United States Department of Agriculture

Marketing and Regulatory Programs

Agricultural Marketing Service

Agency AMS 4335.3 11/03/2022

Distribution: AMS Originating Office: MRPBS-HRD-HR Policy

GEOGRAPHIC MOBILITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. PURPOSE................................................................................................................................ 1

2. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS AND REPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS .................................. 1

3. AUTHORITIES AND REFERENCES ................................................................................... 2

4. DEFINITIONS......................................................................................................................... 2

5. SCOPE...................................................................................................................................... 3

6. POLICY.................................................................................................................................... 3

7. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES........................................................................................ 4

8. PROCEDURES ........................................................................................................................ 5

9. EFFECT ON SEVERANCE PAY AND DISCONTINUED SERVICE RETIREMENT......6

10. FORMS.................................................................................................................................... 6

11. RECORDS MANAGEMENT................................................................................................. 6

12. INQUIRIES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION............................................................. 7

Attachment 1 – Permanent Positions Subject to Geographic Mobility Requirements

Attachment 2 – Memorandum of Understanding 

1. PURPOSE 

This Directive establishes Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) policy on geographic 

mobility as a condition of employment for specified positions identified herein. 

2. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS AND REPLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

a. This Agency Directive has been revised from the original version published on 

10/30/2013. The revisions to this Agency Directive are as follows:

(1) Page 2, Paragraph 3, update of authorities and references.

(2) Page 6, Paragraph 11, added records management.
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(3) Updated Attachment 1

b. This Agency Directive is in force until canceled or superseded. 

3. AUTHORITIES AND REFERENCES 

This Agency Directive must be applied in conjunction with:

a. 5 United States Code, Government Organization and Employees, Part III, Subpart 

F, Chapter 71, Subchapter I,

(1) Section 7103 (a) (14), General Provisions, Definitions

(2) Section 7106 (a)(2), Management Rights

b. 5 Code of Federal Regulations, Volume 1, Chapter I, Subchapter B, 

(1) Part 335 Subpart A, Section 335.102, Agency Authority to Promote, 

Demote, or Reassign

(2) Part 550, Subpart G, Section 550.704, Eligibility for Severance Pay

c. 5 Code of Federal Regulations, Volume 1, Chapter I, Part 831, Subchapter E, 

Section 831.503, Retirement Based on Involuntary Separation

4. DEFINITIONS

a. Conditions of Employment. Personnel policies, practices, and matters, whether 

established by rule, regulation, or otherwise, affecting working conditions, except 

that such term does not include policies, practices, and matters: 

(1) Relating to political activities, 

(2) Relating to the classification of any position, or 

(3) Specifically provided for by Federal statute.

b. Geographic Mobility. A formal predetermined arrangement that prescribes 

mandatory relocation requirements as a condition of employment for designated 

positions within AMS. Geographic mobility provides for an employee’s directed 

reassignment outside of the local commuting area of the official duty station of an 

employee, when necessary, in the interest of improving mission effectiveness.
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c. Local Commuting Area. 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 from 

home to work in their usual employment. 

d. Official Duty Station. The official duty station is the city/town, county, and State 

in which the employee works. 

e. Memorandum of Understanding. The mobility agreement employees and 

selectees are required to sign to qualify for employment in the covered positions 

listed at Attachment 1.

5. SCOPE 

This policy applies to positions that are subject to geographic reassignment as a condition 

of employment that must be fulfilled for an individual to qualify for appointment to, or to 

retain a position that is specified in the list of Permanent Positions Subject to Geographic 

Mobility Requirements (Attachment 1).

6. POLICY 

It is MRP, AMS policy to:

a. Geographic mobility is a condition of employment for the designated permanent 

positions listed in the Attachment 1. 

b. Job opportunity announcements for covered positions must be annotated to reflect 

mobility requirements. 

c. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)-Geographic Mobility Agreement 

(Attachment 2) must be signed by the appointee/employee prior to assignment 

to a covered position. The purpose of the MOU is to confirm that the employee 

understands that geographic mobility is a condition of employment. 

d. All employees in covered positions are required to be available for geographic 

relocation at government expense as necessary to meet mission requirements. 

e. Any employee who fails to accept a directed reassignment from a position that 

requires geographic mobility as a condition of employment is subject to removal 

from the Federal Service. 
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7. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

The implementation of the policy and procedures as established by this Agency Directive 

requires the responsibilities of the following individuals and/or groups:

a. AMS managers/supervisors will: 

(1) Ensure compliance with this geographic mobility policy within their 

respective programs/work units. 

(2) Provide information on the geographic mobility requirements to 

employees in covered positions. 

(3) Ensure that job candidates are informed of the geographic mobility 

requirements of covered positions. 

(4) Advise applicants that failure to sign the MOU means that they have 

rejected a condition of employment and they will not be selected for the 

covered position.

(5) Ensure employees selected for appointment to a covered position are 

informed of the details and operation of the geographic mobility 

requirements prior to execution of the MOU. 

(6) Inform employees entering positions that are subject to geographic 

mobility as a condition of employment that failure to sign the MOU does 

not terminate the obligation to meet geographic mobility requirements. 

(7) Inform employees of the effect of refusal to honor the obligation to accept 

a directed reassignment as it pertains to severance pay entitlement and 

discontinued service retirement eligibility. 

b. Human Resources Division/HR Operations/Classification and Staffing will: 

(1) Ensure that job opportunity announcements reflect geographic mobility 

requirements. 

(2) Provide managers and supervisors with information on directed 

reassignment regulations and procedures.

(3) Maintain the signed copy of the MOU in the employee’s Official 

Personnel File (OPF).
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c. Employees: 

(1) Are expected to understand the purpose of the geographic mobility 

requirement in covered positions and the consequences of declining a 

directed reassignment outside of the local commuting area. 

(2) Have an obligation to accept directed reassignments for the effective 

delivery of service by the Agency. 

(3) Are expected to understand that they will remain subject to geographic 

mobility as a condition of employment if they are assigned to another 

covered position within AMS. 

(4) Who occupy positions that are subject to geographic mobility as a 

condition of employment, and who decline a directed reassignment outside 

of the local commuting area, are not entitled to severance pay or 

discontinued service retirement whether they have signed the MOU or not. 

(5) Will execute the MOU with the understanding that they will be expected 

to be geographically mobile at management’s request. 

(6) Are expected to understand that any failure or refusal to sign the MOU 

does not affect the management’s right to reassign them. 

8. PROCEDURES

The following procedures have been established by this directive:

a. Current Federal employees selected for assignment to a position subject to a 

geographic mobility requirement will be required to execute an MOU as a 

condition of employment prior to appointment to the position. 

b. Current Federal employees who are candidates for assignment or promotion to 

positions subject to a geographic mobility requirement who refuse to execute the 

MOU have rejected a condition of employment and will not be selected or 

assigned to the covered position. 

c. Applicants for employment who refuse to execute the MOU have declined to 

accept a condition of employment which must, therefore, result in withdrawal of 

any offer of employment in the position. 
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9. EFFECT ON SEVERANCE PAY AND DISCONTINUED SERVICE 

RETIREMENT 

a. An employee who enters a position covered by geographic mobility requirement 

on or after the date the requirement became effective (as shown in Attachment 1), 

and who subsequently resigns or separates as a result of declining a directed 

reassignment outside the local commuting area is not entitled to severance pay 

benefits nor eligible for a discontinued service retirement annuity. 

b. Employees who occupied a covered position prior to the date shown in 

Attachment 1 are subject to geographic mobility but will not lose entitlement to 

severance pay or discontinued service retirement by virtue of declining a 

reassignment outside the local commuting area. However, once such an 

employee accepts a directed reassignment outside the local commuting area, 

he/she is considered to have accepted geographic mobility as a condition of 

employment and if he/she declines a subsequent geographic reassignment, his/her 

separation will be considered a voluntary separation and will not be qualifying for 

severance pay or discontinued service retirement purposes. 

10. FORMS

The Memorandum of Understanding Geographic Mobility Agreement referenced and 

required for use as established by this Agency Directive can be accessed at AMS 

Administrative Issuances, AMS 4335.3 Geographic Mobility, Attachment 2. 

11. RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Federal records created by this Agency Directive must be maintained in accordance with 

the established General Records Schedule (GRS) and/or the AMS Records Management 

Handbook when applicable. If employees are named in an active litigation hold, Freedom 

of Information Act (FOIA) request, and/or other action, those records, regardless of 

media, must be preserved and maintained in their native format until otherwise notified 

by your Agency Records Officer and/or the Office of General Counsel.

a. MRP-IT IMB is the official record-keeper of this Directive, which is to be 

preserved permanently, per Paperwork and Data Management (PDM) 4-1

b. The Human Resources Division, Human Resources Operations office is the 

official record-keeper of the records documenting reduction in force which will be 

maintained in accordance with GRS 2.1, Employee Acquisition Records, items 
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020, 021 and 022; GRS 2.2, Employee Management Records, items 040, 041; and 

GRS 2.5, Employee Separation Records, item 011, 020, 040. 

12. INQUIRIES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

a. Direct inquiries on procedural matters to the MRP Human Resources Division, 

Human Resources Operations Service Provider.

b. Direct requests for policy interpretations on complex issues to the MRP Human 

Resources Division, Human Resources Policy Branch.

c. For records management inquiries contact your Program Records Management 

Liaison for AMS. 

d. This Directive is available on the following Web site: AMS Administrative 

Issuances.

/s/

Erin Morris

Associate Administrator

MRP, Agricultural Marketing Service