a. Project Legislation: The Project legislative authorities for the staffing provisions are Sections 10(b)(7), (9), and (10):
- Section 10(b)(10) provides that "The methods for establishing qualification requirements for, recruitment for, and appointment to positions shall, at the discretion of the Director, include methods involving direct examination and hiring.
- Section 10(b)(7) provides that "recruitment and retention allowances, shall be awarded in appropriate circumstances (but shall not be considered a part of base pay)."
- Section 10(b)(9) provides that "Payment of travel expenses shall be provided for personnel to their first post of duty in the same manner as is authorized for members of the Senior Executive Service under section 5723 of title 5, United States Code, at the discretion of the Director."
b. Coverage: The staffing provisions apply to all positions covered by the Project, except SES and 5 U.S.C. 3104 (ST) positions, which are covered by OPM and Department of Commerce staffing procedures. Generally, permanent positions in the ZA and ZP Career Paths covered by the Luevano Consent Decree cannot be filled under direct examination procedures. However, positions in Pay Band II may be filled using direct examination if the appointee's salary is set at a rate that is equivalent to the GS-9 step 1 or above on the applicable rate range of the General Schedule.
c. Objectives:
- To attract high-quality applicants.
- To make the hiring process shorter and more efficient.
- To retain good performers.
d. Overview:
- New examining and hiring procedures coupled with simplified classification procedures shorten the hiring process. Other features, such as payment of recruiting allowances, help attract applicants in essential occupations. Retention allowances are used to retain highly skilled and productive employees.
- NIST uses several staffing options including Direct Hire (critical shortage occupations and critical shortage highly-qualified applicants), Delegated Examining, Agency-Based Staffing, Merit Assignment, Reinstatement, Reassignment and other appointing authorities. Managers, working with Human Resources Management Division (HRMD) staff, determine the appropriate hiring strategy in each case.
- All vacancies are treated on a case-by-case basis and managers have the option of choosing one or a combination of the applicable staffing options.
- Examination and hiring procedures are administered by NIST.
a. General Coverage: Status and non-status applicants may be hired under this authority.
b. Critical Shortage Occupational Coverage: The following direct hire critical shortage occupations are defined as hard-to-fill occupational series which have special pay rates or require critical job-specific skills that are in short supply. The following categories are currently covered; other categories may be included depending upon the annual listing of special rate of pay.
- ZP Career Path: All Engineer, Computer Scientist, Metallurgist, Mathematical Statistician, and Information Technology Specialist at Pay Band I through Pay Band V. All other ZP series at Pay Band III and above.
- ZT Career Path: Nuclear Reactor Operator at Pay Band III and above.
- Applications are received in response to open continuous announcements advertised through OPM's USA Jobs Website. Applications received are maintained in the NIST Applicant Supply File (ASF).
- For employment consideration, applicants must submit a complete application along with all required supplemental information.
- Authorized staff of the Human Resources Management Division are trained as examiners.
- OPM, Operating Manual, Qualifications Standards for General Schedul Positions, is used to determine an applicant's minimum qualifications, except that NIST is exempt from written test requirements.
- Applicants are examined only for the occupation and level of the position being filled.
- Selective placement factors are used when warranted. All applicants must be accorded the opportunity to address selective placement factors, if used.
e. Rating, Ranking, and Referral of Applicants in the Applicant Supply File (ASF):
- When there are not more than three qualified applicants and none is a veteran preference eligible or an ICTAP eligible, or an applicant who lost consideration due to erroneous certification, no rating or ranking occurs and all qualified applicants are referred for consideration. If a name request is the only qualified applicant, no referral list is prepared.
- When there are more than three qualified applicants or when at least one applicant is a veteran preference eligible, or an ICTAP eligible, or an applicant who lost consideration due to erroneous certification, further rating and ranking is required. A crediting plan is used and applicants are rated according to the plan. Qualified applicants are awarded 70 points for meeting the basic qualification requirements. An additional 30 points may be awarded through the application of the crediting plan, i.e., the rating and ranking process. In addition, applicants eligible for veterans preference will receive an additional 5 or 10 points, as appropriate. After the scores are totaled, the names of the top three applicants will be referred to the selecting official on a Certificate of Eligibles, as follows:
(a) For all positions except scientific and engineering positions at or above the pay band III, the names of ICTAP eligibles are listed first. Second are eligibles who lost consideration due to erroneous certification. Third are veteran preference eligibles with a service-connected disability of 10% or more (CP and CPS applicants) regardless of their score. Thus, a lower scoring veteran preference eligible with a disability of 10% or more is referred ahead of a higher scoring veteran preference eligible with no disability or a disability lower than 10% (TP and XP applicant). Fourth are all remaining eligibles; the names are listed in score order, with preference veteran eligibles listed ahead of non-preference eligibles who have the same score.
(b) For scientific and engineering positions at or above pay band III, the names of ICTAP eligibles are listed first, then the names of applicants who lost consideration due to erroneous certification and then the names of all other applicants in score order, with preference eligibles listed ahead of non-preference eligibles who have the same score.
(c) If a tie score occurs among candidates ranked third, all individuals with that score are referred. OPM suggested tie-breaking methods are used to break ties.
f. Objecting to an Eligible/ Passing Over a Veteran Preference Eligible: Requests for objection or passover of preference eligible veterans and all applicants must be in accordance with Department of Commerce, Office of Human Resources Management Bulletin #089, FY08, dated September 3, 2008.
g. Notification of Applicants: Applicants receive automatic notification of the receipt of their application.
h. Reconsideration: Applicants may request, in writing to the Human Resources Officer, reconsideration of the qualifications, rating, and ranking determinations made by the Human Resources Management Division staff (the Human Resources Officer is not involved in initial qualifications, rating, and ranking determinations). A request must explain why the original determination was improper and what factors were not considered, and should provide any other pertinent information which would enable the Human Resources Officer to reevaluate the decision. Applicants determined to have "lost consideration" receive priority referral for the next vacancy in the same career path, series, and pay band for which qualified. They have priority consideration over all other applicants, including preference eligibles and RPL, CTAP, and ICTAP eligibles.
i. Retention of Records: ASF applications are retained for 90 days. Case files are retained for two years after completion of the selection process.
a. General Coverage: Status and non-status applicants may be hired under this authority.
b. Applicant Coverage: Applicants who meet high academic standards are critical shortage highly qualified applicants. They are eligible for direct hire into the Scientific and Engineering (ZP) and Scientific and Engineering Technician (ZT) career paths as follows:
- ZP Career Path: Pay Bands I and II applicants having a bachelor's degree with at least a 2.9 GPA out of 4.0 or a Master's Degree.
- ZT Career Path: Pay Bands I and II applicants with at least a 2.9 GPA out of 4.0 in a two or four year program in an accredited college, junior college, or technical institution and candidates for positions at Pay Band II who have at least a 2.9 GPA in 4 years of college study.
c. Recruitment Procedures: Refer to Section 2.c.
d. Examination of Applicants: Refer to Section 2.d.
e. Rating, Ranking, and Referral of Applicants in ASF: Refer to Section 2.e.
f. Objecting to an Eligible/Passing Over a Veteran Preference Eligible: Refer to Section 2.f.
g. Notification of Applicants: Refer to Section 2.g.
h. Reconsideration: Refer to Section 2.h.
i. Retention of Records: Refer to Section 2.i.
a. General Coverage: Status and non-status applicants may be hired under this authority.
b. Position Coverage: All positions in all occupations and pay bands are covered by agency-based procedures.
c. Recruitment Procedures:
- Each position filled under agency-based procedures is advertised a minimum of ten days. The minimum area of consideration is All Qualified Applicants.
- For employment consideration, applicants must submit a complete application and any required supplemental information.
d. Examination of Applicants:
- Authorized staff of the Human Resources Management Division are trained as examiners to review applications.
- OPM Operating Manual, Qualifications Standards for General Schedule Positions, is used to determine an applicant's basic qualifications, except that NIST is exempt from written test requirements.
- Applicants are examined only for the occupation and level of position being filled.
- Selective placement factors are used where warranted.
e. Rating and Ranking and Referral of Applicants:
NIST uses the Department of Commerce's automated vacancy announcement and application system. This is a web-based system that provides for the on-line announcement of vacancy announcements, on-line application for vacant positions, automatic ranking of applicants against the criteria established and advertised in the vacancy announcement, and the on-line issuance of the certificate of eligibles to the selecting official.
OPM Delegated Examining rating and ranking requirements are built into the DOC automatic vacancy announcement and application system. [See Section 2e Rating, Ranking and Referral of Applicants in the Applicant Supply File (ASF)].
f. Objecting to an Eligible/Passing Over a Veteran Preference Eligible: See Section 2.f.
g. Notification of Applicants: Applicants receive automatic notification of the receipt of their application from the system when they apply for the job.
h. Tracking of the Status of the Staffing Action: Applicants can track the status of their application by going to the USAJOBS website and clicking on “My Application.” At this web site applicants can check the status of Current and closed NIST job vacancies.
i. Reconsideration: See Section 2.h.
j. Retention of Records: See Section 2.i.
a. General Coverage: The Merit Assignment Program covers status applicants only. The NIST Merit Assignment Program is found in the NIST Administrative Manual, and on the internal Human Resources Web Site.
a. Methods: NIST uses paid advertisements in journals, professional magazines, e-commerce and newspapers to expand recruiting sources and attract the best applicants.
b. Authority: Selecting officials have authority for paid advertising, including authority to use paid advertising in the initial stages of recruitment. The Human Resources Management Division reviews the content of the advertisement for regulatory compliance.
The probation period for the ZP career path is a minimum of one year but can be extended up to a maximum of three years.
a. Coverage: All Scientific and Engineering Career Path hires after January 1, 1988, are covered.
b. Exclusions:
- If a ZP selectee is already in the Federal Service, has status, and has completed a probation period and was selected under the Merit Assignment Program procedures, no new probation period is required.
- If a ZP selectee is already in the Federal Service and has status but is appointed under direct hire or agency based procedures, a new probationary period must be served. Credit may be granted toward the completion of this new probationary period if the prior service:
- Was in the same agency, e.g., Department of Commerce
- Was in the same line of work based on the actual duties and responsibilities; and
- Contains or was followed by a single break in service of less than thirty calendar days.
c. Options: Each year that the employee is on probation (up to three years), the supervisor is asked to decide whether to:
- end probation (change the employee from probationary to nonprobationary status);
- continue the employee on probation; or
- terminate the appointment.
a. The qualifications required for placement within a pay band and within a career path are based on present qualification requirements in OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, except that testing requirements are not used.
b. The minimum qualification requirements for a position are the OPM Qualifications Standards for the occupational series and for the lowest General Schedule grade incorporated in the pay band.
c. NIST may update these standards to reflect current practices in the scientific, engineering, and computer science fields and recent curricula in recognized degree programs. When new occupation series are defined, new minimum qualification standards are written following the pattern of OPM Qualification Standards
a. General:
- Recruitment Allowances and Bonuses are used to provide incentives for individuals in professional or hard-to fill positions to enter in the Federal service.
- Decisions on allowances and bonuses are based on market factors such as salary comparability and salary offer issues; relocation and dislocation issues; programmatic urgency; emerging technologies; turnover rates; special qualifications; and shortage categories or scarcity positions unique to NIST as defined by the PMB.
- A Recruitment Allowance authorized under the NIST Alternative Personnel System may be a lump sum payment or paid in increments over a period of time determined by the OU Director, not to exceed 36 months and not to exceed $10,000. It is not considered part of an employee's rate of base pay for any purposes.
- A Recruitment Bonus authorized by Title 5 U.S.C. 5753 shall be calculated as a percentage of the employee's annual rate of basic pay (not to exceed 25 percent) and paid as a lump sum. It is not considered part of an employee's rate of basic pay for any purpose.
b. Coverage: All scientific, engineering and other hard-to-fill positions are covered.
c. Service Agreement: Recruitment bonus may be paid, the employee must sign a written service agreement to complete a specified period of employment. The minimum period shall be six (6) months.
d. Authority: Based on the determination factors above, Recruitment Allowances and Bonuses are approved by the appropriate OU Director.
a. General:
(1) Retention allowances may be paid to a current employee or group of employees if the unusually high or unique qualification of the employee or group, or a special need of the agency for the employee's services makes it essential to retain the employee or group of employees.
(2) A Retention Allowance authorized under the NIST Alternative Personnel System must be paid in increments over a period of time determined by the Chair, PMB, not to exceed 36 months and not to exceed $10,000. It is not considered basic pay for any purpose.
(b) A Retention Allowance authorized by Title 5 U.S.C. 5754 allows payment of a retention allowance of up to 25 percent of basic pay to a current employee or up to 10% for a group of employees. It is paid in the same manner and at the same time as basic pay; however, it is not considered basic pay for any purpose.
b. Service Agreement for Retention Allowances/Bonus:
- Receipt of a Retention Allowance/Bonus authorized under the NIST APMS represents a commitment by the employee to remain at NIST for a specified time period of from 6 to 36 months, to be determined between the individual and the hiring official.
(a) The service agreement outlines amount of allowance, time requirements of agreement, payment schedule, and repayment requirements if the individual separates from NIST before the end of the agreed period, other than having been involuntarily separated from NIST before the agreement expires.
(b) The Chair, PMB, must approve all waivers of repayment when a service agreement has not been fulfilled. The general policy is that repayment must be made.
(c) Actions to collect repayment may be terminated under appropriate circumstances and in accordance with generally applicable standards for termination upon approval of the Chair, PMB.
- A Service Agreement is not required under Title 5 USC 5754.
c. Authority:
- The head of the agency approves this payment of a retention allowance under Title 5. The approving official must certify annually that the conditions for the original determination still exists.
- The Chair, PMB (NIST Deputy Director), approves allowances under this NIST APMS authority.
a. General: At the discretion of the OU Director, travel and transportation expenses, advancement of funds, per diem expenses incident to travel, and/or relocation expenses may be provided to new hires in the same manner as is authorized in sections 5723, 5724, 5724a, 5724b, and 5724c of Title 5, U.S. Code.
b. Service Agreement for Travel Expenses:
- Recipients must sign service agreements indicating commitment of at least 12 months continued service.
- Service agreements must contain a repayment obligation in the event the recipient separates from NIST before the agreement expires.
- Actions by NIST to collect repayment may be terminated by the OU Director under appropriate circumstances and in accordance with generally applicable standards for termination.