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Yes. However, an agency may not include in a group retention incentive authorization an employee in a senior-level (SL), scientific or professional (ST), Senior Executive Service (SES), Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration (FBI/DEA) SES, or Executive Schedule (EX) position or similar categories of positions for which the payment of a retention incentive has been approved by OPM. (See 5 CFR 575.305(c) and 575.315(a)(2).) Retention incentives for employees in such positions must be approved on an individual, case-by-case basis.
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The types of academic degrees and/or levels covered by the program are not specified in law. Agencies are encouraged to tailor their plans to recruit highly qualified candidates and/or retain highly qualified employees in their current positions. Therefore, an agency may specify the types of degrees and levels necessary to attain this goal.
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Yes. An agency may pay a recruitment incentive to an employee who has not yet entered on duty if the individual has accepted a written offer of employment and has signed a service agreement. (See 5 CFR 575.109(d).)
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No. Periods of leave without pay, or other periods during which an employee is not in a pay status, do not count toward completion of the required service period. However, as provided by 5 CFR 353.107, absence because of uniformed service or compensable injury is considered creditable toward the required service period upon reemployment. (See 5 CFR 537.107(b).)
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Agencies are responsible for making their own determination regarding what this term means. In doing so, agencies should take into account consistency, fairness, and the cost to taxpayers of recovering monies owed to the Government.
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Waiver requests must include a description of the critical agency need the proposed incentive would address, the documentation required for the agency's written determination to authorize a recruitment incentive under 5 CFR 575.108 or a relocation incentive under 5 CFR 575.208, the proposed incentive payment amount and a justification for that amount, the timing and method of making the incentive payments, the service period required, and any other information pertinent to the case at hand. (See 5 CFR 575.109(c)(2) and 575.209(c)(2).)
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Student trainees may be eligible for a special rate even though their series is not listed in a special rate authorization.Student trainees are required to be officially classified in an occupational series ending in "99" for the appropriate occupational group. (See 5 CFR 213.3202(b)(14).) All student trainee positions should be titled "Student Trainee" followed by the parenthetical title consistent with the occupational field involved (e.g., GS-899 Student Trainee (Civil Engineering)).Student trainees classified in a "99" occupational series are covered by a special rate table if (a) their officially classified parenthetical titles link directly to an official title for a covered series, (b) their positions are classified at one of the covered grades, (c) they fully meet the qualification requirements for the covered series and grade, and (d) they meet all other coverage requirements for the special rate table in question (e.g., official worksite location). In other words, a student trainee who is fully qualified to be classified in a series and grade that is covered by special rates is entitled to the appropriate special rate if the student trainee otherwise would be eligible but for the use of the "99" occupational series code.This has been OPM's policy since 1988, when the requirement to classify all student trainees in "99" series was put into effect. (This policy was communicated to agencies via an OPM memorandum to agency personnel directors dated August 3, 1988.) Each agency should ensure that it is following this policy. If an agency determines that it has not been paying a student trainee a special rate to which the student trainee was entitled, back pay would be appropriate, consistent with 5 CFR part 550, subpart H.Please note that for occupations with a positive educational requirement, student trainees must meet or exceed the minimum educational requirements for the given special rates-covered occupational series and grade, as well as any other criteria specified for that particular occupational series. For example, the minimum educational requirement at the GS-5 grade level may include a bachelor's degree in a specific field of study. In this situation, only those students who meet this requirement will be eligible for the special rate.As part of a request for new or revised special rates, agencies may ask that student trainees in a covered occupational category be covered by special rates without regard to the qualification requirements that apply to employees in a regular occupational series (i.e., a series other than a student trainee series). OPM has authority to expressly provide in the special rate authorization that all student trainees in a given "99" occupational series with qualifying parenthetical titles are covered by the special rate table, if they are otherwise eligible. Absent such express authorization, coverage must be determined as described in the above paragraphs.
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Before the employee enters on duty in the position for which recruited, or in the position in the new geographic area, the agency must determine that, in the absence of a recruitment or relocation incentive (as applicable), the agency would encounter difficulty in filling the position. An agency may determine that a position is likely to be difficult to fill if the agency is likely to have difficulty recruiting candidates with the competencies required for the position in the absence of a recruitment or relocation incentive based on the fact that OPM has approved the use of a direct-hire authority applicable to the position
or on a consideration of the following factors:
- The availability and quality of candidates possessing the competencies required for the position, including the success of recent efforts to recruit candidates for similar positions using indicators such as offer acceptance rates, the proportion of positions filled, and the length of time required to fill similar positions;
- The salaries typically paid outside the Federal Government for similar positions;
- Recent turnover in similar positions;
- Employment trends and labor-market factors that may affect the agency's ability to recruit candidates for similar positions;
- Special or unique competencies required for the position;
- Agency efforts to use non-pay authorities, such as special training and work scheduling flexibilities, to resolve difficulties, alone or in combination with a recruitment or relocation incentive;
- The desirability of the duties, work or organizational environment, or geographic location of the position; and
- Other supporting factors.
(See 5 CFR 575.106 and 575.206.)
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Yes. By law, severance payments must be discontinued when the recipient is "reemployed by the Government of the United States." (See 5 U.S.C. 5595(d).) The U.S. Postal Service is part of the U.S. Government. The fact that Postal Service employees are not entitled to receive severance pay under section 5595 (due to the exclusion at 5 U.S.C. 2105(e)) is irrelevant. (We note that past Postal Service employment is creditable service for purposes of computing an employee's severance pay fund. See 5 CFR 550.708(b).)If the Postal Service job is without time limitation, severance payments are terminated. However, if the Postal Service job carries a definite time limitation, then severance payments are merely suspended for the duration of the time-limited appointment and may be resumed after separation. (See 5 CFR 550.710-711. Note: We plan to revise these regulations to clarify that, consistent with the law, any Federal employment terminates or suspends severance payments.)
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Agencies are not required to make loan payments in one lump sum. In fact, making a loan payment in one lump sum to the loan holder on behalf of the employee accelerates the employee’s tax liability and may increase the resulting tax burden. (See Questions and Answers on Tax Liability.)
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