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Page History: Federally Mandated Training


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Page Revision: 9/14/2012 10:00:25 AM


Federally Mandated Training

Federally Mandated Training, as defined on the Standard Form (SF) 182 Authorization, Agreement and Certification of Training, is “mandatory training for all employees Governmentwide”, or in some cases, groups of employees across Federal agencies and departments. “This includes training mandated by Executive order, Federal statute, or regulation such as computer security awareness (5 CFR 930.301-305), ethics (5 CFR 2638.703 and 704), and training for managers and supervisors (5 CFR 412.202).”

Below is a chart listing mandatory training for Federal employees. The legal citation is referenced for each topic. Note: If contractors use Government computers, they must complete agency-sponsored IT Security Awareness training. Other Federally mandated training courses are voluntary for contractors unless there is language in their contracts that requires them to complete these courses (5 CFR 930.301(1). Please see the “Training of Contractors” section of this handbook for more information.

Listed below are two types of Federally Mandated training:

  • Mandatory Training for all Federal Employees
  • Mandatory Training for specific groups of employees (e.g., supervisors)

Mandatory Training for all Federal Employees Legal Citation   Frequency 
No FEAR Act – Agencies are
required to develop training on
the rights and remedies applicable
to agency employees regarding
antidiscrimination laws and
whistleblower protection laws.
For more information on No Fear
Act training, go to
http://www.eeoc.gov/
 5 CFR 724.203 On a training cycle of
no longer than every 2
years
Ethics Awareness – Agencies are required to provide annual ethics
training to employees identified in
the regulation, such as political
appointees and contracting
officers. Agencies must provide
ethics training to new agency
employees within 90 days of their
entrance on duty. For more
information on ethics awareness,
go to http://www.usoge.gov/
 5 CFR 2638.705  Annually
IT Security Awareness
Agencies are required to develop
a plan for Federal information
systems security awareness and
training.
 5 CFR 930.301  Annually
Equal Employment
Opportunity
– Agencies are
required to communicate (i.e.,
through training) to their
employees their equal
employment opportunity policy
and programs. For more
information on EEO training, go
to http://www.eeoc.gov/
 29 CFR 1614.102(a)(4) On a continuous basis
Constitution – Agencies are
required to provide new
employees with education and training materials concerning the
United States Constitution. Note:
Employees are not required to
take Constitution Day training.
Agencies are required annually to
provide materials on the
Constitution to all employees.
Section 111 of Title I, Division J, of the Fiscal
Year 2005 Consolidated
Appropriations Act
(Pub. L. 108-447)
Upon entry for new
employees and on
September 17th of each year for all employees.
Performance Management
Agencies are required to
communicate (i.e., through formal
training) the relevant parts of their
performance appraisal system.
 5 CFR 430.209(c) There is no time-frame
specified in 5 CFR
430.209(c); however, it is recommended
agencies communicate
the features and results
of agency performance
management system
annually to employees
and their supervisors.
Occupational Health and Safety
– Agencies are required to
provide appropriate health and
safety training to employees,
including specialized job safety
and health training appropriate to
work performed by the employee.
Training should inform employees of agencies’ health and safety programs.
For more information on occupational
health and safety training, go to http://www.osha.gov/dte/index.html.
 29 CFR 1960.59(a) There is no time frame specified.
Plain Writing Act – Agencies
are required to provide training in
plain writing to agency
employees. Agencies should
design a plan to determine which
employees would benefit the most
from this training, as well as
provide training to new
employees. Senior officials are
responsible for overseeing their
agency’s implementation of this
training to employees, and
establish a process for the agency
to oversee its ongoing compliance
with the Act’s requirements. For
more information on plain
language training, go to
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/index.cfm.
 Public Law 111-274 The deadline for
implementing training
agency employees was July 13, 2011, but there is no other specified
time frame for this
training.



Mandatory Training for Specific
Groups of Employees
Legal Citation  Frequency 
Initial and Ongoing Supervisory
training
– Agencies are required to
provide training to develop supervisors
and managers as part of a comprehensive
management succession program.
 5 U.S.C. 4121 Initial supervisory
training within one
year of a new
supervisor’s
appointment; ongoing
supervisory training at
least once every three
years
Uniformed Services Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act of 1994,
Pub. L. 103-353 (USERRA)
– Agencies
must provide training to human resources
personnel on items including rights,
benefits, and obligations of members of
the uniformed services. For more
information on USERRA, go to
http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/
 38 U.S.C. 4335 Recommended
annually pending final
regulation
Occupational Safety and Health
Training for Supervisors
– Agencies
must provide occupational health and
safety training for supervisors focusing
on supervisory responsibilities for
providing and maintaining safe and
healthful working conditions for
employees. For more information on
occupational health and safety training
for supervisors, go to
http://www.osha.gov/dte/index.html
 29 CFR 1960.55 There is no timeframe
specified
Veteran Employment Training for
Federal Hiring Managers
– Agencies
must provide training to hiring managers
concerning veterans’ employment,
including training on veterans’
preferences and special authorities for the
hiring of veterans. There is a free
training available on HR University at
http://hru.gov/course_catalog.aspx
Executive Order
13518
 Annual
Veteran Employment Training for
Federal Human Resources
Professionals
– Agencies must provide
training to human resources personnel
concerning veterans’ employment,
including training on veterans’
preferences and special authorities for
the hiring of veterans. There is a free
training available on HR University at
http://hru.gov/course_catalog.aspx.
Executive Order
13518
 Annual


Note: The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 generally requires agencies to provide interactive telework training to eligible employees and their managers and requires employees to complete the training prior to signing a telework agreement.  OPM developed training modules to meet this requirement.  The training modules are available on HR University and on OPM's telework website.

Stay Current

http://www.opm.gov/hrd/lead/pubs/handbook/lrbsa23.asp#executives

Mandatory training for all employees Governmentwide. This includes training mandated by federal statute or regulation; such as in the areas of computer security awareness (Title 5 CFR §930.301-305), ethics (Title 5 CFR §2638.703 and 704), or executives, managerial, and supervisory, (Title 5 CFR Part 412).

Computer Security Awareness Training
The importance of computer security to the agency, employees' role and responsibility in computer security, and basic agency computer security policies and procedures is a part of the periodic computer security training required by the Computer Security Act of 1987, Pub. L. 100-235 (1988).

Title 5 CFR 930.301-305 requires the head of each agency to provide initial, continuing, and refresher training at the awareness level, policy level, implementation level and performance level for executives, program and functional managers, information resources managers, security and audit personnel, automated data processing management, operations, and programming staff, and end users.

Ethics Training
Title 5 CFR §2638.703(b) requires that each new agency employee be provided, within 90 days of the date of his or her entrance on duty, the ethics materials specified in Title 5 CFR §2638.703(a). Agencies must also provide new employees with a minimum of one hour of duty time to either review these materials or receive ethics training.

Title 5 CFR §2638.704(a) requires that agencies provide employees an annual ethics training and the briefing must meet content requirements under Title 5 CFR §2638.704(c). Agencies must provide employees a minimum of one hour of duty time to receive annual ethics training.

Executives, Managers, and Supervisors

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) established guidelines as of September 12, 2006, to ensure the ongoing leadership capacity of the Federal workforce and to assist agencies in meeting several managerial development objectives. The guideline reflects and supports, several related efforts focused on Governmentwide leadership. For additional information see Guidelines for Managerial Development Memorandum.

Title 5 CFR Part 412 requires agencies to systematically develop executives, managers, supervisors, and candidates for these positions. Agency programs must provide for:

  • initial training for incumbents based on the results of needs assessments;
  • continuing learning experiences, so that the individual may achieve the mastery level of proficiency for his or her current management level and position; and
  • systematic development of candidates for higher management levels, including any U.S. Office of Personnel Management approved formal Senior Executive Service candidate development programs.

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