Staffing, Recruiting, Examining, and Assessment Policy
Medical Eligibility Requirements
Attachment 2: Psychiatric Medical Referrals
Back to OPM Adjudication of Psychiatric/Psychological Objections
Psychiatric medical referrals that are submitted to OPM usually contain OPM or Agency Investigation Reports, application materials, and some form of medical examination results and/or medical history records. The medical psychiatric records normally fall into one of the following categories:
| Category 1 |
OPM or Agency Investigative Record includes evidence the applicant is currently under treatment for a psychiatric or behavioral disorder(s) that may or may not require psychotropic or other types of medication. |
| Category 2 |
Record includes evidence applicant has been treated in the recent past (generally, within past 5 years) for a psychiatric or behavioral disorder(s), but is no longer under treatment. |
| Category 3 |
Record includes evidence applicant has been treated in the distant past (generally, 5 years or longer) for a psychiatric disorder, and also includes results of a recent psychiatric evaluation that concludes, while there is no present condition warranting treatment, the type of behavior manifest in the past is still evident. |
| Category 4 |
Record includes no evidence of present or past treatment, but does include results of a current psychiatric evaluation which identifies a specific psychiatric condition or behavior disorder which may adversely affect safe, reliable and efficient job performance. |
| Category 5 |
Record includes evidence the applicant has been treated in the distant past for psychiatric disorder(s), and may include results of a recent psychiatric evaluation showing no current significant psychiatric or behavioral problem. |
| Category 6 |
Record includes no evidence of present or past treatment, but does include results of a current psychiatric/psychological evaluation that does not identify a specific psychiatric condition as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition (Text Revision) DSM-IV-TR, or the most current, accepted form of the DSM. Rather, the record cites specific behavioral and personality tendencies, behavioral characteristics, attitudes and bias, and temperaments, which may adversely affect job performance. |
| Category 7 |
Record includes no evidence of present or past treatment and does include the results of tests of psychological functioning that does not support a clinical diagnosis per se of a mental health condition or impairment. |
Medical/Psychiatric Case Categories 1 – 4 (above) are typically straight-forward. OPM evaluates these cases in conjunction with the past and/or present work history of the applicant to determine whether the psychiatric/psychological condition is likely to adversely affect safe and efficient job performance.
Psychiatric case records for Category 5 (above) are based on history alone, and are not easily handled as a medical objection unless there is a medical standard that specifically addresses the question of past psychiatric history. Generally, the view of OPM is that evidence of past psychiatric history is not critical to the decision to hire, and the question of other types of suitability issues would take precedence.
Psychiatric case records for Categories 6 and 7 (above) are problematic in that they generally provide no basis to consider a medical disqualification.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management 1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415 | (202) 606-1800 | TTY (202) 606-2532