Legal Aspects of Assessment
Questions and answers
When assessing the appropriateness of an employee selection procedure, it is important to distinguish between competencies that are needed upon entry to the job and those that are acquired after selection, either through on-the-job experience or training. Only those competencies that applicants are expected to possess the first day on the job are appropriate to use for selection purposes.
Conversely, those competencies that employees will be expected to learn on the job should not be the subject of an employee selection requirement. Competencies not considered essential on the first day of the job – even those that eventually will be critical for job performance – can unfairly eliminate otherwise qualified applicants.
Please see Appendix G in the Delegated Examining Operations Handbook for more information regarding competency importance and ratings: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/competitive-hiring/deo_handbook.pdf
For more information, please contact Assessment_Information@opm.gov.