[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 107 (Monday, June 4, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29895-29897]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13917]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
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Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 107 / Monday, June 4, 2001 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 29895]]
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Parts 330, 332, 351, 353
RIN 3206-AJ32
Career Transition Assistance for Surplus and Displaced Federal
Employees
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Interim regulation with request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management is issuing interim
regulations making the current career transition assistance programs
permanent to help Federal employees displaced from their jobs by
downsizing. These interim regulations remove the September 30, 2001
sunset date and reporting requirements and eliminate the Interagency
Placement Program.
DATES: This interim regulation is effective on June 4, 2001. We will
consider written comments received by August 3, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Send or deliver written comments to: Richard A. Whitford,
Acting Associate Director for Employment, Office of Personnel
Management; Suite 6500, 1900 E Street NW., Washington, DC 20415-9000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Jacqueline Yeatman on (202) 606-0960,
FAX (202) 606-2329, TDD (202) 606-0023 or by email at:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: It has long been the Federal Government's
policy to help displaced workers affected by downsizing and
restructuring find other employment, either within the Government or
the private sector. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has
provided placement priority for employees affected by downsizing since
at least 1970, by regulation. Before 1996, this consisted of the
Displaced Employee Program/Interagency Placement Assistance Program
(DEP/IPAP), later followed by the Interagency Placement Program (IPP).
All of these programs operated under a passive model with centralized
inventories, or ``lists'' of separated Federal employees. Agencies
received these lists only when they planned to fill a vacancy through a
competitive appointment register or certificate. Placement rates for
these programs were relatively low for several reasons. In many cases,
agencies filled jobs through the transfer or reinstatement of current
or former Federal employees--and these actions did not generate IPP
referral lists. In other cases, candidates on the placement list were
unreachable, unavailable, or uninterested by the time their name was
referred for a job.
In 1995, OPM published regulations temporarily suspending the IPP
and establishing the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and
Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP). The regulations
were developed in cooperation with representatives from agencies and
employee unions. These new programs were based on the ``employee
empowerment'' model--an entirely different premise from previous
placement programs. The idea was relatively simple--affected employees
get the resources and information they need, coupled with meaningful
hiring priority for Federal jobs, to help them take charge of their job
search as early and effectively as possible. Placement data suggest
that when employees take an active role in their own transition, faster
and better placements result. The designers of these programs also
believed that giving only well-qualified displaced employees hiring
priority would improve the quality of placements made and reduce the
``stigma'' sometimes associated with selection priority. Because this
was a new and untested approach to the placement of former Federal
employees, the regulations included reporting requirements and a sunset
date. This gave OPM the opportunity to evaluate these programs and
determine their usefulness. On July 27, 1999, OPM published regulations
extending the sunset date through September 30, 2001.
Each year, OPM gathers information from Executive Branch agencies
on their use of CTAP and ICTAP, as well as data on involuntary
separations and hiring. We can assess the effectiveness of the existing
placement programs using this information. The data show that agencies
hired 1,182 displaced employees through ICTAP in the past four years.
This represents a placement rate that is significantly higher than
under the IPP. The CTAP and ICTAP programs combined have placed nearly
4,000 surplus or displaced employees since 1996. When the results for
the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program (PPP) and agency
Reemployment Priority Lists (RPLs) are added, the overall placement
rate approaches 50% of those eligible. It is true that, over the last
four years, the number of placements through CTAP and ICTAP has
decreased--but this is not surprising, since fewer employees have
become surplus or displaced and the number of involuntary separations
has dropped off as well. Significantly, the placement rate (the
proportion of those placed relative to the number of RIF separations)
has stayed about the same. This tells us that our existing placement
programs are effective tools whether downsizing activity is widespread
or limited.
If we allow the current placement programs to expire in 2001, the
Government's primary placement tool will once again be the IPP. Based
on the lower placement rate of the IPP, and the long-standing
dissatisfaction of agencies with its operation, we concluded that this
is not a viable option. During the IPP era, agencies used centralized
registers for most competitive Federal hiring; today's environment of
decentralized and delegated job-by-job examining does not lend itself
to a centralized, placement-list approach. The IPP added more time to
the recruitment process--time agencies cannot afford to lose in today's
fast-moving and highly competitive job market. In addition, the IPP
sets significantly lower standards for qualification and demonstrated
performance, making it less likely to result in good placements. In
contrast, CTAP and ICTAP give the employee more control over the
process, are decentralized and faster, and set higher standards for
``matches.'' OPM and the Human Resources Management Council's Executive
Committee (composed of human resource directors
[[Page 29896]]
from cabinet departments, large agencies, and representatives from
small agencies) concluded that returning to the IPP would be a step
backward for the Federal Government's placement process.
While ICTAP was designed primarily to help employees affected by
reductions in force, it is a crucial program for other reasons. The
regulations currently provide two years of ICTAP selection priority to
veterans in certain restricted positions affected by competitive
outsourcing under OMB Circular A-76 procedures (see 5 CFR part 330,
subpart D). Former employees trying to return to work after long-term
recovery from compensable injuries, former disability annuitants who
have recovered, and disabled National Guard Technicians have been using
ICTAP selection priority to return to work. In addition, placement
programs for some District of Columbia Department of Corrections
employees (5 CFR part 330, subpart K) and employees affected by the
turnover of the Panama Canal (5 CFR part 330, subpart L) were patterned
after ICTAP and use many of the same regulatory provisions. If we let
the current programs sunset, it would affect all of these former
employees.
CTAP and ICTAP provide a continual ``safety net'' that is always
available when needed, but does not significantly hamper other
personnel processes when not needed. Given the continuing need for a
placement safety net for employees, we believe it makes sense to remove
the sunset date from these regulatory provisions. Therefore, this
regulation, when finalized, will permanently eliminate the IPP and
replace it with the CTAP and ICTAP. In a related change, we are
eliminating the agency reporting requirements under CTAP and ICTAP to
reduce the administrative burden on agencies and because these reports,
originally designed to monitor agency progress when these programs were
initially established, are no longer necessary. We are also deleting
references to the IPP in parts 332, 351 and 353 and replacing them with
ICTAP where appropriate.
We are issuing this regulation as interim for several reasons.
Because these placement programs would otherwise expire in September
2001, displaced employees need to know now whether they will get the
one year of eligibility to which they would normally be entitled.
Although current downsizing activity has tapered off significantly
since the peak of a few years ago, agencies such as the Department of
Defense and others are still implementing base closures, restructuring,
and consolidations. In addition, the potential effects of privatization
or outsourcing initiatives make these placement programs critical for
those employees wishing to pursue other Federal employment options
rather than accepting private employment. Finally, there are employees
recovering from disability or injury who may need to use this program
for help in getting back to work. In summary, we want to ensure that
these important and effective placement tools for Federal employees
remain in place. This will help the Federal Government maintain its
image as an employer who values employees and treats them with concern
even when restructuring is necessary.
While we are not proposing any changes to the way these programs
will operate at this time, we believe there is room for improvement. We
plan to work with Federal agencies, employees, and other stakeholders
on ways to improve and streamline the entire portfolio of placement
programs for displaced employees. Any changes resulting from this
effort would be published as proposed regulations, with request for
comment, to allow for maximum dialogue on these issues.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
I certify that this regulation will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities because it affects
only certain Government employees.
Executive Order 12866, Regulatory Review
This rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget
in accordance with Executive Order 12866.
List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 330
Armed forces reserves, Government employees.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
Steven R. Cohen,
Acting Director.
Accordingly, OPM is amending parts 330, 332, 351 and 353 as
follows:
PART 330--RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, AND PLACEMENT (GENERAL)
1. The authority citation for part 330 is revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 1302, 3301, 3302; E.O. 10577, 3 CFR 1954-58
Comp., p. 218; Sec. 330.102 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3327; subpart
B also issued under 5 U.S.C. 3315 and 8151; Sec. 330.401 also issued
under 5 U.S.C. 3310; subpart G also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8337(h)
and 8457(b); subpart K also issued under sec. 11203 of Pub. Law 105-
33 (111 Stat. 738) and Pub. Law 105-274 (112 Stat. 2424); subpart L
also issued under sec. 1232 of Pub. L. 96-70, 93 Stat. 452.
Subpart C--Reserved
Secs. 330.301--330.307 [Reserved]
2. In part 330, subpart C consisting of Secs. 330.301 through
330.307, is removed and reserved.
Subpart F--Agency Career Transition Assistance Plans (CTAP) for
Local Surplus and Displaced Employees
Secs. 330.603 and 330.610 [Removed and reserved]
3. In Subpart F, Secs. 330.603 and 330.610 are removed and
reserved.
Subpart G--Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan for
Displaced Employees
Secs. 330.702 and 330.710 [Removed and reserved]
4. In Subpart G, Secs. 330.702 and 330.710 are removed and
reserved.
PART 332--RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION THROUGH COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION
5. The authority citation for part 332 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5. U.S.C. 1302, 3301, 3302; E.O. 10577, 3 CFR, 1954-
1958 Comp., p. 218.
Sec. 332.314 [Removed and reserved]
6. Section 332.314 is removed and reserved.
PART 351--REDUCTION IN FORCE
7. The authority citation for part 351 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 1302, 3502, 3503; sec. 351.801 also issued
under E.O. 12828, 58 FR 2965.
8. In Sec. 351.807, paragraph (f) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 351.807 Certification of Expected Separation.
* * * * *
(f) An agency may also enroll eligible employees on the agency's
Reemployment Priority List up to 6 months in advance of a reduction in
force. For requirements and criteria, see subpart B of part 330 of this
chapter.
PART 353--RESTORATION TO DUTY FROM UNIFORMED SERVICE OR COMPENSABLE
INJURY
9. The authority citation for part 353 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 38 U.S.C. 4301 et seq., and 5 U.S.C. 8151.
[[Page 29897]]
10. In Sec. 353.110, paragraph (b) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 353.110 OPM Placement Assistance.
* * * * *
(b) Employee returning from compensable injury. OPM will provide
placement assistance to an employee with restoration rights in the
executive, legislative, or judicial branches who cannot be placed in
his or her former agency and who either has competitive status or is
eligible to acquire it under 5 U.S.C. 3304(C). If the employee's agency
is abolished and its functions are not transferred, or it is not
possible for the employee to be restored in his or her former agency,
the employee is eligible for placement assistance under the Interagency
Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) under part 330, subpart G, of
this chapter. This paragraph does not apply to an employee serving
under a temporary appointment pending establishment of a register
(TAPER).
[FR Doc. 01-13917 Filed 6-1-01; 8:45 am]
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