(600)-70 PERSONNEL

70.15 [Priority Placement Program (PPP)]{.underline}

70.15.1 [Purpose]{.underline}. This section establishes procedures for
administering a PPP that provides for a systematic method for job
placement consideration of those employees entitled to grade or pay
retention who were adversely affected by a Reduction-in-Force (RIF).

70.15.2 [Scope]{.underline}. All TIGTA career or career-conditional
employees regardless of tour of duty who have suffered a loss of grade
or pay and meet eligibility requirements for grade or pay retention are
covered by this plan except as noted in 70.15.7.

70.15.3 [Authorities]{.underline}.

5 CFR 536

70.15.4 [Definition]{.underline}.

Local commuting area means the geographic area that usually constitutes
one area for employment purposes as determined by the agency. It
includes any population center (or two or more neighboring ones) and the
surrounding localities in which people live and can reasonably be
expected to travel back and forth daily to their usual employment.
Established TIGTA commuting areas are identified in Chapter
(600)-[70.7](#RIF).

70.15.5 [Policy]{.underline}. It is the policy of TIGTA to make every
appropriate effort to minimize the adverse impact of a RIF. When filling
permanent position vacancies at the GS-15 level or below, PPP-eligible
employees must be given priority consideration for the vacancy.

70.15.6 [Employees Eligible for Participation]{.underline}. Any career
or career conditional employee, unless specifically excluded by law or
in 70.15.7, who has been adversely affected by a RIF that resulted in
loss of grade is eligible to participate in the PPP. If the employee
does not submit his/her paperwork in accordance with 70.15.10, he/she
will not be enrolled in the program. An employee on grade retention, who
fails to submit his/her paperwork, will lose his/her grade retention,
while an employee on pay retention will not be referred under the
program.

An employee becomes eligible to participate in PPP on the date that
TIGTA provides official notice that the employee meets the eligibility
requirements for grade or pay retention, except as noted in
[70.15.7](#ppp7). Participation in the PPP will continue for as long as
an employee meets eligibility requirements for grade or pay retention
except as noted in [70.15.7](#ppp7). Neither an eligible employee nor
management may waive the registration or priority placement referral
provisions of the PPP.

70.15.7 []{#ppp7 .anchor}[Employees Ineligible for
Participation]{.underline}. Some employees, although meeting the
requirements for eligibility to receive grade or pay retention benefits,
are not eligible for PPP participation as follows:

-   Employees who are eligible for pay retention due to placement at a
    lower grade in a formal employee development program or as a result
    of competitive selection for a lower grade position with promotion
    potential to the former or a higher grade.

-   An employee granted pay retention as a result of placement in a
    position determined to be hard to fill is ineligible for
    participation.

-   An employee granted grade retention during a RIF who is placed in a
    position with a career ladder higher than the journey level of
    his/her former position.

Program eligibility is terminated when the employee transfers to another
agency, resigns, receives an offer of a position which meets all
requirements of a \"reasonable offer,\" or any other reason for which
grade retention/pay retention is terminated.

Acceptance of a position at an intervening grade will not terminate an
employee\'s eligibility to continue in PPP unless the position is one in
an established career ladder with a full performance level equal to the
grade of the position from which demoted.

70.15.8 [Procedures]{.underline}. The Bureau of the Public
Debt/Administrative Resource Center (BPD/ARC) as TIGTA's servicing
personnel office will designate a coordinator to provide a central
contact point for both affected employees and management officials.

The coordinator has primary responsibility for:

-   Notifying employees concerning program eligibility;

-   Requiring employees to complete registration forms;

-   Counseling employees concerning employment opportunities;

-   Maintaining a current master list of employees registered in the
    program and positions for which these employees should receive
    priority consideration;

-   Referring employees for appropriate vacancies; and

-   Maintaining program statistics for reporting purposes.

Candidates will be referred for positions within the commuting area of
their new position. The only exception is that employees subject to a
mobility agreement will be referred anywhere covered by their mobility
agreement.

70.15.9 []{#ppp9 .anchor}[Criteria for "Reasonable Offer"]{.underline}.
For the purpose of applying grade and pay retention provisions to
participants in PPP, a \"reasonable offer\" of a position must:

-   Be in writing and include an official position description of the
    offered position and a statement informing the employee that an
    entitlement to grade or pay retention will be terminated if the
    offer is declined and that the employee may appeal the
    reasonableness of the offer as provided in 5 CFR 536.302;

-   Be a permanent position for which the employee meets established
    qualification requirements;

-   Be a full‑time position, unless the employee\'s former position was
    less than full‑time, in which case the offered position must have a
    work schedule of no less than the employee\'s position before the
    RIF;

-   Be in the same commuting area, unless the employee is subject to a
    mobility agreement that requires employee mobility.

-   Be offered after formal determination and notification of
    entitlement to grade/pay retention.

In the case of an employee eligible for grade retention, the offer must
be to a position the grade of which is equal to or greater than the
retained grade.

In the case of an employee eligible for pay retention, the offer must be
to a position the rate of basic pay of which is equal to or greater than
the employee\'s retained pay.

70.15.10 [Employee Registration for PPP]{.underline}. Each employee
eligible for participation in the program must provide a resume and
forward a copy of his/her most recent performance appraisal to the
Priority Placement Program Coordinator. This documentation must be
provided to the coordinator no later than 10 workdays following employee
notification of eligibility for the program, i.e., 10 workdays after the
date of the notice.

Employees will be counseled concerning the reasons for participating and
registering for PPP.

Employees are responsible for keeping their resume current, updating
information concerning work experience and training, and forwarding a
new annual appraisal for the file when it is received.

70.15.11 [Determining Appropriate Vacancies for Priority Placement
Referral]{.underline}. When a vacancy occurs, a BPD/ARC staffing
specialist will review the listing of the PPP candidates to see if any
are qualified for the position to be filled. If there are no eligible
candidates, the staffing specialist will annotate the vacancy file and
the Standard Form 52 that the PPP was cleared. If there are eligible
candidates, they will be referred to the selecting official and a copy
of the documentation will be maintained as part of the merit promotion
file.

PPP candidates receive consideration for permanent positions ahead of
all promotion candidates who must compete under the Merit Promotion Plan
Chapter [(600) 70.13.](#Merit13)

Employees enrolled in PPP will receive priority placement referral for
vacancies within the commuting area for which they are qualified and
which are at the same or an intervening grade/pay as the position held
before the RIF. The vacancy need not be in the same classification
series as the employee\'s former position. However, employees will
receive consideration only for the classification series held prior to
the downgrade until their resume and performance appraisal are received
by the BPD/ARC.

Employees enrolled in PPP will receive priority placement referral for
career ladder vacancies within the area of consideration for which they
are qualified and which have a full performance level to the same or an
intervening grade/pay as that from which demoted. Placement within the
career ladder may be at the entry level or any grade level within the
career ladder for which the employee is eligible. Employees who are
enrolled due to pay retention may not be referred for a position at a
higher grade or with higher promotion potential than the position which
formed the basis for pay retention.

Management‑initiated lateral reassignments of non‑registrants may be
processed without regard to the provisions of the PPP if no additional
promotion potential exists following reassignment.

Management has the option, but is not required, to fill its temporary
vacancies with a PPP candidate.

70.15.12 [Referral of Candidates for Priority Placement]{.underline}.
Whenever appropriate, a BPD/ARC staffing specialist will prepare a
certificate containing qualified eligible registrants in alphabetical
order. The selecting official may select any of those referred. The
staffing specialist will provide copies of the candidate's resume also.
The referral will also indicate if the candidate will lose grade or pay
retention if he/she declines the offer.

Qualified registrants will be referred to the selecting official prior
to taking any other action to fill a vacancy. A record of the referral
and the result must be maintained and documented.

[]{.mark}

70.15.13 [Selection of PPP Candidates]{.underline}. The selecting
official must make a selection determination based upon information
relating to an employee\'s ability to perform duties of the position
using job‑related selection criteria.

Employees selected for vacancies that meet all criteria for \"reasonable
offer\" will, upon acceptance, no longer participate in PPP.
Non‑acceptance of such \"reasonable offer\" will serve to remove an
employee from PPP.

Offers to all priority placement candidates will be made by BPD/ARC.

Of particular importance are offers to employees who will lose grade/pay
retention as a result of declination.

-   If the offer is accepted, the staffing specialist will complete the
    SF-52 and furnish a copy to the PPP coordinator.

-   If the candidate declines, the staffing specialist will terminate
    the employee's grade and pay retention and notify the PPP
    coordinator to remove the candidate from the PPP.

[Non-Selection of PPP Candidates]{.underline}

Although management is not required to select a priority placement
candidate when referred, careful consideration should be given to
placing these candidates as they are receiving salary in excess of the
position held. Exceptions are justified only when the circumstances
clearly show that filling the vacant position with a PPP employee would
adversely affect the organization in which the vacancy exists.

[Making Offers to Employees to Positions at Intervening Grades/Rates of
Pay]{.underline}

Offers to intervening grades/rates of pay are appropriate, but the
employee\'s refusal of such offers will not terminate grade or pay
retention inasmuch as offers to intervening grades/rates of pay do not
meet the full definition of \"reasonable offer\" under [70.15.9](#ppp9).

When an offer is made, and accepted by an employee, to a position at an
intervening grade/pay with no further potential, the employee remains in
PPP while at the intervening grade and continues to receive active
consideration for positions at the employee's retained grade or pay.

70.15.14 [Records and Reports]{.underline}. The Priority Placement
Coordinator will maintain a folder on each PPP registrant consisting of
the following information:

-   SF-52 placing the individual on grade or pay retention

-   Memo informing the employee of the eligibility for grade or pay
    retention and eligibility for the PPP

-   Copy of the position vacancy for which the employee was referred

-   Resume and performance appraisal

-   Formal selection from selecting official

-   Formal Offer Notification from personnel office

-   Acceptance or declination of job offer from registrant

-   Copy of SF-52 terminating grade retention (or pay retention)

-   Any other appropriate documentation to maintain a record of the
    referrals and decisions made regarding the priority placement of the
    employee.

The Priority Placement Program Coordinator will maintain a copy of:

-   All PPP referrals

-   A monthly list reflecting all employees entitled to consideration
    under the program

-   Any records or reports required under the program.