[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 235 (Friday, December 5, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 74071-74073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28747]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 235 / Friday, December 5, 2008 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 74071]]
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Parts 315 and 316
RIN 3206-AL73
Noncompetitive Appointment of Certain Military Spouses
AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing
proposed regulations that allow agencies to noncompetitively appoint
certain military spouses to positions in the competitive service. These
regulations implement Executive Order 13473, 73 FR 56703 (Sept. 28,
2008), which authorizes noncompetitive appointments in the Civil
Service for spouses of certain members of the armed forces. These
regulations facilitate the entry of military spouses into the Federal
civil service as part of an effort to recruit and retain skilled and
experienced members of the armed forces and to recognize and honor the
service of members injured, disabled, or killed in connection with
their service.
DATES: Comments will be considered if received by January 5, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Send, fax, or deliver written comments to Angela Bailey,
Deputy Associate Director, Center for Talent and Capacity Policy, U.S.
Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Room 6500,
Washington, DC 20415, e-mail to [email protected], or FAX to 202-606-2329.
Comments may also be sent through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
at: http://www.regulations.gov. All submissions received through the
Portal must include the agency name and docket number or Regulation
Identifier Number (RIN) for this rulemaking.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacquelyn Carrington at (202) 606-
0960, FAX at (202) 606-2329, TDD at (202) 418-3134, or e-mail
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 25, 2008, the President signed
Executive Order 13473 (73 FR 56703) allowing agencies to make
noncompetitive appointments of spouses of certain members of the armed
forces. To implement this Executive order, the Office of Personnel
Management is proposing to add a new section 315.612 to subpart F of
part 315, title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, and revise part 316,
Temporary and Term Appointment, subpart C, section 316.302, and subpart
D, section 316.402, to permit noncompetitive permanent, term, or
temporary appointment of military spouses, respectively. This authority
allows agencies to recruit and noncompetitively appoint spouses of
certain members of the armed forces to positions in the competitive
service. These regulations do not provide a hiring preference for
military spouses, nor do they establish selection priority for these
individuals. Consistent with other noncompetitive appointment
authorities, these individuals must apply to a Federal vacancy
announcement to be considered. This proposal creates a pool of
applicants from which agencies may make noncompetitive selections if
they choose to do so.
Agency Authority
Paragraph (a) of the proposed new Sec. 315.612 explains the intent
of the Executive order, which authorizes agencies to noncompetitively
appoint certain military spouses to competitive service positions under
certain circumstances. Specifically, agencies are authorized to appoint
noncompetitively the spouse of a service member serving on active duty
in the armed forces who has received permanent change of station
orders, the spouse of a 100 percent disabled service member whose
disability resulted from active duty in the armed forces, or the un-
remarried widow or widower of a service member who was killed while on
active duty in the armed forces.
Definitions
Paragraph (b) of proposed Sec. 315.612 contains six definitions
necessary for the administration of the section.
Eligibility
Paragraph (c) of proposed Sec. 315.612 provides the criteria that
a military spouse must meet to be eligible for noncompetitive
appointment under this section. This paragraph also contains the
eligibility criteria that a member of the armed forces on active duty
must meet in order for his or her spouse to be eligible for
noncompetitive appointment under this section.
This paragraph specifies that to be eligible for appointment under
this section, the spouse of a member of the armed forces who is serving
on active duty must be married to the member of the armed forces on, or
before, the date of the service member's orders relocating him or her
to another permanent duty station. It also specifies that the spouse
must accompany the service member to the new permanent duty station.
This paragraph makes clear that the spouse of a deceased service
member must be the un-remarried widow or widower of a member of the
armed forces killed while on active duty in order to be eligible for
noncompetitive appointment under this section.
Lastly, this paragraph provides that under this section agencies
may appoint eligible spouses only to positions within the geographic
area containing the permanent duty station to which the service member
has been transferred or reassigned. The head of an agency, however, may
waive this limitation if there are no Federal agencies within the
geographic area in which the new duty station is located. Eligible
spouses of 100 percent disabled service members, or service members who
were killed while on active duty, are not subject to the geographic
area limitation.
Conditions
Paragraph (d) of proposed Sec. 315.612 provides the conditions
under which an agency may appoint a military spouse noncompetitively
under this section. This paragraph specifies that a spouse remains
eligible for a noncompetitive appointment for a maximum of 2 years from
the date of the (a) service member's orders authorizing a permanent
change of station; (b) the documentation showing the service member is
100 percent disabled; or (c) the documentation showing the service
member was killed while on active duty.
This paragraph also specifies that an eligible spouse may receive
only one noncompetitive appointment to a permanent Federal job per each
set of orders authorizing the service member's
[[Page 74072]]
permanent change of station. OPM is not proposing a limitation on the
number of temporary or term appointments an eligible spouse may have
per permanent change of duty location authorization.
This paragraph provides that individuals who accompany their
military spouses to the new duty station within 1 year of the effective
date of these regulations are eligible for noncompetitive appointment
under this section.
Lastly, this paragraph provides that any provision that would
disqualify an applicant for Federal appointment also disqualifies a
spouse for appointment under these provisions.
Proof of Eligibility
Paragraph (e) of proposed Sec. 315.612 explains the documentation
that an agency hiring representative must have received from a spouse
before making a noncompetitive appointment under this section. Spouses
of active duty military members must submit to the hiring agency the
following information: A copy of the military member's active duty
orders authorizing a permanent change of duty station, and proof that
the spouse was married to the military member at the time of the
orders' issuance.
The spouse of an individual with a 100 percent disability rating
must submit to the hiring agency documentation that states the
individual is 100 percent disabled as a result of a service-connected
disability that occurred while the individual was on active military
duty, and proof that the spouse is married to the military member.
The spouse of an individual killed while on active duty must submit
to the hiring agency documentation that shows the military member was
serving on active military duty at the time of his or her death, proof
that the spouse was married to the military member at the time of his
or her death, and a statement certifying that he or she is the un-
remarried widow or widower of the service member.
Acquisition of Competitive Status
Paragraph (f) of proposed Sec. 315.612 provides the military
spouse appointed under this section acquires competitive status upon
completion of a probationary period.
Tenure on Appointment
Paragraph (g) of proposed Sec. 315.612 specifies that an eligible
military spouse hired under this authority has a career-conditional
appointment until the employee fulfills the requirements for career
tenure.
Temporary and Term Employment
The proposed regulations also revise Sec. Sec. 316.302 and 316.402
to authorize agencies to make noncompetitive term or temporary
appointments, respectively, of spouses eligible under the proposed
provisions of Sec. 315.612.
30-Day Comment Period
OPM is imposing a 30-day comment period on this proposed rule.
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.
Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Review
This rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget
in accordance with Executive Order 12866.
List of Subjects in 5 CFR Parts 315 and 316
Government employees.
Office of Personnel Management.
Michael W. Hager,
Acting Director.
Accordingly, OPM proposes to amend title 5, Code of Federal
Regulations, part 315, subpart F, and part 316, as follows:
PART 315--CAREER AND CAREER-CONDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT
1. The authority citation for part 315 is revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 1302, 3301, and 3302; E.O. 10577, 3 CFR,
1954-1958 Comp. p. 218, unless otherwise noted; and E.O. 13162.
Secs. 315.601 and 315.609 also issued under 22 U.S.C. 3651 and 3652.
Secs. 315.602 and 315.604 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 1104. Sec.
315.603 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8151. Sec. 315.605 also issued
under E.O. 12034, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. p. 111. Sec. 315.606 also issued
under E.O. 11219, 3 CFR, 1964-1965 Comp. p. 303. Sec. 315.607 also
issued under 22 U.S.C. 2506. Sec. 315.608 also issued under E.O.
12721, 3 CFR, 1990 Comp. p. 293. Sec. 315.610 also issued under 5
U.S.C. 3304(c). Sec. 315.611 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3304(f).
Sec. 315.612 also issued under E.O. 13473. Sec. 315.708 also issued
under E.O. 13318, 3 CFR, 2004 Comp. p. 265. Sec. 315.710 also issued
under E.O. 12596, 3 CFR, 1987 Comp. p. 229. Subpart I also issued
under 5 U.S.C. 3321, E.O. 12107, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. p. 264.
Subpart F--Career or Career-Conditional Appointment Under Special
Authorities
2. Add Sec. 315.612 to subpart F to read as follows:
Sec. 315.612 Noncompetitive appointment of certain military spouses.
(a) Agency authority. In accordance with the provisions of this
section, an agency may appoint noncompetitively a spouse of a member of
the armed forces serving on active duty who has orders specifying a
permanent change of station, a spouse of a 100 percent disabled service
member injured while on active duty, or the un-remarried widow or
widower of a service member who was killed while performing active
duty.
(b) Definitions.
In this section,
(1) Active duty means full-time duty in the armed forces including
full-time National Guard duty, except that for Reserve Component
members the term ``active duty'' does not include training duties or
attendance at service schools.
(2) Armed forces has the meaning given that term in 10 U.S.C. 101.
(3) Duty station means the permanent location to which a member of
the armed forces is assigned for duty as specified on the individual's
permanent change of station (PCS) orders.
(4) Member of the armed forces or service member means an
individual who:
(i) Is serving on active duty in the armed forces under orders
specifying the individual is called or ordered to active duty for more
than 180 consecutive days, has been issued orders for a permanent
change of station, and is authorized for dependent travel (i.e., the
travel of the service member's family members) as part of the orders
specifying the individual's permanent change of station;
(ii) Retired from active duty in the armed forces with a disability
rating of 100 percent as documented by a branch of the armed forces,
or, retired or was released or discharged from active duty in the armed
forces and has a disability rating of 100 percent as documented by the
Department of Veterans Affairs.
(iii) Was killed while serving on active duty in the armed forces.
(5) Permanent change of station means the assignment, reassignment,
or transfer of a member of the armed forces from his or her present
duty station or location without return to the previous duty station or
location.
(6) Spouse means the husband or wife of a member of the armed
forces.
(c) Eligibility.
(1) A spouse of a member of the armed forces as defined in
paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this section must have:
(i) Married the member of the armed forces on, or prior to, the
date of the service member's orders authorizing a permanent change of
station; and
[[Page 74073]]
(ii) Relocated with the member of the armed forces to the new duty
station specified in the documentation ordering a permanent change of
station.
(2) A spouse of a member of the armed forces as defined in
paragraph (b)(4)(iii) of this section must be the un-remarried widow or
widower of the member of the armed forces killed on active duty in the
armed forces.
(3) A spouse's eligibility for noncompetitive appointment under
this section is limited to the geographic area, as specified on the
member of the armed forces' permanent change of station orders. It
includes the service member's duty station and the surrounding area
from which people reasonably can be expected to travel daily to and
from work. The head of an agency may waive this limitation (i.e.,
accept applications from spouses) if no Federal agency exists in the
spouse's geographic area.
(d) Conditions.
(1) In accordance with the provisions of this section, spouses are
eligible for noncompetitive appointment for a maximum of 2 years from
the date of:
(i) The service member's permanent change of station orders;
(ii) Documentation verifying the member of the armed forces is 100
percent disabled; or
(iii) Documentation verifying the member of the armed forces was
killed while on active duty.
(2) A spouse may receive only one noncompetitive appointment under
this section to a permanent position per the service member's orders
authorizing a permanent change of station.
(3) In accordance with the provisions of this section, spouses who
relocated with a member of the armed forces to the location provided in
the service member's permanent change of station orders within 1 year
prior to the effective date of these regulations are eligible for
noncompetitive appointment under this section.
(4) Any law, Executive order, or regulation that disqualifies an
applicant for appointment also disqualifies a spouse for appointment
under this section.
(e) Proof of Eligibility.
(1) Prior to appointment, the spouse of a member of the armed
forces as defined in paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this section must submit to
the employing agency:
(i) A copy of the service member's active duty orders which
authorize a permanent change of station. This authorization must
include:
(A) A statement authorizing the service member's spouse to
accompany the member to the new permanent duty station;
(B) The specific location to which the member of the armed forces
is to be assigned, reassigned, or transferred pursuant to permanent
change of station orders; and
(C) The effective date of the permanent change of station; and
(ii) Documentation verifying marriage to the member of the armed
forces (e.g., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying
marriage).
(2) Prior to appointment, the spouse of a member of the armed
forces as defined in paragraph (b)(4)(ii) of this section must submit
to the employing agency copies of:
(i) Documentation showing the member of the armed forces was
released or discharged from active duty due to a service-connected
disability;
(ii) Documentation showing the member of the armed forces retired,
or was released or discharged from active duty, with a disability
rating of 100 percent; and
(iii) Documentation verifying marriage to the member of the armed
forces (e.g., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying
marriage).
(3) Prior to appointment, the spouse of a member of the armed
forces as defined in paragraph (b)(4)(iii) of this section must submit
to the employing agency copies of:
(i) Documentation showing the individual was released or discharged
from active duty due to his or her death while on active duty;
(ii) Documentation verifying the member of the armed forces was
killed while serving on active duty; and
(iii) Documentation verifying marriage to the member of the armed
forces (e.g., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying
marriage); and
(iv) A statement certifying that he or she is the un-remarried
widow or widower of the service member.
(f) Acquisition of competitive status. A person appointed under
paragraph (a) of this section acquires competitive status automatically
upon completion of probation.
(g) Tenure on appointment. An appointment under paragraph (a) of
this section is career-conditional unless the appointee has already
satisfied the requirements for career tenure or is exempt from the
service requirement pursuant to Sec. 315.201.
PART 316--TEMPORARY AND TERM EMPLOYMENT
3. The authority citation for part 316 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3301, 3302; E.O. 10577, 3 CFR, 1954-1958
Comp., p. 218.
4. Section 316.302(b)(3) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 316.302 Selection of term employees.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(3) Career-conditional appointment under Sec. 315.601, 315.604,
315.605, 315.606, 315.607, 315.608, 315.609, 315.612, or 315.711 of
this chapter;
* * * * *
5. Section 316.402(b)(3) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 316.402 Procedures for making temporary appointments.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(3) Career-conditional appointment under Sec. 315.601, 315.604,
315.605, 315.606, 315.607, 315.608, 315.609, 315.612, 315.703, or
315.711 of this chapter;
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E8-28747 Filed 12-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-39-P