Attachment 1

GLOSSARY

Assignment Right The right of an employee to be assigned by bump or retreat 

in the second round of competition to a position in a 

different competitive level held by an employee with lower 

standing on a retention register.

Career Transition Services These services are available to all employees affected by 

downsizing, reorganization, or similar events in accordance 

with the provisions of the Agency Career Transition 

Assistance Plan.

Competing Employee An employee in tenure group I, II, or III in either 

competitive or the excepted service.

Competitive Area Organizational units and geographical locations that outline 

the boundaries of competition within which employees 

compete for retention under the RIF regulations. All 

employees within the organizational units and geographical 

locations defined are included in the competitive area. 

Employees compete for retention only with other 

employees in the same competitive area. 

Competitive Level A grouping of positions in a competitive area that are in the 

same grade (or occupational level) and classified series, 

and that are similar enough in duties, qualification 

requirements, pay schedule, and working conditions so that 

an agency may reassign the incumbent of one position to 

any other position in the level without undue interruption. 

Competitive Service All civil service positions in the Executive Branch, except: 

(1) Positions which are specifically excepted from the 

competitive service by or under statute; 

(2) Positions to which appointments are made by 

nomination for confirmation by the Senate, unless 

the Senate otherwise directs; and 

(3) Positions in the Senior Executive Service.

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DD 214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty.

Directed Reassignment The reassignment of an employee at his/her same grade 

level to a vacant position in another commuting area. 

NOTE: This type of action is not a RIF action and is 

encouraged by OPM as a tool to avoid RIF. An individual 

who declines a directed reassignment is separated under 

adverse action procedures and is not eligible for placement 

on the Reemployment Priority List (RPL).

Excepted Service Civil service positions that are not in the competitive 

service or the Senior Executive Service.

Furlough Placement of an employee in a temporary nonduty and 

nonpay status for more than 30 consecutive calendar days, 

or more than 22 workdays if done on a noncontinuous 

basis, but not more than 1 year when the action is based on 

one of the RIF reasons and is not in accordance with preestablished conditions of employment.

Length of Service The length of time in civilian service as a Federal employee 

and certain service in the Armed Forces is creditable for 

purposes of RIF.

Local Commuting Area The geographic area that usually constitutes one area for 

employment purposes. 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.

Merit Systems Protection Board The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is an 

independent, quasi-judicial agency in the Executive branch. 

MSPB carries out its statutory responsibilities and 

authorities primarily by adjudicating individual employee 

appeals.

Office of Personnel Management The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the Federal 

agency having responsibility for issuing regulations and 

supplementing Part 351 of Title 5, Code Federal 

Regulations, with instructions in its Workforce 

Restructuring Handbook.

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Office of Human Resources USDA, Department Management, Office of Human 

Management Resources Management (OHRM).

Program A component of a MRP agency that is separately organized 

and clearly distinguished from other components in work 

function and operation.

Rating of Record The performance rating prepared at the end of an 

appraisal period which results in assignment of a summary 

level of performance.

Reduction-In-Force An agency must use the RIF regulations before the release 

of a competing employee from his or her competitive level 

by furlough for more than 30 days, or of more than 22 

discontinuous workdays, separation, demotion, or 

reassignment requiring displacement of another employee. 

Normally, this release is required because of lack of work, 

shortage of funds, insufficient personnel ceiling, 

restructuring, or an employee’s exercise of reemployment 

rights or restoration rights.

Retention Register The ranking of employees in the competitive level based on 

the four retention factors: 

• Tenure of employment (i.e., type of appointment); 

 

• Veterans' preference; 

• Total creditable Federal civilian and uniformed service; 

and 

• Performance ratings.

Retention Standing An employee’s position on a retention register after 

the agency applies the four retention factors, tenure, 

veterans’ preference, and length of service augmented by 

performance credit.

RIF Notice

Specific Notice A written communication issued by the Human Resources 

office to an individual employee to advise the employee of 

the RIF action. The notice will include information on: 

• The reason for the RIF;

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• The RIF action being taken and how it affects the 

employee;

• The effective date of the action;

• The employee’s competitive area, competitive level, 

retention subgroup, service date;

• The three most recent ratings of record received 

during the last four years;

• The location where the employee may inspect the 

regulations and the records pertinent to his or her 

case;

• Entitlements, depending on the RIF action to be 

taken; and

• Rights to appeal or grieve the action.

Notice Period The period of time between notification that a RIF action 

will be taken and the date of the action. Agencies may 

request from the OPM an exception to the 60-day minimum 

requirement when the RIF is caused by unforeseeable

circumstances. 

Reorganization The planned elimination, addition, or redistribution of 

functions or duties in an organization.

Tenure Groups Categories of employees by status under their current 

appointments. Groups are defined as follows: 

Competitive Service:

Group I includes each career employee who is not serving a 

probationary period.

Group II includes each career-career conditional employee 

and each employee serving a probationary period following 

appointment from a competitive list of eligibles.

Group III includes all employees serving under indefinite 

appointments, temporary appointments, status quo 

appointments, term appointments, and other nonstatus, 

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nonpermanent appointments which meet the definition of 

provision appointments. 

Excepted Service:

Group I includes each permanent employee whose 

appointment carries no restriction or condition.

Group II includes each employee serving a trial period and 

employees whose tenure is equivalent to a careerconditional appointment in the competitive service.

Group III includes each employee whose tenure is 

indefinite, but not actually or potentially permanent; whose 

appointment has a specific time limitation of more than 1 

year; or who is currently employed under a temporary 

appointment limited to 1 year or less, but has completed 1 

year of current continuous service under a temporary 

appointment without a break in service.

Veteran’s Preference Veterans' preference comes from the Veterans' Preference 

Act of 1944. By law, veterans who are disabled or who 

served on active duty in the Armed Forces during certain 

specified time periods or in military campaigns are entitled 

to preference over others in hiring from competitive lists of 

eligibles and also in retention during reductions in force.

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