OPM has sent guidance on a law passed last year allowing certain individuals who are serving or who have served under a time-limited competitive service appointment in a land management agency to compete for a permanent position in the competitive service when the hiring agency is accepting applications from within its own workforce under merit promotion procedures.
The change was enacted in response to concerns raised by individuals who had worked on temporary assignments—in some cases, numerous times—but who were locked out for permanent vacancies by the internal merit promotion advantage of others.
The law is now effective “and agencies must apply it when receiving applications to fill a vacancy pursuant to merit promotion procedures in a competition that is otherwise limited to internal candidates,” said a memo to agency.
OPM said it will issue implementing rules but for the meantime it has published questions and answers regarding the authority as an attachment to the memo, sent through the Chief Human Capital Officers Council.
