OPM has issued interim rules carrying out a change in law to allow an agency to share a competitive certificate with one or more others, allowing them to rate the individual for hiring purposes without having to assess that person separately.
The rules, along with several other sets of rules and guidance, were issued in the waning days of the Obama administration and before the Trump administration imposed a general moratorium on new issuances.
Under traditional rules, components of a department or agency may share certificates among each other, which speeds hiring when multiple vacancies for the same duties exist around the larger organization, OPM said. “The new process will benefit agencies who may make selections from among the top rated applicants readily available, as well as applicants who through one job application may now be considered for more public service opportunities in their desired federal occupation,” the notice in the Federal Register says.
The rules require that the second position be in the same occupational series, grade level and duty location, that the vacancy announcement state that the resulting certificate may be used by other agencies, and that applicants assented to have their job application shared. The originating agency further must maintain a record of any agencies with whom the certificate was shared, in case a situation arises–such as an allegation of discrimination–that requires reconstruction of a hiring action.
An agency seeking to use another agency’s certificate must provide advance notice of the available position to its own employees, give them up to 10 days to apply, and review their qualifications before it can make a selection from the certificate from the original hiring agency.
The rules are effective February 17 on an interim basis although OPM is seeking comments through March 19.
