^ I .M ?: ^"i/^. THE CIVIL SERVICE APPOINTMENLSYSTEM 'overnm afewcfy to a areer U. S. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION Pamphlet 53 April 1955 A new system for filling positions in Federal agen- cies has been established by the Civil Service Commission. Known as the Career-Conditional Appointment System, it represents a new approach to the rights, privileges, and obligations of career civil servants. The new plan is designed to give the Federal per- sonnel system flexibility while assuring stability of the career service during expansions and contractions re- sulting from limited national emergencies. Keystone of the new system is the requirement that appointees qualify competitively and serve a conditional period before attaining full career standing. The 3-year con- ditional period of service should enable employees to demonstrate their intention to make careers in public service and establish the ability of the Government to provide reasonable assurance of continuing career opportunities. WHY THE NEW SYSTEM WAS NEEDED During rapid emergency buildups of the Federal work force, the traditional system of making perma- nent appointments through open competitive exami- nations was found lacking. Examinations could not be conducted fast enough, and civil-service lists of eligibles were inadequate to meet manpower require- ments of expanding agencies. Stopgap procedures had to be developed to facilitate mass hiring in critical periods. Different types of nonpermanent appoint- ments were adopted, and agencies were authorized to hire on the open market. When the emergencies passed, the inevitable reductions in force and labored efforts to return to normal personnel operations brought damaging disruptions to the Federal service. Legislative restrictions on permanent appointments and promotions after the outbreak in Korea further complicated the situation. Serious administrative problems and inequities to employees resulted. Re- cruitment was hampered. Employee morale was lowered because indefinite employees had no prospects for career standing. Employing agencies had no in- centive to fill jobs competitively. And the ranks of career employees became seriously depleted. HOW THE NEW SYSTEM WORKS In future periods of emergency short of full mobili- zation, it will not be necessary to suspend normal hiring procedures and resort to such expedients as the indefinite appointment system of the post-Korea period. The new system recognizes the fact that not all persons who enter Government intend to spend the rest of their working lives in Federal service and that the Government may not have continuing jobs for all those who may be needed at a given time, such as during an emergency. Moreover, it distinguishes between those who get their jobs through regular civil-service examining procedures and those who are hired without competition. The new normal type of appointment — career- conditional — is given to persons who pass open competitive civil-service examinations and are selected in regular order from lists of eligibles established as a result of the examinations. Generally, the first year of the appointment will be probationary and consid- ered part of the examination. During the probation- ary period the employee's competence on the job is observed, and he is dismissed if he cannot learn to do the work satisfactorily. At the end of 3 years, career-conditional employees automatically acquire full career standing. When there is no civil-service list of eligibles for a specific kind of job or when the list is not adequate, employing agencies may fill continuing positions by hiring outside of civil-service registers. Persons re- cruited by agencies on the open market are given a "Temporary Appointment Pending Establishment of Register." They serve only until a competitive exami- nation is held and an adequate list of eligibles is estab- lished. At that time the temporary employees are re- placed by persons on the civil-service register. If a temporary employee competes in the examination and comes within reach for selection from the list of eligi- bles, he may be given a career-conditional appoint- ment. Agencies making temporary appointments must give preference to veterans, and all appointees must meet the Commission's qualifications standards for the jobs. Two other kinds of appointments are used for short- term work under the new system. Agencies may make job appointments to positions limited to a year or less, and they may make emergency appointments for not more than 1 month. Job appointments must be made from Commission lists of eligibles if appropriate and adequate lists are available. No new indefinite appointments are being made. After a transitional period under the new appointment system, indefinite employees who fail to qualify for conversion will be subject to displacement by eligibles from civil-service registers. HOW IT AFFECTS PRESENT EMPLOYEES Full consideration has been given to the equities of present employees. Employees with so-called permanent status auto- matically enter the career group, retaining all rights and privileges they enjoyed under the previous system. Such employees who are still serving their probationary period also are in the career group. However, these workers will not have full career rights until they finish their year of probationary service. Included in this group are a few employees (mainly engineers and scientists) who were given probational appointments since 1950 because their skills were critical, and em- ployees serving probationary appointments in the Postal Field Service. Hearing Examiners and former legislative and judi- cial employees eligible for competitive status under provisions of the Ramspeck Act are not required to serve probation. They acquire full career rights at the time of appointment. Indefinite employees who were appointed in regular order from civil-service lists of eligibles automatically become career or career-conditional, depending upon whether they have 3 years of substantially continuous service. Those with less than 3 years of creditable service automatically enter the career group when they complete the necessary period of conditional service. Employees who were given an "indefinite appoint- ment in lieu of reinstatement" also become career or career-conditional, subject to the 3-year service require- ment. These employees are those who had been permanent or probational but left the service for a time and returned while permanent appointments and reinstatements were restricted. Indefinite employees who left Federal service to enter the Armed Forces will be considered as though they had remained in civilian service. Indefinites who were appointed outside of civil- service lists of eligibles remain indefinite. Generally, however, they will have a chance to qualify for career or career-conditional appointment. They may apply for current or future open competitive examinations. They may also file for two examinations which are no longer open to the general public if lists of eligibles established by the examination are still in use and appropriate for filling positions in their installation. If these employees pass a competitive examination and come within reach for selection, they will be automatically certified to their agency for career or career-conditional appointment, according to the 3-year formula. Appointment can be made only to a position properly filled through the examination the employee passes, however. In other words, a person who received a direct appointment as an accountant and later was promoted to budget examiner could not be converted in the latter position as a result of com- peting in an examination for accountant and auditor positions. Indefinite employees have until June 30, 1955, to file for examinations no longer open to the general public. Persons who are otherwise eligible for such examinations, but are now serving in the Armed Forces, will be permitted to file up to 30 days following reemployment in the Federal service. All experience up to the date of filing may be counted. The Com- mission will send to employing agencies a list of examinations for which late filing will be permitted, and agencies in turn will make the information avail- able to employees. Special provisions have been made for veterans with compensable service-connected disabilities. They do not have to serve a full 3 -year conditional period to attain career standing, and they may qualify noncom- petitively for conversion. Those who have completed probation may be converted to full career standing on recommendation of their agency and on passing a noncompetitive examination, if they have not already passed an examination appropriate for the position held. Those who have not completed probation may be converted to career-conditional on the same basis; these employees attain full career standing on comple- tion of the year of probation. The special provisions for compensably disabled veterans will apply until December 31, 1957. They will apply not only to present employees, but also to new employees who are compensably disabled veterans. Conversion actions will be based on agency per- sonnel records which indicate whether appointment was made from a civil-service list of eligibles. COMPUTING CONDITIONAL SERVICE Not all Federal service may be counted toward the 3-year conditional period. As a general rule, to be creditable toward the conditional period, service must date from nontemporary appointment to a position in the competitive service, or from appointment by selec- tion in regular order from a civil-service register to a position in the excepted service, and not include a break in service of more than 30 days. However, a person who held a nontemporary posi- tion in the excepted service when that position was brought into the competitive service may count his conditional service from the date of entry into the excepted job. RIGHTS UNDER NEW SYSTEM Career Career employees enjoy all of the rights and pri- vileges previously accorded to so-called permanent employees. They may be promoted, reassigned to another job in their agency, transferred to another agency, or rein- stated without time limit after leaving the Federal service, without again competing with the public. Career employees who have completed probation may be separated only for cause or in a reduction in force. In a removal for cause, they must be presented with charges in writing and be given an opportunity to reply. In a reduction in force, they are in the highest retention preference group. If reached for separa- tion in a staff reduction, they must be considered for assignment to another job for which they are qualified and which is held by a person in a lower retention preference group. If they cannot be placed in this manner, they are entitled to displace indefinite em- ployees in their own or other agencies in the employ- ment area. For a year after separation in a staff reduction they must be carried on their agency's reemployment priority list and be considered for vacancies for which they are qualified. For the same period, they are entitled to priority referral by the Commission for vacancies in other agencies. If they transfer from a nondefense to a defense agency, they are entitled to reemployment rights in the nondefense agency. They are entitled to mandatory restoration rights after military service, and for a year after restoration may be removed only for cause. They are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System. Career-Conditional Career-conditional employees enjoy many of these rights and privileges, but some of them are limited. After the first 3 months of career-conditional serv- ice, they may be promoted, reassigned, or transferred without open competition. After completing the 1-year probationary period, they have the same proce- dural protections against removal as career employees. In a reduction in force, they rank below career employees. If reached for separation, they must also be considered for reassignment in the agency. And if separated in a reduction in force, they go on the agency's reemployment priority list. Career-conditionals who are separated in a reduc- tion in force also will be given priority certification to vacancies in other agencies in the area for a year after separation. However, they are not entitled to 8 displace indefinite employees in their own or other agencies. Career-conditional employees have noncompetitive reinstatement privileges if they leave Federal service — veterans may be reinstated without time limit, but nonveterans enjoy this privilege only for 3 years after leaving the service. Reinstated career-conditional employees generally must begin a new conditional period of service, and if they had left the service during probation a new probationary period must be served. Career-conditionals will not have reemployment rights if they transfer from a nondefense to a defense agency. However, they will have mandatory restora- tion rights after military service, and during the first year of service after restoration they will have reten- tion preference rights superior to those of other em- ployees in retention preference group II. Career-conditionals are under the Civil Service Re- tirement System. Temporary Pending Establishment of Register Employees who receive a temporary appointment pending establishment of a register have few of the rights and privileges enjoyed by career and career- conditional workers. They are not required to serve a trial period, but they may be removed at any time by simple notice. They cannot be promoted, reassigned, or transferred to another job in the competitive service. Nor do they have restoration rights after military service. In a reduction in force they are in group III, out- ranking only unsatisfactory employees and those holding jobs for specified short terms. If reached in a reduction in force, they must be separated. They are under social security rather than the Civil Service Retirement System. Job and 30-day Appointments Job and emergency appointees must be separated at the end of the period for which they have been hired, unless an extension is authorized. They are the first to be dismissed in a staff reduction, and they have no reassignment rights. They may not be moved to another job by promotion^ reassignment, or transfer. They may be removed at any time by simple notice. They are under the social-security program. Indefinites Indefinite employees who remain in Federal service during the transitional period will have few of the rights and privileges given to career and career- conditional employees. Indefinite employees who remain in Federal service may be dismissed only for cause or in a reduction in force. They are in group III for retention preference purposes, ranking below career and career-conditional employees. If reached in a reduction in force, they are separated. They have none of the benefits of the separated career employee program; in fact, they may be separated for the purpose of placing a separated careerist. Indefinites may be promoted or reassigned non- competitively within their agency, but they cannot be considered for noncompetitive appointment in another agency except under special circumstances — within 90 days after (1) separation in a reduction in force, (2) separation because they do not accompany an activity that has been moved to another geographic location, or (3) separation from military service which they entered while serving under indefinite appoint- ment. They are entitled to regulatory restoration rights after military service. 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