The Merit Systems Protection Board has cautioned managers against deliberately doing anything in the way they design jobs or vacancy announcements to help or hinder particular job candidates, saying they could be found to have committed a prohibited personnel practice and be subject to disciplinary action.
It noted that under civil service law, "any employee who has authority to take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action, shall not, with respect to such authority…grant any preference or advantage not authorized by law, rule, or regulation to any employee or applicant for employment (including defining the scope or manner of competition or the requirements for any position) for the purpose of improving or injuring the prospects of any particular person for employment."
The trick is to let the process find the right person without any improper manipulation of the system. If a manager tasked with filling a position knows a particular subordinate would be a good fit, the manager should still consider knowledge, skills and abilities the preferred candidate might be lacking if they would enhance performance in the job.
The crediting plan should neither add unnecessary selection criteria just because a certain individual has it, nor should it omit legitimately job-related criteria because a certain individual does not have it, said MSPB, adding that managers should also avoid cherry-picking hiring authorities for the purpose of including or excluding any one person.
