Policy, Data, Oversight Performance Management

Agencies are encouraged to involve employees in the design and implementation of their appraisal programs, award programs, and employee performance plans.  Of course, where a union has been granted exclusive recognition, such involvement for bargaining unit employees must be through their elected union representatives.

Yes. The requirements dealing with electronic signatures are:

• the signal or symbol must be unique to the signer
• the "signature" must be capable of being verified and must be linked to the data being transmitted, including the effective date
• control features must be in place to insure the authenticity of data on the form, including the electronic signature
• such controls must provide reasonable assurance that deliberate or inadvertent manipulation, modification or loss of data on the electronically stored form is detected

Yes. OPM encourages agencies to hold supervisors accountable for fulfilling their performance management responsibilities. Agencies often establish elements and standards in the raters' performance plans to hold them accountable for the performance management of their subordinates.

Yes, as long as employees with higher ratings of record receive higher dollar amounts than those with lower ratings of record (e.g., an award program must grant GS-9's who receive an outstanding rating a higher dollar amount than GS-9's who receive a fully successful rating). Agencies may use their discretion whether to pay rating-based awards as a lump-sum dollar amount or a percentage of base pay.

No.  Agencies must not grant individual cash awards for nonuse of sick leave. The intent of awards law and regulations is to recognize employee's noteworthy performance. A Comptroller General (CG) decision reaffirmed that sick leave cash incentive programs are inappropriate. The CG ruled that sick leave is a statutory entitlement available to Government employees and, therefore, cash incentives for its nonuse are improper.

Yes. OPM must approve any cash award over $10,000 up to $25,000. Awards over $25,000 must be submitted through OPM for the President's approval. The Department of Defense and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may approve awards up to $25,000.  (SES performance awards and Presidential rank awards for SES and SL/ST employees have their own requirements).

No. Rating-based cash awards are based on the rating of record, which is the written justification for the award.

No. OPM must review and approve the agency's appraisal system, which sets out the limits within which all the agency's programs must be developed.  OPM must approve the appraisal system before any appraisal program developed under the system can be implemented.

The term has no precise definition in policy or practice, but "forced distribution" generally is associated with the idea of limiting awards to a certain number or percentage of employees. Relative comparisons among individuals or groups, such as rank ordering or categorizing employees, can be used for making decisions about distributing awards. For example, agencies may limit awards to the top three producers or teams, or limit awards to those individuals or groups that exceeded certain goals. Agencies can also establish criteria for categories of awards that are given only to a selected number of recipients who best fit the criteria, although the criteria might have been met by more than one person or team.

Yes.  Agencies may use any procedures they deem appropriate for considering performance when granting awards and taking other personnel actions, with the following exceptions:  assigning additional service credit in a reduction in force and granting within-grade increases for General Schedule employees and prevailing rate system employees, which are tied to ratings of record and performance ratings respectively.