1. PURPOSE AND POLICY
a) The purpose of this Article is to ensure that vacancies in the bargaining unit will be filled based on merit, without discrimination for any reason such as race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, political preference, labor organization affiliation or nonaffiliation, marital status, or nondisqualifying handicap. The filling of positions will be made in accordance with the merit system principles found in 5 U.S.C. 2301.
b) It is agreed that the Employer will make every reasonable effort to utilize the skills and talents of Employees to the maximum extent possible to achieve mission goals.
c) It is the goal of the Employer to strive to achieve a culturally diverse workforce which demonstrates a commitment to DOI/USGS diversity goals by improving gender, ethnic, racial and disability composition of the organization's work force.
2. AREA OF CONSIDERATION
a) The minimum area of consideration will be departmentwide while the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) regulations are in effect and there are special selection priority eligibles in the local commuting area of the position being filled. In addition, regulations governing the Reemployment Priority List and the USGS Repromotion Consideration Placement Assistance programs will be coordinated with the advertisement of bargaining unit positions. Otherwise, the area of consideration will be determined by the selecting official.
b) When there are no special selection priority eligibles under Placement Assistance Programs for the position being filled, first consideration will be given in filling vacant positions to Employees within the bargaining unit. This will not prevent outside applicants from applying, provided they specifically apply for the vacancy being filled and they are rated and ranked by the same merit promotion panel as local Employees.
c) An Employee who is absent for a legitimate reason (detail, leave, training, IPA, military service, etc.), will receive appropriate consideration for positions for which they indicate in writing prior to departure that they wish to receive consideration. The written request must contain a resume, Optional Application for Federal Employment (OF-612), or other written application format and must be left with the Employee's supervisor and the bureau personnel office prior to departure.
3. ACTIONS COVERED BY COMPETITIVE PROCEDURES. Competitive procedures will apply to the following types of personnel actions involving bargaining unit positions:
a) Promotions except for those listed in Section 4 of this Article;
b) Temporary promotions for more than 120 days (see section 14d of this Article);
c) Details over 120 days to higher grade positions or to positions with known promotion potential greater than the position last held (see section 14d of this Article);
d) Selection for training which is given primarily to prepare Employees for advancement and/or is required for promotion such as Upward Mobility or other development programs;
e) Reassignment or demotion to a position with greater promotion potential than a position last held on a permanent basis (this normally happens during a RIF which by definition is a competitive procedure).
f) Reinstatement to a permanent or temporary position at a higher grade or with higher promotion potential than any position previously held by the Employee on a permanent basis in the competitive service.
4. WHEN COMPETITIVE PROCEDURES DO NOT APPLY. Competitive procedures will not apply to the following types of personnel actions involving bargaining unit positions:
a) Promotion resulting from upgrading a position, without significant change in duties and responsibilities, due to issuance of a new classification standard or the correction of an initial classification error;
b) Position change permitted by reduction-in-force regulations;
c) Career promotion without current competition when at an earlier stage an Employee was selected under competitive promotion procedures for an assignment intended to prepare the Employee for the position being filled such as Upward Mobility or other development programs and career ladders;
d) Career ladder promotion following noncompetitive conversion of a Student Career Experience Program Employee or a Presidential Management Intern, or by filling a position through use of a Special Employment Program Appointing Authority (e.g., appointment of the handicapped, appointment of a Veterans Readjustment Program eligible, etc.);
e) Change from a position having known promotion potential to one having no higher potential;
f) Temporary promotion or detail to a higher grade or a position with known promotion potential of 120 days or less;
g) Promotion to a grade previously held on a permanent basis from which an Employee was separated or demoted for other than performance or conduct reasons;
h) Priority consideration of a candidate not given proper consideration in a competitive promotion action;
i) Promotion as a result of a formal finding of discrimination under EEOC regulations, or promotions directed by judges, arbitrators, or other appropriate authorities;
j) Selection of a candidate from a Reemployment Priority List or the USGS Repromotion Consideration Program in accordance with appropriate regulations;
k) Promotion, reassignment, demotion, transfer or reinstatement to a position having promotion potential no greater than the potential of a position an Employee currently holds or previously held on a permanent basis in the competitive service;
l) Promotion resulting from an Employee's position being reclassified at a higher grade because of additional duties and responsibilities (accretion of duties).
5. LATERAL REASSIGNMENTS. The Parties agree to allow bargaining unit Employees the maximum opportunity in consideration for reassignment opportunities within the MAC. Whenever possible, the Employer will "announce" reassignment opportunities via an e-mail to all MAC Employees. The Employer agrees to give fair and equitable consideration to all qualified Employees who expressed an interest.
The Parties further agree to use volunteers to the fullest extent possible when making involuntary reassignments to meet the Employees needs and when appropriate to use inverse MAC seniority when volunteers are unavailable or do not meet the reassignments results necessary.
6. VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT. All vacancies which are formally advertised under the USGS Merit Promotion Plan shall be appropriately publicized to ensure that all Employees have an equal opportunity to participate in the Merit Promotion Program.
a) Announcements for bargaining unit positions will be posted on bulletin boards in MAC and a list of vacancies will be routed through each unit. The Employer will provide the Union with a listing of vacancies and copies of announcements concurrent with the posting.
b) Vacancy announcements will include the following:
(1) announcement number;
(2) grade, title, series of position(s);
(3) organizational location;
(4) tenure of position;
(5) opening and closing dates;
(6) work schedule;
(7) qualification requirements;
(8) selective placement factors;
(9) bargaining unit designation, if applicable;
(10) application guidelines;
(11) equal employment opportunity statement;
(12) security clearance requirement, if applicable;
(13) summary of duties;
(14) any special working conditions, such as rotating shifts, night work, etc.
c) The quality ranking and selective placement factor, "Ability to communicate interpersonally and in writing" will be used in lieu of "Ability to communicate orally and in writing," and will not be used to discriminate against deaf and hearing- impaired candidates or have other disabilities.
d) If a position is announced as temporary and the announcement does not state that it may become permanent, the position will be reannounced if it becomes permanent.
e) The quality ranking and selective placement factors for positions to be filled through merit promotion procedures shall be relevant to such positions.
7. EVALUATION PANELS.
a) An evaluation panel comprised of three (3) subject matter experts will be used for positions with ten (10) or more qualified applicants. Each candidate will be evaluated using the quality ranking and selective placement factors identified by the Employer, with consideration given to awards received in the last five (5) years.
b) No member of the evaluation panel may transmit any information to any applicant or other unauthorized person.
8. PRIORITY CONSIDERATION.
a) USGS Repromotion Consideration Program. Employees who are eligible for grade or pay retention are eligible for repromotion consideration if they have been affected by a reduction-in-force or their positions have been reduced in grade by reclassification. The grade or full performance level of the advertised position must be higher than that of the Employee's current position; and the full performance level of the advertised position must not be higher than the actual grade the Employee held immediately prior to effecting the action that made them eligible for this program. Employees must:
(1) apply to a specific merit promotion vacancy announcement in their local commuting area by submitting an application/resume by the closing date; and
(2) must specifically request consideration under the USGS Repromotion Consideration Program on their application/resume.
Procedures for Repromotion Consideration:
1. Employees become eligible for repromotion consideration under this program upon the effective date of their retained grade or pay.
2. Eligibility under this program ends two (2) years from the effective date of the action that placed them on grade or pay retention, or when grade or pay retention ceases, whichever occurs first.
3. A separate referral list of basically qualified repromotion consideration program candidates will be sent to the selecting official along with the merit promotion certificate. The selecting official may select or not select from either list, and will provide a written statement documenting the basis for selection or nonselection on the appropriate form.
b) For Employees Not Given Proper Consideration. An Employee who was not given proper consideration due to a procedural violation or error in a previous competitive placement action will be given priority consideration, for a period of six (6) months, for the next appropriate vacancy (same title, series, grade, full performance level and duty station) before any recruitment action is initiated. This means the Employee must be referred to the selecting official for consideration before using the competitive procedures. If selected on the basis of priority consideration, the Employee is promoted or reassigned noncompetitively.
Procedures for Priority Consideration:
1. Prior to issuance of a Merit Promotion announcement or request for a certificate of eligibles from the OPM, the Employer will provide the selecting official with a list of Employees eligible for priority consideration.
2. The selecting official will give bonafide consideration to those Employees on the priority consideration list.
3. The Employer will notify the Employee of nonselection under priority consideration.
Nonselection under this section will not preclude an Employee from subsequent selection from the best qualified list for the same position.
9. SELECTION PROCEDURES.
a) All candidates on the best qualified list will be referred to the selecting official in alphabetical order.
b) All candidates on the best qualified list will be interviewed. The Employer is responsible for conducting the interviews fairly and ensuring that interview questions are job related. The Employer will provide interpreting services for hearing impaired and deaf candidates. Every effort should be made to obtain the same information from each candidate.
c) The selecting official has the right to select or not to select any candidate referred and will normally render a decision within twenty (20) work days after completion of all interviews. Selections will be made based on merit factors relating to the job to be filled. The Employer will notify the Union when a selection is made outside the bargaining unit for placement in a vacant bargaining unit position.
d) In the case where no one is selected for an announced position, the Employer will document why no selection was made on the appropriate form, and indicate whether any further recruitment action is necessary.
10. UNION REVIEW OF COMPETITIVE ACTIONS.
a) The Union will be permitted to conduct a review of the merit promotion file for a bargaining unit position in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 7114(b)(4) and the appropriate provisions of the Privacy Act.
b) The Union will provide the Bureau personnel office with the name of the Union representative who is responsible for conducting the review and reason for the review on a case-by-case basis. The representative designated to conduct the review will not have been an applicant for the promotion file being reviewed, nor eligible for similar positions.
11. SUPERVISORY APPRAISAL. Employees may obtain supervisory appraisals from current or past supervisors, and may obtain more than one supervisory appraisal. However, the submission of a supervisory appraisal is not mandatory but is strongly recommended.
12. NON SELECTED EMPLOYEE RIGHTS. An Employee may obtain the following information concerning any Merit Promotion announcement for which he/she applied for consideration, or for which the Employee was entitled to priority consideration by making a request to the appropriate staffing specialist.
a) Whether the Employee met the qualification requirements for the position;
b) Whether the Employee was one of those in the group from which the selection was made;
c) Numerical point scores assigned to individuals as a result of the application of the crediting plan.
d) Who was selected; and
e) The reason the Employee was not selected and in what areas, if any, the Employee should improve to increase chances of future promotion. This information should also be requested from the selecting official.
13. CAREER LADDER PROMOTIONS. Employees within a career ladder who have received a "Results Achieved" rating on their most recent performance appraisal will normally be promoted to the next grade in the ladder when:
a) they have met time-in-grade requirements,
b) demonstrated the ability to assume responsibility and perform at the higher grade and
c) work is available at the higher grade level on a continuous basis.
Any Employee who is in a career ladder position and receives a "Results Not Achieved" rating must be placed on a performance improvement plan in accordance with Article 21.
14. DETAILS/TEMPORARY PROMOTION.
a) Official Credit. Details of more than thirty (30) days shall be recorded in the Employee's Official Personnel Folder (OPF) and copies of the record forwarded to the Employee. Details of less than thirty (30) days will be documented by memorandum from the supervisor.
b) Temporary Promotion. Temporary promotions may be made when an Employee is temporarily placed in a higher grade position, or in a position having known promotion potential when the Employee otherwise meets the qualifications for the higher level position. The Employee shall be paid commensurate with the position to which temporarily promoted. Temporary promotions of more than 120 days will be made based on competitive procedures.
c) If there is more than one qualified bargaining unit Employee who could perform the duties of a detail for 120 days or less, the Employer may solicit volunteers from all qualified candidates. The Employer is free to select from among volunteers without the benefit of competitive procedures.
d) The detail procedure shall not become a device to afford certain individuals an undue opportunity to gain qualifying experience or to prevent others from gaining such experience. Selection for details shall be based solely on the requirements of the work and the qualifications of the selectee. The Employer agrees to consider the rotation of details to a higher level or in a different line of work among similarly qualified Employees on a fair and equitable basis.