U.S. Office of Personnel Management
 Office of Merit Systems Oversight and Effectiveness
 Classification Appeals and FLSA Programs


 Atlanta Oversight Division
 75 Spring Street, SW., Suite 972
 Atlanta, GA 30303-3109


 Classification Appeal Decision
 Under Section 5112 of Title 5, United States Code


 	Appellant: 		[appellant's name]

 	Agency classification: 	Customs Inspector
 				GS-1890-9

 	Organization: 		Department of the
 				Treasury


 	OPM decision: 		Customs Inspector
 				GS-1890-9

 	OPM decision number: 	C-1890-09-01

 (s)
 Timothy Heath
 Classification Appeals Officer

 8/31/01
 Date



As provided in section 511.612 of title 5, Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), this decision constitutes a certificate that
is mandatory and binding on all administrative, certifying,
payroll, disbursing, and accounting officials of the government.
The agency is responsible for reviewing its classification
decisions for identical, similar, or related positions to ensure
consistency with this decision. There is no right of further
appeal. This decision is subject to discretionary review only
under conditions and time limits specified in the Introduction to
the Position Classification Standards, appendix 4, section G
(address provided in appendix 4, section H).


 Decision sent to:


[appellant's name and address]

[agency]


Director, Office of Personnel Policy
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
 ATTN: Metropolitan Square
 Room 6075
Washington, DC 20220


Introduction

On April 25, 2001, the Atlanta Oversight Division of the Office
of Personnel Management (OPM) accepted an appeal for the position
of Customs Inspector, GS-1890-9 [agency name and city/state]. The
appellant is requesting that his position be classified as
Customs Inspector, GS-1890-11.

The appeal has been accepted and processed under section 5112(b)
of title 5, United States Code. This is the final administrative
decision on the classification of the position subject to
discretionary review only under the limited conditions and time
outlined in part 511, subpart F, of 5 CFR.

General issues

On March 22, 2000, a member of the staff of the Customs Service's
Position Management and Classification Branch, Office of Human
Resources Management, conducted an onsite desk audit of the
appellant's position. This action was taken following a request
for a classification review of this position by the Director of
Field Operations, [location], Customs Management Center (CMC). In
a memorandum dated September 25, 2000, the CMC was notified that
the review had determined that a significant amount of the work
assigned to and performed by the appellant was classifiable at
the GS-11 level. The memorandum included several recommendations
for resolving the classification issue, such as promoting or
reassigning the appellant or eliminating the higher level work.
No action was taken by the agency on any of the recommendations.
The appellant subsequently appealed to OPM.

An Atlanta Oversight Division representative conducted telephone
interviews with the appellant and the appellant's immediate
supervisor. This appeal was decided by considering the audit
findings and all information of record furnished by the appellant
and his agency, including his official position description.

Position information

The appellant is assigned to [position description number]. The
appellant, his second level supervisor, and the agency have
certified the accuracy of the position description.

The appellant functions as a journey level Customs
Inspector at the [agency]. He performs the full range of
inspection, enforcement and examination work related to the entry
and clearance of foreign merchandise, cargo, passengers and
baggage, and carriers entering and departing the United States
through the Port of [location]. The appellant's activities are
primarily focused on the inspection of merchandise, cargo, and
articles accompanying travelers entering and leaving the United
States, and the arrival and departure of vessels, aircraft, and
vehicles transporting cargo and travelers. The purpose of the
work is to exclude terrorists, drugs and other contraband;
enforce quotas and marketing agreements; collect and protect
revenues due the United States; and facilitate legitimate
international trade and traffic. The appellant conducts visual
and physical inspections of cargo and baggage; searches and
detains suspected violators of civil and criminal laws; searches
vessels, aircraft and vehicles; and seizes prohibited or smuggled
articles, contraband, equipment, and vehicles transporting these
items. He inspects records and documents required for
merchandise, cargo, travelers and accompanying baggage and items
to enter or leave the United States. Where warranted, the
appellant is empowered to make arrests and is required to
maintain firearm proficiency. The appellant is the senior
inspector at this facility and, as officer-in-charge, makes
decisions on behalf of the Port Director during his absences. He
attends meetings with port authority staff; coordinates
activities with personnel representing other agencies (e.g.
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), etc.); provides technical direction to the
part-time inspectors assigned to the facility; and serves as the
agency representative on various committees and teams. The
appellant also functions as the private aircraft overflight
coordinator, LAN coordinator, computer system officer, and trains
inspectors assigned to the facility on agency computer
hardware/software

The appellant works under the general supervision of the Port
Director who assigns work in terms of objectives, priorities and
deadlines. The appellant is responsible for independently
planning and carrying out assignments. In the absence of the
supervisor, he is responsible for making decisions, which are
considered authoritative and technically accurate and are subject
to review only after the fact. The supervisor is kept informed
of the status of the appellant's activities and of situations
that are unusual or involve issues related to agency policy.
Completed work is reviewed in terms of its overall adequacy,
effectiveness and appropriateness, and conformance with
guidelines.

Series and title determination

The agency determined that the appellant's position is properly
placed in the Customs Inspection Series, GS-1890, and titled
Customs Inspector. The appellant does not contest this
determination and we concur.

Standard determination

The agency contests the use of the Administrative Analysis Grade
Evaluation Guide by the Office of Human Resources Management
staff member in determining that GS-11 is the proper grade for
this position. The Administrative Analysis Grade Evaluation
Guide covers work that is administrative in nature and does not
require specialized subject-matter knowledges and skills. The
agency maintains that the Customs Inspection Series, GS-1890,
standard should be used to determine the proper grade. We concur
that the GS-1890 standard is appropriate for evaluating the
appellant's position. Work in the GS-1890 series requires
knowledge of laws, regulations, policies and procedures
concerning the entry, examination, classification and release of
merchandise; the ability to obtain data regarding the
description, characteristics, value, and country of origin of
merchandise by questioning people, examining merchandise, and
reviewing documents; the ability to search baggage, people,
cargo, and carriers for contraband; the ability to make sound
decisions to admit and to hold or release merchandise; and sound
judgment in detaining and apprehending persons at the point of
entry who are violating customs or other laws. Customs Inspector
is the authorized title.

Standard determination

Customs Inspection Series, GS-1890, dated April 1973.

Grade determination

The GS-1890 standard uses two factors to determine the degree of
difficulty and complexity and level of responsibility of
nonsupervisory customs inspector positions: Nature of assignment
and Level of responsibility.

Nature of assignment:

This factor deals with the nature and purpose of the functions
performed; the complexity and difficulty of the assignments and
problems encountered; the degree of judgment; and the skills and
knowledges required.

At the GS-9 level, inspectors independently examine and release a
wide variety of merchandise from many sources or countries. This
merchandise is received as baggage, cargo or informal entries.
The GS-9 inspectors perform the full range of any combination of
examining and inspecting work including examining merchandise and
inspecting baggage, cargo, or informal entries; or associated
functions such as boarding vessels and aircraft and inspecting
exports. They carry out complete inspections involving a wide
variety of conditions and complexities with responsibility for
exploring issues and taking final action. These issues may
involve various problems such as uncooperative people, missing
shipments or documents, improper entries, attempted smuggling,
and fraud, or inadequate description of or unusual merchandise.

At the GS-11 level, the highest level described in the standard,
customs inspectors perform a wide range of advisory,
coordinating, and special investigating duties involving complex
and highly sensitive inspection and control issues. These issues
require expertise in a broad range of inspection, enforcement,
special interrogation and inquiry, and merchandise examining
functions. Inspectors responsible for overseeing inspection and
control operations for cargo or baggage, or both, perform a broad
range of administrative, advisory, and coordinating duties and
responsibilities. They assess the ongoing activities to ensure
that the work is carried out in a timely, expeditious and
appropriate manner. They plan and coordinate actions with other
functional areas (e.g., classification and value, and
investigations) in applying intelligence information, resolving
mutual problems, and interpreting requirements. They advise
other customs inspectors, travelers, and commerce agents of
procedures and requirements in unusual or controversial
situations. They approve the inspection and control action to be
taken involving sensitive and unique conditions. They initiate
remedial action to correct deficiencies. The GS-11 inspectors
plan and carry out assignments, projects, studies, or
investigations to explore and resolve major problems in improving
operations and enforcement activities, installing new procedures,
establishing evidence of irregular and fraudulent practices, and
planning and participating in cooperative arrangements with other
countries.

The GS-9 level is met. Similar to illustrations #1, #2, and #3
in the standard, the appellant performs inspections of travelers,
accompanying baggage and other articles and conveyances. Based
on information obtained from agency computerized systems, the
appellant identifies inbound flights and/or vessels having the
potential to contain high-risk cargo and/or passengers. He
evaluates a wide variety of information and observations related
to passengers (e.g., citizenship, behavior, where traveled, type
of baggage, destination, type of importations, required
documents, and inconsistencies) to identify individuals and cargo
warranting closer attention. The appellant uses judgment based
on his experience to determine the appropriate level of
interrogation, searching, and examination required for specific
instances. As at the GS-9 level, the volume and variety of
conditions encountered by the appellant present problems in
detecting smuggled narcotics, contraband, undeclared and
undervalued merchandise; classifying and appraising merchandise;
and processing entries for temporary, restricted, or special
importations. He initiates actions to obtain additional
resources (e.g., personnel from the INS, USDA, or Canine
Enforcement Team) to conduct more intensive inspections and
searches where warranted. The appellant performs the full range
of customs functions for informal entry of a wide variety of
merchandise. He classifies and determines the value of goods;
prepares documents related to informal entries of commercial
imports up to allowable values; advises importers when formal
entry is required; and retains imported goods lacking proper
licenses and permits in bonded warehouse facilities. He selects
cargo items being imported or exported which will be physically
examined or inspected. These inspections are conducted to ensure
that the merchandise is properly documented and meets conditions
for import or export or warrants more intensive inspection.

The GS-11 level is not met. The appeal record does not contain
any information indicating that the appellant performs advisory,
coordinating, and special investigative duties associated with
the complex, highly sensitive inspection and control issues
typical of the GS-11 level. The appellant's regular and
recurring responsibilities are primarily concerned with
inspection, enforcement, and examination activities and processes
related to baggage, cargo, and informal entries. The problems
encountered by the appellant are conventional in nature and
primarily involve matters such as uncooperative individuals,
missing documents or those with improper entries, attempted
smuggling and fraud. They are handled in accordance with
established criteria. Inspection and control issues that are of
a complex, sensitive, or unusual nature are referred to the Port
Director, investigators, or import specialists for additional
guidance or action.

The GS-9 level is credited for this factor.

Level of responsibility

This factor reflects the degree of supervision received, the
nature and complexity of decisions made by inspectors, and the
nature of personal contacts.

At the GS-9 level, inspectors work under the general supervision
of a supervisory inspector who assigns them to duty posts. They
have complete independence for carrying out all types of
inspection processes in the admission and release of baggage,
cargo, and informal entries. The GS-9 inspectors are primarily
assigned to activities or stations that are remote from or for
which it is impractical to provide supervision. They are free to
make on-the-spot decisions in planning work, following leads and
developing evidence of fraud, smuggling, and violation of other
laws.

At the GS-11 level, inspectors operate with a high degree of
independence in identifying problems to be resolved that impede
operations in the assigned areas of responsibility. They receive
special assignments as a stated problem or an area for
investigation and analysis for which objectives are indicated in
general terms. They organize the approach and the extent of fact
finding and analysis required. They apply an extensive knowledge
of inspection and control programs, policies, and processes
including the application of intelligence information, entry
requirements, and overall tariff considerations in identifying
the issues and developing solutions to problems, or fully
substantiating evidence for penalty actions or prosecution. They
adapt techniques and methods to the particular problems involved
and carry follow up actions and projects through to completion.
The GS-11 inspectors carry out assignments that require
negotiation on important questions of compliance, enforcement,
and operating practices with highly knowledgeable terminal staff,
importing firms, transportation companies and others in the
importing and exporting business. Similarly, they must use a
high degree of skill in a wide range of contacts to elicit
information, unearth irregular practices, and identify
operational problems. Judgments and decisions of inspectors at
this level are typically accepted as completed staff actions.
Their recommendations on changes in procedures and practices are
reviewed for their effect on other operations and administrative
and policy considerations such as time, staff, and cost.

The position meets the GS-9 level. The appellant functions
independently in carrying out his regular and recurring
inspection responsibilities related to the admission and release
of baggage, cargo, and informal entries. He is free to make on-
the-spot decisions and to take steps in suspicious situations
that can provide or preserve evidence related to smuggling,
fraud, terrorism, or other violations of customs or other laws.
As at the GS-9 level, the appellant is authorized to
independently initiate steps such as interrogations of travelers,
importers, or carrier staff; intensive inspection, examination or
search of documents, cargo, merchandise, containers, carrier
aircraft, vessels, and vehicles; and seizure of detected
contraband and prohibited articles or items. The appellant's
decisions and actions on the admission and release of informal
entries are final and largely unreviewed. The appellant's
supervisor is kept informed of the status of activities in which
he is involved and is notified of all unusual situations and
those involving policy issues.

The GS-11 level is not met. The appeal record contains no
information that the appellant's work involves independently
identifying and resolving problems that impede operations, or
that he receives special assignments for which he organizes
approaches and determines the level of analysis and factfinding
required. The appellant works under the general
supervision of a higher grade Customs Inspector who is
consulted on matters that involve unusual situations, may delay
or impede work, may result in controversy, prosecution, or
attract attention at higher levels within the agency, and when
the appellant's authority to take action is limited.

The GS-9 level is credited for this factor.

Decision

Since both Nature of assignment and Level of responsibility are
credited at the GS-9 level, the position is properly classified
as Customs Inspector, GS-1890-9.