**BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION**

**HUMAN RESOURCES, DIVERSITY AND EEO**

**Portland, Oregon**

**PERSONNEL LETTER NO. 335-1 (Revised) DATE:** February 28, 2001

**SUBJECT**

BPA Merit Promotion Plan and Implementation Procedures for Annual
Positions

**I. PURPOSE OF ISSUANCE**

To describe BPA's Merit Promotion Plan (MPP) for Annual Positions, and
to provide a systematic means of identifying, evaluating, and referring
applicants who meet minimum qualification requirements (as defined by
Office of Personnel Management {OPM}), both competitively and
non-competitively, on the basis of merit, as well as, alternative
qualification procedures such as Upward Mobility and use of modified
qualifications.

**II**. **PURPOSE OF REVISION**

To amend the list of actions that are excepted from competitive
procedures. This issuance supersedes Personnel Letter 335-1 (Rev.),
dated November 8, 2000.

**III. REFERENCES**

The procedures identified in this plan are in compliance with all of the
references listed in BPA Manual Chapter 400/300, titled "Employment."

**IV. COVERAGE**

This plan covers all actions involving annual positions in the
competitive service in BPA for which competition is required. This plan
also allows for the use of competitive procedures to facilitate
non-competitive placement actions (i.e., reassignment, change to lower
grade). In addition, the plan allows for concurrent consideration of
employees appointed under the Veteran's Readjustment Act (VRA) and/or 30
percent compensably disabled veterans.

**V. DEFINITIONS**

A.  **[Best Qualified]{.underline}:** Candidate(s) who meet minimum
    qualification requirements through the rating process and who meet
    or exceed the case specific score of the merit-based ranking process
    which best illustrates a meaningful distinction between candidates
    who are qualified and those who meet this definition.

B.  **[Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP)]{.underline}:**
    Provides placement consideration for displaced or surplus employees
    within the Agency.

**C. [Change to Lower Grade]{.underline}:** Voluntary or involuntary
change of an employee to a lower grade when both the old and new
positions are either under the same pay schedule/system, or when there
is a lesser representative rate in a different pay schedule/system.

**D. [Commuting Area]{.underline}:** The geographic (usually local) area
that constitutes one area for employment purposes, and includes any
population center and the surrounding localities in which people live
and can reasonably be expected to travel back and forth daily to their
usual employment.

**E.** **[Competency]{.underline}:** An observable and measurable
attribute (whose source may lie in knowledge, skills, values, traits, or
perspectives) that contributes to success in performing a task or job.

**F. [Competitive Service]{.underline}:** All civilian positions in the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal government
and the District of Columbia not specifically excepted from civil
service laws and not in the Senior Executive Service.

**G.** **[Crediting Plan]{.underline}:** A crediting plan is an
assessment instrument used for annual positions to evaluate candidates
objectively against job-related criteria. In MPP actions, it will be
used to identify best qualified candidate(s).

**H.** **[Job Analysis]{.underline}:** The identification of the
qualification requirements, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA's) and
critical-activity components of the job and the degree to which each
component is essential to the job. A comprehensive job analysis provides
information that is used in the development of the crediting plan.

**I.** **[KSAC]{.underline}:** The acronym used to identify the
**K**nowledge, **S**kills, **A**bilities, and **C**ompetencies (when
appropriate) contained in vacancy announcements.

**J. [Learning From Experience (LFE) Interview]{.underline}:** A tool
used in conjunction with an applicant's credentials,
technical/functional knowledge, and specific accomplishments to help
selecting officials determine an applicant's ability to transfer
learning from one experience to another and apply them successfully. 
1996 Les Woller, Woller and Associates, Ltd., Inc. All rights reserved.

**K.** **[Minimum Qualifications]{.underline}:** The education,
experience, or other position-related criteria established by OPM and
agencies, which reflect an acceptable level of competence for successful
performance in a position.

**L.** **[Non-Competitive Action]{.underline}:** Promotion, change to
lower grade, reassignment, transfer, reinstatement for which competitive
procedures do not apply or are discretionary.

**M.** **[Promotion]{.underline}:** The change of an employee to a
position at a higher grade level within the same pay system, or to a
position with a higher rate of basic pay in a different pay system.

**N. [Ranking]{.underline}:** The placement of candidates in score order
to identify the best qualified based upon application of a crediting
plan.

**O.** **[Rating]{.underline}:** The evaluation of candidate
applications to determine if applicants meet minimum qualifications.

**P. [Reasonable Accommodation]{.underline}:** As used in Section IX of
this Personnel Letter, refers to making a change in the workplace that
enables an employee with a qualifying disability to enjoy equal
employment opportunities. These changes may include modifications or
adjustments to the work environment (i.e., modification of work
schedules, modification of existing facilities or removal of workplace
barriers, job restructuring to enable an employee to perform the
essential functions of a position, or acquisition of special equipment)
unless doing so would cause BPA undue hardship.

**Q.** **[Reassignment]{.underline}:** Moving an employee, while serving
in the same department (Department of Energy {DOE}), from one position
to another without promotion or change to lower grade in the same or
different commuting area.

**R.** **[Reinstatement]{.underline}:** The non-competitive reemployment
in the competitive service as a career or career-conditional employee of
a person formerly employed in the competitive service who had
competitive status or was serving a probationary period when separated.

**S.** **[Repromotion]{.underline}:** Promotion, with or without
competition, to a grade previously held on a permanent basis in the
competitive service from which an employee was separated or changed to
lower grade for other than performance or conduct reasons.

**T. [Repromotion Priority List]{.underline}:** The mechanism that BPA
will use to grant consideration to any former competitive service
employees separated by

reduction-in-force or fully recovered from a compensable injury after
more than one year.

**U.** **[Selective Placement Factor]{.underline}:** The knowledge,
skills, and abilities that are required to establish basic eligibility
for a position. Selective placement factors are identified in the job
analysis and are identified on the vacancy announcement.

**V. [Subject-Matter Expert]{.underline}:** Subject-matter experts
(SME's) are employees who possess a thorough knowledge of the position
requirements, which may be evidenced by having held or supervised the
same or similar position.

**W.** **[Well Qualified]{.underline}:** Under the CTAP, applicants must
be determined as well qualified to receive special selection priority.
Well qualified candidates demonstrate experience, knowledge, skills, and
abilities that clearly exceed OPM minimum qualification requirements;
these applicants are not required to meet best qualified criteria.

**VI. BASIC POLICY**

**A.** Promotion is based on Merit System Principles and BPA policy,
which have, as their foundation, the accountability of selecting
officials for adhering to the requirements of these principles, key
provisions of which are listed below:

1\. Recruitment should be from qualified individuals from appropriate
sources in an endeavor to achieve a workforce from all segments of
society, and selection and advancement should be determined solely on
the basis of relative ability, knowledge, and skills after fair and open
competition which assures that all receive equal opportunity.

2\. All employees and applicants for employment should receive fair and
equitable treatment in all aspects of personnel management without
regard to political affiliation, race, color, religion, national origin,
sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, or non-disqualifying
handicap, and with proper regard for their privacy and constitutional
rights.

**B.** Whenever BPA fills positions, the following will apply:

1\. Promotion or placement actions will not be based on any personal
relationship, patronage, nepotism, or other non-merit factors.

2\. Positions will be filled consistent with Merit System Principles.

3\. Management will avoid prohibited personnel practices.

4\. Management may choose from a variety of recruitment sources and
methodologies to select applicants, including non-competitive sources
when appropriate, to meet the business needs of the organization and
agency affirmative employment goals. When utilizing competitive merit
promotion procedures, selection will be from among the best qualified.

5\. All positions will be filled in compliance with OPM and BPA programs
that are covered under the Reemployment Priority List (RPL), the CTAP,
and any other programs for surplus or displaced employees.

6\. Competencies may be used, in conjunction with technical and
functional skills, in the selection and placement process.

7\. Management may interview all, some, or none of the referred
applicants. However, when applying any interviewing process to a
particular position, managers must be consistent in their use of the
process in order to ensure equitable interviewing opportunities for all
referred candidates.

8\. Management will use reassignments appropriately to achieve business
objectives and effect the best use of resources, but not as a means to
non-competitively provide promotional opportunities for employees.

9\. Consistent with the intent of this policy, management may also, at
its discretion, do the following:

a\. Reassign employees, without competition, to positions with
equivalent full performance level in the same or different commuting
area.

b\. Use provisions of modified qualifications to facilitate
reassignments.

# VII. RESPONSIBILITIES

**A. [Manager, Human Resources, Diversity, and EEO]{.underline}:**
Responsible for developing appropriate policies and procedures for
staffing actions covered by this issuance, as well as evaluating their
use. In addition, Diversity staff are responsible for providing
requested advice to selecting officials, as well as reviewing,
evaluating, and monitoring selecting officials' results relative to
goals identified in BPA's Affirmative Employment Plan, and for
identifying systemic issues regarding promotion and selection within
BPA.

**B. [Manager, Personnel Services]{.underline}:** Responsible for:

1.  Administering the provisions of this issuance through the delivery
    of operating services and advice.

2.  Ensuring that the curriculum for training managers includes a
    segment on providing feedback to non-selected applicants.

3.  Notifying applicants promptly when their applications have been
    received in Personnel Services. Ensuring that vacancy announcements
    include a statement that such notification will occur and
    instructing applicants to contact Personnel Services if they do not
    receive such notification. Notifying applicants promptly whether or
    not they met minimum qualification requirements, as well as whether
    or not they were ranked as best qualified and referred to the
    selecting official.

**C. [Employees]{.underline}:** Responsible for:

1\. Keeping informed of promotion/placement policy requirements, and
submitting appropriate, complete, and timely application forms and
required supplemental documentation. This includes responsibility for
notifying their managers in writing of their interest in current and
future vacancies, and for notifying management on how they may be
contacted while away from their work site for extended periods of time.

> 2\. Specifying the grade level(s) they are applying for in their
> applications when a position is advertised at more than one grade
> level. (Note: In the event that an applicant fails to specify the
> grade level(s) he or she is applying for when a position is advertised
> at multiple grade levels, the applicant will be considered only at the
> highest grade level for which he or she qualifies.)

**D. [Managers and Supervisors]{.underline}:** Responsible for:

1\. Full compliance with merit system principles in recruiting,
evaluating, interviewing, and selecting candidates for promotion and/or
placement.

2\. Upon written notification from an employee, ensuring that employees
within an area of consideration, who are absent due to extended absence,
leave, military duty, injury compensation, and/or detailed/transferred
to public international organizations, receive appropriate consideration
for promotion.

3\. Determining whether the payment of relocation expenses is in the
Government's best interests, in accordance with the BPA Relocation
Manual.

4\. Selecting officials are responsible for coordinating with
appropriate organizations in the identification of applicant pools in
support of BPA's diversity goals.

5\. Identifying the essential work components and competencies for the
position and for selecting one or more of the applicants referred to
him/her on a selection certificate, consistent with merit system
principles.

**E.** **[Subject Matter Experts (SME)]{.underline}:** SME's are
responsible for assisting Human Resources Specialists (HRS's), other HR
and Diversity Management staff, and selecting officials by providing
technical information and advice throughout the staffing process
including job analysis, preparation of crediting plans, ranking
applicants, and LFE interviews.

**VIII. PLAN APPLICATION**

Merit promotion plan competition is required for the following actions:

**A.** All promotions without time limitations (except those noted in
"Exceptions" below).

**B.** All temporary promotions over 120 days in duration, or any action
which would cause an employee to be temporarily promoted for more than
120 days in a 52-week period. Service during the preceding 52 weeks
under (a) details to higher-graded classified positions, or those with
known promotion potential, or (b) temporary promotions count toward the
120-day limit. A temporary promotion may not be effected unless the
employee meets the mandatory eligibility and qualification requirements
and assumes the full range of the duties and responsibilities of the
position to which temporarily promoted.

**C.** Training intended to prepare an employee for placement or
required for eligibility for higher-level positions.

**D.** Positions involving the modification of minimum qualifications
standards

(e.g., Upward Mobility, Career Development Agreements).

**IX. EXCEPTIONS TO THE PLAN**

Competition is [NOT]{.underline} required for the following actions:

**A.** Promotion to and through intervening grades up to the established
full performance level of the position. The employee must have initially
competed for the full performance level of the position. The employee
must meet all eligibility and qualification requirements for promotion.

**B.** Promotion resulting from:

1\. The accretion of higher-graded duties and responsibilities; or

2\. The application of a new classification standard resulting in a
higher grade; or

3\. As a correction to an initial classification error.

**C.** Promotion of employees in the Student Educational Employment
Program.

**D.** Temporary promotions or details to higher-grade classified
positions (or

higher-potential positions) for 120 days or less in a consecutive
52-week period.

**E.** Reassignment to an equivalent position or to a position with
equivalent known promotion potential.

**F.** Selection of an applicant in compliance with OPM and BPA programs
which are covered under the RPL, the CTAP, and any other programs for
surplus or displaced employees.

**G.** Repromotion to a grade or intervening grade from which an
employee was changed to a lower grade without personal cause, or that
was not based on conduct reasons.

**H.** Promotion of an employee entitled to priority consideration
because a previous promotion plan action was not properly processed.

**I.** Position Change permitted by Reduction-In-Force (RIF)
regulations.

J.  Placement, in compliance with Office of Workers' Compensation
    Program (OWCP) requirements, of an employee who has incurred an
    on-the-job injury.

> **K.** Placement, under reasonable accommodation procedures, in an
> equivalent or
>
> lower-grade position with a higher full performance level (promotion
> potential) than
>
> the employee's current position.

**X. VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENTS**

Management is responsible for determining areas of consideration that
are sufficiently broad to ensure the availability of best qualified
candidates. In keeping with this responsibility, BPA policy for
announcing positions is as follows:

[Minimum Areas of Consideration]{.underline}: BPA-Wide

[Minimum Vacancy Announcement Open Periods]{.underline}: BPA-Wide - 10
work days

The HR Manager responsible for this plan is authorized to make
exceptions to these minimum criteria in order to address
business-related staffing and recruitment concerns and issues.

Positions announced under this plan will be included in a BPA hotline
recording.

**XI. PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATING APPLICANTS**

The procedures described below consist of conducting a job analysis of
the position to be filled, developing a crediting plan, completing a
competency assessment (if appropriate), and rating and ranking the
applicants:

**A.** **[Job Analysis]{.underline}:** This is the result of the
collaborative efforts of the selecting official or designated SME and
the HRS in identifying the minimum qualifications, the critical duties,
the competencies (as appropriate), the KSA's and, if necessary, the
selective placement factors of the position.

**B. [Crediting Plan]{.underline}:** Upon completion of the job
analysis, a crediting plan is developed utilizing the KSA's. Crediting
plan development involves the definition of qualitative experience
levels to be used to differentiate qualified from best qualified
applicants.

C.  **[Rating/Ranking]{.underline}:** Rating consists of reviewing
    applications to determine if applicants meet minimum qualification
    requirements, as described in the Operating Manual for Qualification
    Standards for General Schedule Positions. In ranking applicants on
    technical and functional KSA's, HRS's in collaboration with SME's
    will use both paid and unpaid experience when evaluating applicants.
    Applicant scores are then analyzed and a cutoff score, representing
    a clear distinction among applicants, is determined by the HRS's
    resulting in the referral of the best qualified applicants for each
    grade level to the selecting official.

> **D. [Competency Assessment]{.underline}:** When competencies are used
> in the selection process, selecting officials, in collaboration with
> HRS's and SME's, identify position-essential competencies to be used
> in vacancy announcements/interviews. The LFE interview (used in
> competency-related interviews) is described in "BPA's Learning From
> Experience (LFE) Interviewing Guide."

**XII. CONSIDERATION OF EMPLOYEES ON EXTENDED ABSENCE**

BPA employees who are not present in the workforce due to extended
absence, leave, military duty, injury compensation, or service with an
international organization will receive consideration for any positions
for which they are determined to be qualified. These employees are
responsible for notifying their managers in writing, of their interest
in current and future vacancies, and for notifying management on how
they may be contacted while away from their work site.

**XIII. REFERRAL AND SELECTION OF APPLICANTS**

All best qualified applicants will be referred to selecting officials.
This process is described below:

**A.** A Selection Certificate (BPA F 3335.04) is issued with the names
of best qualified applicants, from all sources listed in alphabetical
order for each grade level.

**B.** Upon issuance of the selection certificate to the selecting
official, a copy is issued concurrently to the DMO. This will offer the
DMO an opportunity to provide selecting officials with information on
meeting BPA's Affirmative Employment Program goals.

**C.** The selecting official may choose any applicant from the
selection certificate.

1\. He/she may decide to interview all, some, or none of the applicants
as part of the selection process. However, when applying any interview
process to a particular position, managers must be consistent in their
use of the process in order to ensure equitable interviewing
opportunities for all referred applicants.

2\. The selecting official and HRS should collaborate to determine when
reference checking is appropriate.

3\. The selecting official then advises the HRS of his/her decision by
completing and returning the selection certificate, along with all of
the applications referred. Additionally, selecting officials are
responsible for completing any additional documentation that may be
requested by the DMO.

**D.** The selecting official and the HRS will coordinate on timely
notification to all applicants.

**E.** Within BPA, the releasing manager must make a selectee who was
selected through competitive procedures available within one month. The
HR Manager and/or Manager, Policy and Operations, may authorize other
exceptions.

**F.** Additional selections for positions with identical ranking
factors/credit level definitions and duty station may be made from a
selection certificate within 90 days after its initial issuance to a
selecting official. The HR Manager and/or the Manager, Policy and
Operations may extend this period, not to exceed a total of 180 days,
when such extension is in the best interests of BPA. Documentation to
this effect must be made part of the written record for the merit
promotion file.

**XIV. RECORDKEEPING**

Documentation supporting selection actions will be maintained for a
period of two years from the date of selection or until an OPM
evaluation occurs.

**XV. RELEASE OF INFORMATION**

**A.** The following information from merit promotion files is
releasable to applicants or their formally designated representative:

1\. Their individual qualification determination sheet.

2\. Information regarding rating/ranking that doesn't compromise the
privacy of other applicants.

3\. Qualification standards, classification standards, position
descriptions, and other information in compliance with applicable laws
and regulations.

**B.** Information from merit promotion files is releasable to
management on a "need to know" basis as determined by the HRS.

**C.** The following information from merit promotion files is
[NOT]{.underline} releasable under this process:

1\. Job analysis.

2\. Crediting Plans.

3\. The names of panel members and SME's (unless specific concurrence is
given by the SME's).

4\. All competency-based information.

**D.** Requests for information falling outside of the guidelines listed
above must be referred to a HRS or to the Manager, Policy and
Operations.

**XVI. EMPLOYEE APPEALS**

**A.** Employees have the right to file a complaint relating to a
promotion action. However, non-selection for promotion of properly
ranked and referred applicants is not a grievable item under the
administrative grievance procedure. With respect to bargaining unit
employees, similar exclusions may exist in the various negotiated
grievance procedures, which should be consulted for specific guidance.

**B.** Allegations of discrimination in the recruitment/selection
process are processed under the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
complaint procedures and must be filed through an EEO counselor within
45 days, as specified in EEO regulation.

**XVII. CLIENT SERVICE BENCHMARKS**

**A.** Human Resources Specialists and selecting officials may
collaborate to establish a mutually acceptable recruitment plan that
specifically identifies timeframes and other client expectations.

**B.** At a minimum, selecting officials may expect a selection
certificate no later than five working days from the closing date of the
vacancy announcement.

**XVIII. QUESTIONS**

Questions pertaining to these procedures should be referred to the
organization's assigned Human Resources Specialist.

Godfrey C. Beckett

Manager, Human Resources, Diversity and EEO