This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

6857 

Vol. 73, No. 25 

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 

OFFICE OF PERSONNEL 

MANAGEMENT 

5 CFR Part 300 

RIN 3206–AL18 

Time-in-Grade Rule Eliminated 

AGENCY: Office of Personnel 

Management. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel 

Management (OPM) proposes 

eliminating the time-in-grade restriction 

on advancement to competitive service 

positions in the General Schedule. 

Currently, employees in competitive 

service General Schedule positions at 

grades 5 and above must serve 52 weeks 

in grade before becoming eligible for 

promotion to the next grade level. 

Abolishing the restriction would 

eliminate the 52-week service 

requirement. If the requirement is 

eliminated, an employee must continue 

to meet occupational qualification 

standard requirements, and any 

additional job-related qualification 

requirements, established for the 

position. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 7, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN number ‘‘3206– 

AL18,’’ using any of the following 

methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

E-mail: employ@opm.gov. Include 

‘‘RIN 3206–AL18, Time in Grade’’ in the 

subject line of the message. 

Fax: (202) 606–2329. 

Mail: Mark Doboga, Deputy Associate 

Director, Center for Talent and Capacity 

Policy, U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management, Room 6551, 1900 E Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20415–9700. 

Hand Delivery/Courier: Mark Doboga, 

Deputy Associate Director, Center for 

Talent and Capacity Policy, U.S. Office 

of Personnel Management, Room 6551, 

1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20415–9700. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Christina Gonzales Vay by telephone 

(202) 606–0960; by fax (202) 606–2329; 

by TTY (202) 418–3134; or by e-mail 

christina.vay@opm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal 

employees in General Schedule (GS) 

competitive service positions at grades 5 

and above qualify for promotions to 

higher grades if they meet two criteria: 

(1) Have at least one year of specialized 

experience equivalent in difficulty to 

the next lower grade level or (in some 

cases) the equivalent education; and (2) 

have service of at least 52 weeks at their 

current grade (known as ‘‘time in 

grade’’). We are proposing eliminating 

the time-in-grade restriction as a 

prerequisite for promotion. 

The time-in-grade restriction 

originated in a statute called the Whitten 

Amendment. The Whitten Amendment 

was passed by Congress in 1952 during 

the Korean conflict. The statute was 

created to prevent the permanent 

buildup of the civil service with 

expanded grade levels during the 

Korean conflict, as had happened 

during World War II. 

The Whitten Amendment consisted of 

a series of personnel controls. The 

controls included a requirement to make 

all promotions and appointments on a 

temporary basis to simplify adjusting 

personnel actions downward at the end 

of the conflict; to conduct an annual 

survey of positions to assure each was 

properly graded; and to implement the 

time-in-grade restrictions to prevent 

excessively rapid promotions of Federal 

employees in GS competitive and 

excepted service positions. 

Before the Whitten Amendment 

expired, Congress sought a review by 

the predecessor of OPM, the Civil 

Service Commission (Commission), to 

determine whether to retain any of the 

provisions in the amendment. The 

Commission reported that the time-ingrade restriction for competitive service 

GS positions had been placed in 

regulation and would continue even if 

the Whitten Amendment expired. The 

law expired September 14, 1978, and 

time in grade continues in regulation for 

competitive service GS positions. 

On June 14, 1995 (59 Federal Register 

(FR) 30717) and January 10, 1996 (60 FR 

2546), we published proposals to 

eliminate time in grade. Because almost 

12 years have passed since publication 

of the first proposal, we are providing 

interested individuals another 

opportunity to comment. 

Reasons for Proposed Elimination 

We propose eliminating time in grade 

for the following reasons: 

—Grade Control No Longer Needed. 

When the Whitten Amendment was 

first enacted, no effective means 

existed to prevent employees from 

advancing quickly through the grades. 

Today, Governmentwide qualification 

standards, established by OPM, are in 

place for competitive service GS 

positions. (The OPM Operating 

Manual Qualification Standards for 

General Schedule Positions is 

available on the OPM Web site 

(http://www.opm.gov)). 

Eliminating the time-in-grade 

restriction will not have an impact on 

how agencies now use qualification 

standards to evaluate candidates. 

Currently, candidates may demonstrate 

possession of either experience of at 

least one year (acquired through any 

paid or unpaid work or non-work 

setting or situation in which the 

experience enabled the individual to 

acquire the required competencies/ 

knowledge, skills, or abilities) and/or 

the appropriate level of education as 

outlined in the OPM Operating Manual. 

Agencies must continue to ensure that 

candidates for promotion possess the 

required level of experience at the 

appropriate grade level (as defined in 

the classification standards) and/or meet 

the education requirements. 

In addition to using OPM 

qualification standards and/or 

education levels, agencies also have the 

discretion to establish additional 

requirements beyond the OPM 

qualification standards that employees 

must meet for promotions. Many have 

done so. Examples of requirements 

include the specific level of 

performance to meet, possession of 

specific job-related competencies/ 

knowledge, skills, and abilities, 

evidence that higher level duties exist, 

and/or availability of funds. 

Eliminating the time-in-grade 

requirement will not eliminate the 

agency’s determination on whether a 

candidate is qualified to perform the 

essential higher level duties. Rather, 

elimination of the 52-week time in grade 

waiting period reinforces the principle 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSALS
6858 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 25 / Wednesday, February 6, 2008 / Proposed Rules 

that promotions are based on an 

individual’s ability to perform the 

requirements of the position (i.e., merit) 

not longevity. 

—Performance Management 

Accountability Continues. Managers 

are responsible for ensuring there are 

sound performance management 

criteria based on job-related factors at 

the appropriate levels of proficiency 

when considering promotions of 

employees to higher graded duties. 

Eliminating the time-in-grade 

requirement will help dispel the myth 

that promotion automatically follows 

a set period of time spent in a 

particular grade, and instead 

emphasizes the importance of the 

qualification requirements, as well as 

the quality and level of performance 

needed to succeed at the next higher 

grade level. 

—Safeguards Are Now in Place. When 

time in grade expired in the Whitten 

Amendment, the merit systems 

principles (title 5, United States Code 

(U.S.C.), section 2301) and prohibited 

personnel practices (5 U.S.C 2302) 

had not been enacted as statutory 

provisions or codified in the United 

States Code. Alleged violations may 

be pursued and investigated and 

corrective or disciplinary actions may 

be warranted. 

—Inconsistencies Exist Among Federal 

Employees. Time in grade applies to 

competitive service GS employees, 

but does not apply to competitive 

service employees under other pay 

plans, including employees in Wage 

Grade positions. Time in grade does 

not apply to those competitive service 

GS employees who apply for other 

competitive service positions through 

a competitive examination. The timein-grade restriction does not apply to 

excepted service GS employees, 

although individual agencies can, at 

its discretion, require time in grade 

for their excepted service employees. 

This disparate treatment of employees 

under varying appointments and pay 

plans highlights the inequities of 

retaining time in grade. 

Eliminating time in grade enables any 

Federal competitive service GS 

employee (regardless of current 

occupation or grade), who meets the 

qualification standards for a particular 

position, to become eligible for 

promotion to a competitive service GS 

position. This can be done through a 

competitive examination or under an 

agency’s internal merit promotion 

procedures, as applicable. Elimination 

also gives agencies the flexibility to 

continue requiring employees to meet a 

specified amount of time in their 

current grade, regardless of their 

qualifications. 

We do not believe time-in-grade 

elimination will lead to a large number 

of excessively rapid promotions 

Governmentwide. Over the years, many 

demonstration projects have waived the 

use of time in grade, especially when 

pay banding was incorporated. In these 

cases, agencies imposed their own 

internal policies regarding promotions 

which were similar to time in grade. In 

the China Lake demonstration project, 

for example, OPM data indicate workers 

progressed through the bands at a 

slower rate, at least initially, than 

people in the GS pay scale. (To 

illustrate, an employee in a competitive 

service GS position can sometimes 

receive a pay raise, a within-grade 

increase, and a promotion in the same 

year and do so again in consecutive 

years, whereas a more disciplined pay 

system makes movement through the 

band less automatic and rapid.) 

Moreover, we are not aware of any 

widespread abuses concerning those 

positions that do not have a time-ingrade requirement. 

—Labor Market Challenges Exist. 

Competitive pressures in the labor 

market challenge the Federal 

Government’s ability to recruit, select, 

and retain highly qualified 

employees. These pressures did not 

exist during the time of the Whitten 

Amendment. Applying time in grade 

sometimes results in eliminating from 

consideration candidates who are in 

fact able to successfully perform the 

essential duties of the position. The 

merit system requires determining the 

qualifications of individuals; 

identifying appropriate recruitment 

sources; ensuring there is 

representation of all segments of 

society in the workforce; determining 

that selection and advancement are 

based solely on relative 

competencies/knowledge, skills, and 

ability; and ensuring that all receive 

equal opportunity through fair and 

open competition. Agencies already 

must meet these requirements; time in 

grade does not enhance agency ability 

to recruit, select, and retain the 

broadest pool possible of qualified 

Federal employees. In fact, time in 

grade can limit the pool of possible 

qualified candidates. The proposal to 

eliminate time in grade is consistent 

with upholding merit principles, and 

has the added benefit of helping 

agencies recruit and hire in tight labor 

market conditions. 

—Agencies Gain Flexibility. Eliminating 

the time-in-grade requirement will 

simplify OPM and agency operations. 

It will remove administrative burdens 

because agencies will no longer need 

OPM approval of training agreements 

that provide for consecutive 

accelerated promotions. Also, 

agencies will be able to implement 

flexibilities, such as pay banding or 

new ideas proposed in demonstration 

projects, without being required to 

obtain approval from OPM to waive 

time in grade. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

I certify that this regulation will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

because it affects only certain Federal 

employees. 

E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review 

This rule has been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget in 

accordance with Executive Order 12866. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 300 

Freedom of information, Government 

employees, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Selective 

Service System. 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

Linda M. Springer, 

Director. 

Accordingly, OPM proposes to amend 

5 CFR part 300 as follows: 

PART 300—EMPLOYMENT (GENERAL) 

1. Revise the authority citation for 

part 300 to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552, 3301, 3302; E.O. 

10577, 3 CFR, 1954–1958 Comp., page 218, 

unless otherwise noted. 

Secs. 300.101 through 300.104 also issued 

under 5 U.S.C. 7201, 7204, 7701; E.O. 11478, 

3 CFR, 1966–1970 Comp., page 803. 

Sec. 300.301 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 

1104 and 3341. 

Secs. 300.401 through 300.408 also issued 

under 5 U.S.C. 1302(c), 2301, and 2302. 

Secs. 300.501 through 300.507 also issued 

under 5 U.S.C. 1103(a)(5). 

Subpart F—[Removed and Reserved] 

2. Remove and reserve subpart F, 

consisting of §§ 300.601 through 

300.606. 

[FR Doc. E8–2122 Filed 2–5–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–38–P 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSALS