Leave, pay and evaluations on OPM's regulatory agenda

Leave, pay and evaluations on OPM's regulatory agenda

ksaldarini@govexec.com

New leave policies, performance management regulations and locality pay area changes are on the Office of Personnel Management's regulatory agenda, the agency announced Monday.

OPM released a long list of regulations that it plans to review before April 2001 in the April 24 Federal Register. The regulatory agenda is required under Executive Order 12866. In it, OPM details every piece of regulation that is scheduled for development or review from April 1, 2000 through March 31, 2001.

Among the standouts are:

Rule
What it Does
When it Will Happen
Appointment of Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities Creates a special appointment for people with psychiatric disabilities to allow them to be hired without going through the normal competitive hiring process. Qualified people would spend two years under the special appointment, after which they could be placed in a permanent job in the civil service. June 2000
Merit Promotion and Internal Placement Gives agencies a framework from which to develop merit-based promotion processes. December 2000, notice of proposed rule expected
Clarification of Hiring Authorities Consolidates and streamlines hiring practices. September 2000, notice of proposed rule expected
Performance Appraisal in the Senior Executive Service Gives agencies more flexibility to develop SES appraisal systems tailored to their needs and allows agencies to include customer and employee satisfaction measures in SES performance appraisals. December 2000
Locality Pay Areas for 2001 Adds Rhode Island to the Boston locality pay area and adds Monterey, Calif., to the San Francisco locality pay area. August 2000
Time-in-Grade Restrictions Eliminates the requirement that employees serve one year in a grade to be eligible for promotion above the GS-5 level. June 2000
Holidays and Premium Pay Allows wage-grade employees to receive compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay. August 2000
Sick Leave Allows federal employees to use up to 12 weeks of sick leave each year to care for a family member with a serious health condition. May 2000
FEHBP Premium Conversion Allows federal employees to pay health insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars. July 2000
Employment in the Senior Executive Service Revises SES regulations to emphasize executive leadership qualifications and strengthen the SES merit staffing process. Gives OPM the authority to delegate to agencies administration of the qualifications review board. April 2000
Performance Management Reform Initiatives Allows for publishing policies and procedures from the now defunct Federal Personnel Manual in the Code of Federal Regulations. Next Action Undetermined

The full list of regulations in the works is available online in the April 24 Federal Register.