At the beginning of a new Presidential Administration, the incoming President makes personnel changes, including selecting new Cabinet secretaries and agency heads. These new appointees may appoint a number of officials on the basis of their support for the President's goals and policies. These are the officials who are responsible for formulating, advocating, and directing Administration policies and programs, or are those who serve such officials in a close and confidential relationship. Most executive branch positions are in the "competitive service," or in a separate but similar competitive merit system. Governmentwide, there are relatively few positions whose incumbents are subject to change during periods of transition. Employees in positions that traditionally change when Presidential Administrations change are not part of the competitive civil service. Rather, they are excepted from competitive service requirements and protections by law, Executive order, or regulation.

Incumbents of these discretionary positions customarily resign at the request of the new incoming Administration officials or before a new agency head takes office. It also is common for an incoming Administration to ask certain persons to remain in their jobs during the transition to ensure needed continuity during the initial period of staffing.
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POSITIONS OR INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

There are four broad categories of individuals or positions that may be changed during transition:

• Presidential appointments made with the advice and consent of the Senate (PAS) to positions in which the incumbent serves at the pleasure of the President;

• Other Presidential appointments (PA) to positions in which the incumbent serves at the pleasure of the President;

• Noncareer Senior Executive Service (SES) appointments; and

• Appointments to other positions in which the incumbent serves at the pleasure of the agency head. These positions are excepted from the competitive service by law, by Executive order, or by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) based on their responsibility for determining or advocating agency policy or their confidential character (commonly known as "Schedule C" positions).
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Positions in these four categories normally include Cabinet Officers and heads of other executive branch agencies; Under Secretaries; Assistant Secretaries; Directors of Bureaus and Services; and Chairpersons and Members of Boards, Commissions, and Committees. Positions in all four categories above are often authorized by specific provisions of law.

In the past, the first two categories above included most of the positions in Level I (Cabinet level) through Level V of the Executive Schedule. Now, however, Level IV and Level V positions that are managerial and do not require Senate confirmation are in the Senior Executive Service, although their titles may continue to be listed in sections 5315 and 5316 of title 5, U.S. Code.

Positions that are generally subject to change during transitions are listed in a document called, United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, commonly known as the Plum Book. OPM prepares this document every four years at the request of Congress. It was published immediately after the election in November, and it is available on OPM's website (www.opm.gov/PlumBook/index.htm).
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INVOLUNTARY SEPARATIONS/RESIGNATIONS

Presidential Appointees and Immediate Staff. When the President accepts the resignation of a Presidentially-appointed policy-making officer, the separation is involuntary. A separation is involuntary at any time the resignation is submitted and accepted, whether or not it is related to a change in Presidential Administrations. Further, when it is known that a Presidential appointee is leaving, the resignation of a noncareer SES or Schedule C employee who works for that Presidential appointee is involuntary. Agencies should include documentation with a retirement application that the President has accepted the resignation of his appointee, or that the Presidential appointee for whom a noncareer SES or Schedule C appointee works is leaving.
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Requested Resignations. When an agency separates an employee who submits his/her resignation in response to a request from a recognized representative of the new incoming Administration, that separation is involuntary for retirement purposes. The agency should attach a copy of the request for the resignation with the individual's retirement application. Unsolicited resignations, i.e., those based on an anticipated request for a resignation and those prompted by personal choice, are voluntary for retirement purposes. [See sections 7 (p. 21) and 8 (p. 23) for additional information about involuntary separations and resignations.]

Caution about Separations. When an agency separates an employee, Constitutional requirements oblige the agency to provide a hearing if the employee's moral character is implicated by the reasons given for dismissal. These rights arise only when disreputable reasons for dismissal are recorded in any document that might be disseminated to others either inside or outside Government. For this reason, notices of separation should avoid a tone that implicates the employee's reputation. [See APPENDIX B for a sample separation notice.]
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OVERLAPPING IN KEY POSITIONS

Agencies cannot employ two individuals in the same position at the same time ("dual incumbency"). However, there are options available to agencies to provide continuity in key positions and meet other transition needs.

• When an incumbent's intention to leave has been documented, an agency may establish a different position to employ a designated successor for a brief period pending the incumbent's departure. For example, when an office director is leaving, the agency could establish a temporary special assistant position for a short period to facilitate orientation of the incoming director to the office's operations.

• OPM may authorize the use of SES limited appointment authorities for short periods of time for temporary executive positions established under such circumstances [see section 4, pp. 9-10].

• Agencies may also establish temporary transitional Schedule C positions for similar non-executive positions to help with transitions [see section 5, p. 12].
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CAUTION ABOUT COMPETITIVE APPOINTMENTS

In a February 18, 2000, Memorandum to Heads of Departments and Agencies, the Director of OPM asked agencies to review all personnel actions carefully to make sure that they meet the civil service laws, rules, and regulations and are free of impropriety. The Director reminded agencies specifically that OPM and agencies are obligated to ensure that all personnel actions conform fully to the spirit and the letter of the merit system principles and do not involve prohibited personnel practices. [See Appendix A for a copy of this memorandum -- click on desired format:  PDF Adobe Acrobat, WordPerfect v5.1.]

The General Accounting Office (GAO) is also reviewing appointments of former political appointees to career positions in the Federal Government during the period October 1998 through April 2001 to ensure that these actions comply with law and regulation. Agencies should be aware that all individuals have the right to compete for any civil service position when advertised, in accordance with proper merit staffing procedures.
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CAUTION ON AWARDS AND PROMOTIONS FOR POLITICAL APPOINTEES

The law prohibits granting cash awards at any time to individuals serving in Executive Schedule positions who are appointed by the President, with Senate confirmation. [5 U.S.C. 4509].

The law also prohibits granting awards to senior politically-appointed officers during the Presidential election period, defined as June 1, 2000, through January 20, 2001 [5 U.S.C. 4508]. This prohibition applies to Schedule C appointees and SES members who are not career appointees. In addition to this statutory ban, the Clinton Administration placed the following additional restrictions on cash awards and promotions for political appointees that remain in effect until January 20, 2001.

Restriction on Cash Awards. Agencies should not give cash awards to political employees (i.e., Executive Schedule, noncareer SES, Schedule C employees) paid a salary level that exceeds that of a GS-12. Agencies may grant monetary awards to others only for performance that is clearly exceptional. Agencies should continue to recognize other political appointees through the prudent use of nonmonetary awards.

Restriction on Schedule C Promotions. Promotions for Schedule C employees are limited to situations where significant changes to a position's level of duties and responsibilities justify reclassification at a higher grade. Positions should not be reclassified just to create a promotion opportunity for a deserving employee.
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DETAILS TO THE TRANSITION TEAM

The Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended, establishes the transition team as a Federal entity to provide for the orderly transfer of power between Administrations [3 USC 102 note]. In addition to providing that the transition team may hire its own staff, the Act provides for the detail of Federal employees to the transition team after the November election as follows:

• Any employee of any agency of any branch of the Government may be detailed to the office staff of either the President-elect or the Vice-President elect.

• The employee must be detailed on a reimbursable basis, and the detail must be with the consent of the lending agency head.