###### BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION

**HUMAN RESOURCES**

**Portland, Oregon**

**PERSONNEL LETTER NO. 511-2 (Revised) DATE:** May 19, 2000

**SUBJECT:** ACCRETION OF DUTIES FOR ANNUAL EMPLOYEES

#### **PURPOSE**

> The purpose of this personnel letter is to transmit revised policy on
> accretions of
>
> duty. Accretion of duty actions were previously outlined in the Merit
> Promotion Plan as an exception to competition. Accretion action
> requirements have been revised and are now incorporated with position
> classification policy and procedures.

##### PURPOSE OF REVISION

> To revise Personnel Letter No. 511-2 dated 09-23-98.

##### REFERENCES

A.  5 U.S.C., Chapter 35, Promotion

B.  5 U.S.C., Chapter 51, Classification

C.  5 CFR, Part 335, Promotion and Internal Placement

D.  5 CFR, Part 511, Classification

E.  BPA Manual Chapter 400/300, Employment

F.  BPA Manual Chapter 400/500, Compensation, Position, and
    Organizational Management

G.  Personnel Letter No. 335-1, BPA Merit Promotion Plan and
    Implementation Procedures for Annual Positions

## Personnel Letter No. 511-1, Position Classification

##### ASSIGNMENT OF WORK

A.  Adding or removing duties from a position can have significant
    impact on the classification of the position that an employee
    encumbers. The intentional addition of duties to a position to
    increase the grade level typically requires that the redefined
    position be filled competitively. Assignment of higher-graded work,
    or work that may provide experience necessary to successfully
    compete for higher grade levels, needs to be anticipated and
    thoughtfully planned with consideration for diversity goals and
    objectives, and impacts to redeployment strategies.

B.  If an employee's duties progressively evolve over an extended period
    of time (e.g., typically more than one year), without deliberate
    planning by the agency, the employee may be non-competitively
    promoted through an accretion of duties. Consistent with Merit
    System Principles and direction to ensure fair and open competition,
    thoughtful consideration needs to be given to the impact of a
    non-competitive action to the immediate work group and similar
    positions in other units before determining this is an appropriate
    request.

C.  Accretion actions may be accomplished if the following criteria are
    met:

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1.  No vacancy exists to be advertised.

2.  Other qualified employees in the immediate work unit were not
    deprived of the opportunity to perform higher graded
    responsibilities.

3.  There is no change in the organization.

4.  The employee continues to perform the same basic function and the
    former position is absorbed administratively into the new position.

5.  The classification of the new position does not result in a change
    in series. A change in series generally indicates a change in the
    functional area, different knowledge requirements, and/or assigned
    occupational group that would not meet the criteria in No.4 above.

6.  The upgrade of the position is not based on the addition of
    supervisory, team leader, or work leader responsibilities that are
    non-technical (i.e., leadership in nature).

7.  The request does not constitute more than a one-grade interval (for
    one-grade interval series) or a two-grade interval (for a two-grade
    interval series), nor movement from a one-grade interval occupation
    to a two-grade interval occupation.

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D.  If management believes that the above criteria have been met, a
    narrative justification must be submitted to the approving official
    within the Business Line addressing the following points:

-   Why it makes good business sense to process the promotion rather
    than to remove the duties and keep the position at the next lower
    grade.

-   How the accretion of higher graded duties came about and why it was
    not the result of planned management action.

-   Why non-competitive promotion of the incumbent makes sound business
    sense.

-   The impact of the proposed action to the business unit and to
    diversity objectives.

-   Why approval of the request would not compromise Merit System
    Principles in perception or actuality.

> If the approving official concurs with the recommended accretion, a
> position review should be requested by submitting a position
> description, and the narrative justification, to Personnel Services,
> which will review the package to determine if the duties of the
> position support the recommend grade level.

Godfrey C. Beckett

### Manager, Human Resources, Diversity, and EEO