 
regulatory burdens on them. Section 334.104(b) has been changed in 
order to remove the 6-year limit on non-Federal assignees. The limit 
remains for Federal employees.
    There was also considerable concern with Sec. 334.104(c), which 
would require individuals to return to their original employers at the 
end of an assignment for a length of time equal to the assignment 
before participating again in the IPA program. The Department of 
Transportation felt that there might be a valid situation, because of 
an individual's special expertise, when such a break could be 
detrimental to the agency. Others thought the proposal has the 
potential to increase costs dramatically and impact mission 
accomplishment. We will modify Sec. 334.104(c) to reflect the current 
requirement of a 12-month break after four years on assignment.
    Section 334.105(a) requires Federal employees to serve with the 
Federal Government upon completion of their assignment for a period 
equal to the length of the assignment. This is known as the obligated 
service requirement. The Department of the Navy would like to see this 
section done away with. However, one of the original objectives of the 
mobility program was to ``provide program and developmental experience 
which will enhance the assignee's performance in his or her regular 
job.'' This requirement assures that the individual will return to his 
or her Federal Government job with newly acquired skills. Therefore, we 
feel it is too important to discard. There are no changes to this 
section.
    Section 334.105(b) requires an employee, who fails to carry out the 
provisions of Sec. 334.105(a), to reimburse the Federal agency for its 
share of the costs of the assignment. These costs, however, do not 
include salary or, as noted by one of the agencies, benefits. This 
requires a minor change to Sec. 334.105(b). In addition, this section

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also allows for a waiver of the reimbursement when the agency head, or 
his or her designee, feel there is good and sufficient reason to do so. 
This waiver authority should provide sufficient flexibility for those 
agencies concerned about the severity of Sec. 334.105(a).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    I certify that these regulations will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because the 
regulations pertain only to Federal employees and agencies.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 334

    College and universities, Government employees, Indians, 
Intergovernmental relations.

U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
James B. King,
Director.

    Accordingly, OPM is amending part 334 of title 5, Code of Federal 
Regulations:

PART 334--TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT OF EMPLOYEES BETWEEN FEDERAL 
AGENCIES AND STATE, LOCAL, AND INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS, 
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, AND OTHER ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.

    1. The authority citation for part 334 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3376; E.O. 11589, 3 CFR 557 (1971-1975).

    2. Section 334.103 is revised to read as follows:


334.103  Approval of instrumentalities or authorities of State and 
local governments and ``other organizations''.

    (a) Organizations interested in participating in the mobility 
program as an instrumentality or authority of a State or local 
government or as an ``other organization'' as set out in this part must 
have their eligibility certified by the Federal agency with which they 
are entering into an assignment.
    (b) Written requests for certification should include a copy of the 
organization's:
    (1) Articles of incorporation;
    (2) Bylaws;
    (3) Internal Revenue Service nonprofit statement; and
    (4) Any other information which indicates that the organization has 
as a principal function the offering of professional advisory, 
research, educational, or development services, or related services to 
governments or universities concerned with public management.
    (c) Federally funded research and development centers which appear 
on a master list maintained by the National Science Foundation are 
eligible to enter into mobility agreements.
    (d) An organization denied certification by an agency may request 
reconsideration by the Office of Personnel Management.
    3. Section 334.104 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 334.104  Length of assignment.

    (a) An assignment may be made for up to 2 years and may be extended 
by the head of a Federal agency, or his or her designee, for up to 2 
more years, given the concurrence of the other parties to the 
agreement.
    (b) A Federal agency may not send on assignment an employee who has 
served on mobility assignments for more than a total of 6 years during 
his or her Federal career. This applies only to Federal employees. The 
Office of Personnel Management may waive this provision upon the 
written request of the agency head, or his or her designee.
    (c) A Federal agency may not send or receive on assignment an 
employee who has served under the mobility authority for 4 continuous 
years without at least a 12-month return to duty with the organization 
from which originally assigned.
    4. Section 334.105 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 334.105  Obligated Service Requirement.

    (a) A Federal employee assigned under this subchapter must agree as 
a condition of accepting an assignment to serve with the Federal 
Government upon completion of the assignment for a period equal to the 
length of the assignment.
    (b) If the employee fails to carry out this agreement, he or she 
must reimburse the Federal agency for its share of the costs of the 
assignment (exclusive of salary and benefits). The head of the Federal 
agency, or his or her designee, may waive this reimbursement for good 
and sufficient reason.
    5. Section 334.106 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 334.106  Requirement for written agreement.

    (a) Before an assignment is made the Federal agency and the State, 
local, or Indian tribal government, institution of higher education, or 
other eligible organization and the assigned employee shall enter into 
a written agreement which records the obligations and responsibilities 
of the parties as specified in 5 U.S. Code 3373-3375.
    (b) Agencies must maintain a copy of each assignment agreement form 
as well as any modification to the agreement.
[FR Doc. 97-11048 Filed 4-28-97; 8:45 am]
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