Agencies still must apply competitive procedures for the purpose of implementing time-limited promotions in excess of 120 days. Image: Andrii Yalanskyi/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffOPM has finalized rules address pay-related issues arising when federal employees are assigned to higher-graded duties for a limited time through a detail or temporary promotion.
The rules in the July 25 Federal Register addresses pay issues involved in a series of FLRA decisions and prior OPM policy determinations for time-limited promotions. They clarify that employees who been non-competitively assigned to duties of a higher-graded position should be paid at the higher rate for the entire time if an arbitrator, court or an adjudicative body such as the MSPB finds the employee to be eligible for a temporary retroactive promotion, or as a result of a settlement agreement.
While the FLRA rulings involved only bargaining unit employees, the same principle would apply to non-bargaining unit employees “for the sake of consistency and fairness,” the notice said.
OPM meanwhile reminded agencies that they “must apply competitive procedures for the purpose of implementing time-limited promotions in excess of 120 days, whether the employee is a bargaining unit employee or non-bargaining unit employee.”
“For situations where agencies have more immediate, short-term needs of 120 days or less, it is appropriate for agencies to non-competitively assign higher-graded duties to qualified employees to meet these needs,” it said, but “competitive procedures should always be followed if the agency anticipates the assignment of higher-graded duties may exceed 120 days.”
“If the agency incorrectly anticipates the assignment of higher-graded duties will last 120 days or less but later determines the need exceeds 120 days, the agency must follow competitive procedures for assignment of such duties beyond 120 days for any particular employee or assign the higher-graded work to another qualified employee, up to, but not exceeding 120 days,” it added.
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