Are there any length requirements or limitations for the program's minimum period (i.e., the length of time before a performance rating can be prepared)?
No. An agency program must specify the length
of its minimum period and that minimum must fall within any limits
established
by the agency appraisal system. However, the outcomes of performance
appraisals
are applied in other personnel areas, and these applications create
some practical limits for minimum periods.
For example, the regulations and statutory waiting periods for
granting
the within-grade pay increase for General Schedule and Prevailing Rate
System employees rely on a determination that the employee's
performance
merits the pay adjustment. Prevailing Rate System employees with a work
performance rating of satisfactory or better are advanced from step 1
to step 2 after 26 weeks, which implies that their performance must
be ratable before that. Consequently, and without taking into
consideration
the nature of the work itself, the practical outside limit for the
minimum
period for prevailing rate employees is roughly 180 days.
In addition, the minimum period is one of the program features that
may
be subject to third-party review. Agencies are advised to be careful in
determining the time limits to be used and avoid setting minimum
periods
that might be judged unreasonably short.
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