3 FAM 2930
SPECIAL SELECTION PRIORITY FOR THE DEPARTMENT'S LOCAL
SURPLUS OR DISPLACED EMPLOYEES
(CT:PER-798; 01-04-2016)
(Office of Origin: HR/CSHRM)
3 FAM 2931 DEFINITIONS
(CT:PER-785; 10-19-2015)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees in the Competitive Service Only)
For purposes of this subchapter, the terms used are
defined in 3 FAM
2914 and in 5 CFR 330.602.
3 FAM 2932 GENERAL PROVISIONS
(CT:PER-785; 10-19-2015)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees in the Competitive Service Only)
a. The Department of State will provide special
selection priority pursuant to 5 CFR 330.604 to
eligible well-qualified displaced or surplus Civil Service employees as defined
in 5 CFR 330.602(1)(i), (1)(ii), (2)(i), (2)(ii), [under Surplus] 330.602(1),
(2)(i) or (2)(ii) who apply for vacant positions in the Department.
b. Special selection priority will also be provided to
employees in tenure groups 1 and 2 serving on Schedule A or B excepted service
appointments without time limits at grade level GS-15 (or equivalent) or below
in accordance with 5 CFR 330.602(3)(i) and (3)(ii). Such employees may
exercise special selection priority for permanent excepted service positions
within the Department of States local commuting area, provided the position to
which he/she is appointed has the same appointing authority (i.e., Schedule A
or B) as the position from which he/she is being separated.
3 FAM 2933 ELIGIBILITY
3 FAM 2933.1 Requirements
(CT:PER-785; 10-19-2015)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)
To be eligible for the special selection priority under 3 FAM 2932
paragraphs (a) and (b), an individual must meet all of the following conditions
outlined in 5 CFR 330.602 and 5 CFR
330.607(c):
(a) Be a surplus or displaced employee as defined in 5
CFR 330.602;
(b) Have a current performance rating of record of at
least fully successful or equivalent;
(c) Apply for a vacancy that is at or below the grade level
from which the employee may be or is being separated. The position may not
have greater promotion potential than the position from which the employee may
be or is being separated. This does not preclude employees from applying for
higher graded positions through merit promotion and/or other placement
procedures;
(d) Occupy a position in the same local commuting area
as the vacancy or, at the Departments discretion, occupy a position beyond the
local commuting area. An eligible Department applicant outside of the local
commuting area, however, can only exercise selection priority when there are no
eligible surplus and displaced agency employees within the local commuting area
who apply and are found well-qualified;
(e) File an application for a specific vacancy within
the time frames established by the Department;
(f) Provide proof of eligibility as required under 5
CFR 330.612; and
(g) Be determined by the Department to be
well-qualified for the specific vacancy.
3 FAM 2933.2 Effective Date of
Eligibility
(CT:PER-785; 10-19-2015)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)
Eligibility for special selection priority begins on the
date the Department issues the employee the:
(1) RIF separation notice,
(2) Certificate of expected separation,
(3) Notice of proposed separation for declining a
directed reassignment or transfer of function outside of the local commuting
area, or
(4) Other official Department certification
identifying the employee as being in a surplus organization or occupation,
whichever is earliest (see 5 CFR 330.610(a)).
3 FAM 2933.3 Expiration of
Eligibility
(CT:PER-785; 10-19-2015)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)
a. Eligibility ends on the date the employee:
(1) Separates from the Department either voluntarily
or involuntarily;
(2) Receives a notice rescinding, canceling, or
modifying the notice which established Career Transition Assistance Program
(CTAP) eligibility so that the employee no longer meets the definition of
surplus or displaced;
(3) Is placed in another position within the
Department at any grade or pay level, either permanent or time-limited, before
the Department separates the employee; or
(4) Is appointed to a career, career-conditional, or
excepted appointment without time limit in any agency at any grade or pay
level.
b. Declination of an offer or failure to respond within
a reasonable period of time (two weeks) to an offer of a permanent appointment
at any grade or pay level in the competitive or excepted service, for which the
employee has applied and been rated well-qualified may result in the employee
losing special selection priority eligibility for future Department vacancies.
When there are compelling reasons for declining the appointment, the employee
must submit his/her reasons in writing. The Director General or his/her
designee will determine whether the employee loses eligibility for special
selection priority for future vacancies within the Department.
3 FAM 2934 ORDER OF SELECTION FOR
FILLING COMPETITIVE SERVICE VACANCIES
(CT:PER-785; 10-19-2015)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)
Except as provided in 5 CFR 330.609, when filling
vacancies within the Department, a Bureau or Office must select an employee
eligible under this Program before selecting any other candidate from within or
outside of the Department.
3 FAM 2934.1 Agency Notification
(CT:PER-785; 10-19-2015)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)
The Bureaus Human Resources Service Provider (HRSP) will
take reasonable steps to ensure that eligible employees are notified of
Department vacancies and the requirements for them to be determined
well-qualified for the vacancy.
3 FAM 2934.2 Determining
Well-Qualified Employees
(CT:PER-785; 10-19-2015)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)
a. Once an employee is determined to be eligible for
special selection priority he/she must be able to obtain the necessary security
clearance(s) for the position. Additionally, in accordance with 5 CFR 330.606,
the employee must meet the criteria of a well-qualified employee as described
below:
(1) Meets the basic qualification standards and
eligibility requirements; for the position, including any medical
qualifications, suitability, minimum educational and experience requirements
and any applicable selective factors; and
(2) Is rated by the Department to be above minimally
qualified by earning a score of 85 or higher (when applicants are rated in a
range of 70 to 100) in accordance with the Departments specific rating and
ranking process. This means that the individual may or may not meet the
Departments criteria for best qualified, but would in fact, exceed the
minimum qualifications for the position.
(3) Is physically qualified, with or without
reasonable accommodation, to perform the essential duties of the position;
(4) Meets any special qualifying condition(s) that the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has
approved for the position; and
(5) Is able to satisfactorily perform the duties of
the position upon entry.
3 FAM 2934.3 Selection
(CT:PER-785; 10-19-2015)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)
a. Employees eligible for special selection priority
who apply to vacancies and are determined to be well-qualified will be referred
for consideration in alphabetical order.
b. The Department makes no distinction between an
eligible well-qualified displaced or surplus employee. When two or more
eligible displaced or surplus employees apply for a vacancy and are determined
to be well-qualified, the Bureau may select any of these eligible employees.
c. A Bureau cannot select another candidate from
within or outside of the Department as long as a well-qualified employee
eligible for special selection priority is available.
d. When no displaced or surplus employee applies or
none is deemed well-qualified, the Bureau must then select from the qualified
employees who are eligible for placement under the Departments Priority
Placement Program (PPP). When there are no candidates eligible for referral
under PPP, other applicants are referred in accordance with the Departments
Merit Promotion and Placement procedures or other application procedures.
3 FAM 2934.4 Second Level
Qualifications Review
(CT:PER-798; 01-04-2016)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)
a. Whenever an eligible employee is determined not to
be well-qualified during initial review of application package, an independent
second level review of the determination will be conducted and documented in
writing by:
(1) The Bureaus subject-matter expert, at or above
the grade level of the vacancy, or
(2) A qualified human resources specialist who did not
conduct the initial review of the eligible employees application package.
b. The Bureaus HRSP must advise the applicant of the
results of the second level review.
c. HR/CSRHM must be copied on the results of the
employees second level review.
3 FAM 2934.5 Dispute Resolution
(CT:PER-785; 10-19-2015)
(State Only)
(Applies to Civil Service Employees Only)
a. The Director General or his/her designee will
resolve any disputes between the HRSPs and the employee concerning special
selection priority and render a final decision.
b. Non-selection of an eligible well-qualified employee
must be documented in writing and submitted to the Bureau of Human Resources,
Office of Civil Service Human Resource Management (HR/CSHRM) for submission to
the Director General.
3 FAM 2935 THROUGH 2939 UNASSIGNED