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in force, whether he is in a duty or leave status, pay or nonpay status, or actually engaged on work in another department, another competitive area, or in another competitive level; excluding only those in the active military service of the United States or in the Merchant Marine.

A retention register shall be compiled for each competitive level in which a reduction in force is to be made, showing the names of all employees in competition by retention groups and subgroups. It shall be arranged in sequence showing subgroup A-1 plus with highest retention preference, followed in order by subgroups A–1, A–2, A−3, A-4, B-1, B-2, B-3, B4, C-1, C-2, C-3, and C-4. Within each subgroup in retention groups A and B where some but not all employees may be affected by the reduction in force, names shall be arranged in sequence according to retention credits, with higher retention preference accorded to those with a greater number of retention credits. No computations of retention credits are necessary for employees in any retention subgroup which will not be affected by the reduction in force, in any subgroup where all of the employees are to be separated, or in retention group C. For this purpose, the employee records shall be reviewed and brought up to date with respect to length of service, efficiency ratings, and other particulars regarding which changes have occurred since the records were last made current.

This register shall be maintained in the order specified for inspection by employees, and shall at all times be available for inspection by representatives of the Commission.

§ 12.308 Sequence of selection. Within each competitive level, action must be taken to eliminate all employees in lower subgroups before a higher subgroup is reached, and within each subgroup of retention groups A and B, action must be taken concerning all employees with a lower number of retention credits before an employee with a higher number of retention credits is reached, except as provided below. Action may be taken at administrative discretion within any subgroup of retention group C. Whenever two or more employees are tied for position in retention group A or B, the ties shall be broken first by considering half-years of service in excess of total years for which retention credits were granted, and then by giving con

sideration to such matters as official conduct, or established administrative policy.

In unusual situations, an employee performing necessary duties which cannot be taken over by any other available employee with higher retention preference without undue interruption to the activity involved, may be retained, although employees with higher retention preference may be affected. A written statement of the reasons for such exceptions shall be made for inspection by employees adversely affected and for review by representatives of the Commission.

When a reduction in force is necessary only because of a curtailment in funds from which excepted employees are paid, only employees in excepted positions shall be considered in competition for the reduction in force.

Seasonal employees shall be considered in competition only with other seasonal employees in reductions in force.

Employees serving on a when-actually-employed (WAE) basis shall be considered in competition only with other when-actually-employed employees in reductions in force.

No discrimination shall be exercised, threatened or promised in any reduction in force against or in favor of any employee because of race, sex or marital status, or his political or religious opinions or affiliations.

§ 12.309 Actions. Employees who cannot be retained in their positions because of a reduction in force shall be separated, except as provided below. Such actions may be effective at different times within 90-day periods, each 90-day period being considered as a separate reduction-inforce program, and may be made effective without the prior approval of the Commission.

(a) Exceptions; furloughs. Where the reduction in force is the result of a temporary condition which is not expected to continue for more than one year, employees reached for action may be furloughed. Furloughs may also be used in lieu of separations except that in any reduction in force where any employee is furloughed in lieu of separation, all employees with higher retention preference who have been reached for action shall also be offered furloughs in lieu of separation. The furlough period shall not exceed the unexpired portion of the period

of appointment and in no case shall it exceed one year. In the event the vacancies are to be filled in positions of the competitive level and competitive area from which employees have been furloughed, the furloughed employees shall be given opportunity to return to duty before any original appointments are made to such positions. Offers of recall to duty shall be made in the order of retention preference of furloughed employees.

(b) Exceptions; statutory retention. Whenever an employee in Subgroup A-1 plus is reached for action in a reduction in force, he shall be placed in some other position of like seniority, status, and pay elsewhere in the department, and, wherever possible, at the same geographical location.

(c) Exceptions; status employees. No retention group A employee may be separated or furloughed in a reduction in force from a position subject to the Civil Service Act, if there is another position subject to the Civil Service Act in the department at the same geographical location in any other competitive area or competitive level, which may reasonably be expected to continue for one year or more, not filled by a retention group A employee which he could fill without undue interruption to the activity involved, unless (1) he refuses a reasonable offer of transfer to a position meeting these requirements, including reduction in pay if necessary, or (2) he has reemployment rights to a position in another department.

(d) Exceptions; veteran preference employees. No employee in subgroup A-1 may be separated or furloughed in a reduction in force from a position subject to the Civil Service Act if there is another position subject to the Civil Service Act in the department at the same geographical location in any other competitive area or competitive level which may reasonably be expected to continue for one year or more not filled by an employee in subgroup A-1 which he could fill without undue interruption to the activity involved, unless (1) he refuses a reasonable offer of transfer to a position meeting these requirements, including reduction in pay if necessary, or (2) he has reemployment rights in another department.

(e) Exceptions; war service employees with veteran preference. No employee in subgroup B-1 may be separated or

furloughed in a reduction in force from a position subject to the Civil Service Act if there is another position subject to the Civil Service Act in the department at the same geographical location in any other competitive area or competitive level which may reasonably be expected to continue for one year or more not filled by an employee in retention group A or subgroup B-1 which he could fill without undue interruption to the activity involved, unless (1) he refuses a reasonable offer of transfer to a position meeting these requirements, including reduction in pay if necessary, or (2) he has reemployment rights in another department.

(f) Actions concerning displaced employees. Additional actions necessary in connection with employees displaced, as a result of transfers or reassignments under paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e) of this section shall be determined on the basis of their retention preference in their respective competitive areas and competitive levels.

§ 12.310 Notice to employees. Each employee affected by a reduction in force shall be given an individual notice in writing at least thirty days before the action becomes effective. Where it is not possible to continue the employee in an active-duty status for the period specified in the notice, he shall have the greatest possible notice before he is relieved from active duty and shall thereafter be carried on the rolls for the remainder of the period. If the period of active duty after the notice is given and the period of accrued leave total less than thirty days, the employee shall be carried in a nonpay status for the remainder of the 30-day period. Such notice shall inform the employee of:

(a) The nature and effective date of the action,

(b) The proper office of the organization where he may examine a copy of these regulations and inspect the retention register and records,

(c) His right to appeal the proposed action to the Commission (departmental employees in the Washington area to the Central Office and others to the appropriate regional or branch office) within ten days from the receipt of notice, and

(d) The procedure for exercising any restoration or reemployment rights he may have, and the channels (departmental and field) through which he may apply for other government employment.

§ 12.311 Reports to the Commission. As soon as employees are notified of the proposed action, and within the 10-day period allowed for the filing of appeals, a report shall be submitted to the appropriate office of the Commission of each reduction in force program. Such report shall include:

(a) The competitive area and competitive level in which the reduction in force is to be made,

(b) The retention subgroup and credit point above which employees will be retained in each competitive level, the names of any employees below such point who are retained, and the reasons for their retention,

(c) The period in which the reduction in force is to be completed,

(d) The total number of employees separated or furloughed, and

(e) A certification of compliance with the regulations.

§ 12.312 Special rules on liquidation. Whenever it has been determined that all functions and all positions in an entire department, an entire governmental entity, or an entire competitive area are to be abolished within a specified time period, actions may be taken in regard to individual employees at different dates at administrative discretion; except that no employee with veteran preference shall be separated before an employee without veteran preference where their positions are immediately interchangeable.

NOTE: A mere limitation of authority to a specified date in the law which establishes, authorizes, or extends an agency is not a suficient basis for the application of the provisions of this section.

In such cases, the employees of the particular department, entity, or competitive area shall be given individual notices in writing containing a statement of the law, Executive order, or authority which requires the liquidation of the department, governmental entity, or competitive area, and the time period in which the liquidation is to be accomplished, and informing them of their rights to appeal to the Commission if they feel that there has not been compliance with the provisions of §§ 12.301 to 12.314, inclusive. The notices shall also inform employees of their rights to retention on the rolls for at least thirty days, of the procedures necessary to exercise any reemployment rights they

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may have to positions in other departments, governmental entities, or competitive areas, and of the procedures necessary to secure other employment.

A report of all liquidation programs shall be made to the Commission which shall include (a) a copy of the law, Executive order, or other authority for the liquidation of the department, governmental entity, or competitive area; (b) a certificate that no employee with veteran preference is being separated in advance of any employee without veteran preference where their positions are immediately interchangeable; and (c) a list of all retention group A employees with classified (competitive) civil service status who have not been transferred or assigned to other positions. This report shall be submitted within ten days after the first individual notices of separation are given to the employees affected.

Where it is necessary to liquidate a major activity which is not an entire competitive area, or which is a part of two or more competitive areas, the Commission will consider a request to establish such activity as a competitive area for the purpose of such liquidation.

§ 12.313 Appeals. Any employee who feels that there has been a violation of his rights under §§ 12.301 to 12.314, inclusive, may appeal to the appropriate office of the Commission within ten days from the date he received his notice of the action to be taken. This time limit may be extended only upon a showing by the employee that circumstances beyond his control prevented him from filing his appeal within the prescribed ten days. In order that employees may be informed of the facts on which action is based they shall have the right to examine a copy of §§ 12.301 to 12.314, inclusive, and to inspect the retention register and records on which their names appear, including statements of reasons for passing over employees with lower standing on the retention list. Such appeal should set forth whether the protest against action is based on an error in the records, violation of the rules of selection, restriction of competitive area or competitive level, or denial of right to examine regulations, retention register and records.

§ 12.314 Actions disapproved by the Commission. Whenever the Commission, as the result of a decision on the appeal of an employee, disapproves the

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action taken under §§ 12.301 to 12.314, inclusive, the head of the department or governmental entity shall restore the employee to active duty.

With respect to reductions in force outside the Washington, D. C., area, the decision of the Commission's regional director is the decision of the Commission on appeals.

NOTE: Miscellaneous information; Commission points of contact. Inquiries and correspondence concerning §§ 12.301-12.314 or standard plans of competitive areas, and reports and appeals concerning reductionin-force and liquidation programs in the departmental service in the vicinity of Washington, D. C., shall be addressed to the Civil Service Commission, Washington 25, D. C. for the attention of the Efficiency Ratings Administration Section, Personnel Classification Division, Room 801, Victor Building, 724 9th Street, N. W. (telephone extension 3166).

Inquiries, correspondence, reports and appeals concerning reduction-in-force and liquidation programs in the field service or in the departmental service outside the Washington, D. C., area except matters involving an established plan of competitive areas for the department or governmental entity, shall be addressed to the appropriate regional or branch office of the Commission.

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§ 18.4 Recruitment and placement. (c) Selection. The nominating or appointing officer shall, with sole reference to merit and fitness, make selections for appointment to each vacancy from not more than the highest three names available for appointment on the certificate: Provided, That the appointing officer need not consider any eligible who has been within his reach in connection with three separate appointments or against whom objection shall be made and sustained for any of the reasons stated in § 18.2 (c). The second and any additional vacancies shall be filled in like manner.

An appointing officer who passes over an eligible granted five- or ten-point preference under the regulations in this part and tentatively selects a nonpreference eligible, shall file with the Commission his reasons in writing for so doing and the Commission shall determine the sufficiency or insufficiency of such submitted reasons. The Commission will not consider prior service in a temporary capacity in the position to be filled a satisfactory reason for passing over a preference eligible in selection for indefinite appointment. The nonpreference eligible tentatively selected may not legally be appointed until the appointing officer has considered the findings of the Commission as to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the reasons submitted for passing over the preference eligible. Upon receipt of a finding of the Commission that the reasons for passing over a preference eligible are sufficient, the nonpreference eligible tentatively selected may be appointed. If the Commission finds that the reasons submitted are insufficient the appointing officer may (1) submit additional information in support of his reasons, in which case the appointment of the nonpreference eligible may not be made until the appointing officer receives the findings of the Commission on the additional information; or (2) consider the findings of the Commission as to the insufficiency and appoint either the preference eligible or the tentatively selected nonpreference eligible. A copy of the appointing officer's reasons and the Commission's findings shall, upon request, be sent to the eligible or his designated representative. If upon certification reasons deemed sufficient by the Commission for passing over his name shall three times have been given by appointing officers, certification of his name for appointment will thereafter be discontinued, prior notice of which shall be sent to the eligible. Any eligible who has been within reach in con

nection with three separate appointments in his turn, and any preference eligible who has been passed over three times for reasons deemed sufficient by the Commission, may be subsequently selected, subject to the approval of the Commission, from the certificate on which his name last appeared if the condition of the list has not so changed as to place him in other respects beyond reach of certification. [Paragraph (c) amended Feb. 7, 1945, effective Mar. 3, 1945, 10 F.R. 2154]

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§ 18.5 Appointment. (c) Trial period. In the case of substitutes and charmen and charwomen in the Postal Service, the trial period will be 2,024 hours of active duty. [Last sentence amended Sept. 27, 1945, 10 F.R. 12247]

(d) Appointment without examination. CODIFICATION: The headnote of § 18.5 (d) was amended to read as set forth above, and subparagraph (5) thereof was deleted, Feb. 7, 1945, effective Mar. 3, 1945, 10 F.R. 2155.

(e) Noncompetitive appointment necessitated by war program. (1) When in the discretion of the Commission, the exigencies of the war program demand that a position be filled immediately before the Commission has time to establish a formal list of eligibles, the noncompetitive appointment of a qualified person who is immediately available may be authorized as a temporary appointment not to exceed one year, which may be renewed for one additional year at the discretion of the department or agency concerned.

(2) When, under compelling circumstances, in the absence of eligibles and at the specific request of an appointing officer, the Commission refers the names of subeligibles for consideration, selection may be made without regard to the provisions of paragraph (c) of § 18.4. Appointment under this subparagraph will be authorized as temporary, not to exceed one year, but may be extended for one additional year in the agency's discretion. [Paragraph (e) amended Feb. 7, 1945, effective Mar. 3, 1945, 10 F.R. 2155]

(1) Positions which become subject to the war service regulations. The following classes of employees may be given war service appointments without prior approval of the Commission:

(1) Any person holding a position in a public or private enterprise which is taken over by the Federal Government and who thereby becomes an employee of the Government.

(2) Any Federal employee holding a position which is excepted from the Civil Service Act and rules and the war service regulations when his position is made subject to the Civil Service Act and rules or the war service regulations.

All war service appointments made under this paragraph shall be reported immediately to the Civil Service Commission.

No person given a war service appointment under this paragraph shall acquire eligibility for a classified civil service status until six

months after the end of the present war. At the expiration of six months after the war, such person may be recommended for a classified civil service status in accordance with §2.6 of this chapter: Provided, (1) His position becomes a permanent position in the classified civil service; (ii) he is still the incumbent of such position; and (iii) he entered on duty in such position prior to March 16, 1942, the effective date of the war service regulations.

This paragraph shall not apply to postal employees who become eligible for a classified civil service status in accordance with § 2.7 of this chapter. [Paragraph (f) amended Feb. 12, 1945, effective Apr. 7, 1943, 10 F.R. 2491] [Preceding paragraph, in small type, superseded by following paragraph, also in small type, during period covered by this Supplement]

(f) Positions which become subject to the war service regulations. The following classes of employees may be given war service appointments without prior approval of the Commission:

(1) Any person holding a position in a public or private enterprise which is taken over by the Federal Government and who thereby becomes an employee of the Government and any person who left such a position to perform active military or naval service and who meets the conditions set forth in § 18.13 for reemployment in such position.

(2) Any Federal employee holding a position which is excepted from the Civil Service Act and rules and the war service regulations when his position is made subject to the Civil Service Act and rules or the war service regulations.

All war service appointments made under this paragraph shall be reported immediately to the Civil Service Commission.

No person given a war service appointment under this paragraph shall acquire eligibility for a classified civil service status until six months after the end of the present war. At the expiration of six months after the war, such person may be recommended for a classified civil service status in accordance with § 2.6 of this chapter: Provided, (1) His position becomes a permanent position in the classified civil service; (ii) he has remained continuously employed in the same establishment in which appointed under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph, or in the same agency in which appointed under subparagraph (2) of this paragraph; and (iii) he entered on duty in such establishment or agency prior to March 16, 1942, the effective date of the war service regulations. [As amended May 30, 1945, 10 F.R. 7153, 7845]

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