This document establishes the noncompetitive placement assistance procedures Human Resources (HR) will use to place employees whose positions have been abolished. Employee’s eligibility for placement assistance or special consideration is based on statutory or regulatory entitlement.

It is the policy of HR to provide placement assistance and placement consideration for employees who have been or will be displaced from their positions, who have been determined to be medically disqualified, who have been downgraded through no fault of their own or who lost consideration under a competitive announcement. Employees whose names appear on any of the placement or special consideration lists described in this document will be referred and/or placed on positions for which they meet the minimum qualifications standards without regard to competitive procedures in the Merit Promotion Plan. Minimum qualifications cannot be waived for positions with a positive education requirement.

Management should request HR provide placement assistance in writing as soon as possible after it is determined that assistance is needed. If the determination that employees will need placement assistance is based on a decision to abolish a function, transfer work or consolidate work, documentation of the decision should be attached to the written request for placement assistance.

1. HR shall assist the organization in informally surveying employees if a survey will be useful for planning purposes. Employees may be surveyed to determine their interest in regular or early retirement, interest in relocating outside of the commuting area with the work and/or interest in separation incentives. Completion of the survey will be voluntary. Employees are not bound by their response to the informal surveys. Prior notice of survey and results will be given the Local Union President. Any deviation from the standard approved survey will be negotiated with the Local Union President.
2. If the consolidation of work at a DFAS activity results in excess employees, HR will coordinate with gaining DFAS activity for consideration of affected employees for placement in gaining activity vacancies created by the consolidation. The DFAS policy on payment of PCS and Relocation Services Costs will apply to movement of excess employees.
3. HR will determine employees’ priority. The priority level determination dictates the order of consideration when there are multiple placement assistance matches for a vacancy. The order of consideration (priorities) are:

1. Priority 1 – Medically Disqualified Eligible. These are employees who have been determined to be medically disqualified from their position.
2. Priority 2 – Placement Assistance List (PAL) Eligible. These are employees who would otherwise be facing adverse action due to RIF such as downgrade or separation.
3. Priority 3 – Repromotion Eligible. These are employees who have been downgraded because of RIF, separation or other management action.
4. Priority 4 - Special Consideration Eligible. These are employees who have been denied consideration through no fault of their own under a competitive announcement.
5. Priority 5 – Remployment Priority List (RPL) Eligible. These are employees who have been separated form DoD jobs in the commuting area.

Every reasonable effort will be made to place employees who have been medically disqualified from their position. Prior to being placed on the list of medically disqualified eligibles, an employee must:

The employee’s supervisor, in conjunction with HR, will determine if the requested accommodations can be made in the employee’s current position, or recommend alternative accommodations. If appropriate accommodations cannot be made, the HR will screen the employee’s qualifications for all grade levels at or below the employee’s current grade. The employee’s name will be placed on the list of medically disqualified eligibles.

When a match is made, HR will send a request to the employee to have their physician or health care provider evaluate whether the position meets the physical requirements or other medical limitations of the employee.

If it is determined the employee is able to perform the requirements of the matched position within their documented limitations, HR will contact the supervisor of the vacant DFAS position to advise them that their position has been filled through the placement assistance process by a medically disqualified eligible. Placement is mandatory unless the supervisor requests and receives an exception from the BLE, CE, CD, or equivalent DFAS management official.

If an employee remains medically disqualified for their current position, and no reasonable placement opportunities have been identified, or the employee is unable to perform the requirements of matched positions, HR will advise the medically disqualified employee who cannot be placed of any options available to them (e.g., retirement or other benefits). Employees will remain registered as a medically disqualified eligible up to the effective date of the appropriate administrative determination.

Before Placement Assistance List eligible employees are identified by the organization, the following steps will be taken:

1. The employee is placed in a same grade (or higher), same representative rate (or higher) position as the position of record when registered.
2. The involuntary personnel action, e.g., RIF separation or change to lower grade, separation for declining a TOF outside the commuting area, giving rise to the need for placement assistance is effected.
3. The employee is separated or changed to lower grade as a result of a performance-based or other disciplinary action.

1. The employee requests removal from the PAL or an employee declines a position. Employee will be notified that management retains the right to initiate a reassignment outside the PAL process.

Qualified repromotion eligible employees will be referred for vacancies in all serviced activities in the commuting area. Selection is not mandatory.

HR will register employees when downgraded through no fault of their own. New employees downgraded while employees of another agency will be registered when identified as a repromotion eligible.

Employees eligible for repromotion will be registered until expiration of pay retention. This means employees granted grade retention are registered during the period of grade retention and remain registered during the period of pay retention.

When an employee is identified as eligible for repromotion, the specialist will determine the series and grades for which the employee will be registered. Registration is for series for which the employee is qualified, in the same plan as the position from which downgraded, and for grades at or below the level of the position from which the emp|loyee was downgraded. Employees will not be registered for positions that offer known promotion to a grade higher than the one from which demoted.

Registration can be for any pay plan, WG employees registering for GS positions.

When a repromotion eligible matches an RPA, the eligible will be referred for consideration in advance of other candidates not entitled to priority consideration. There is no entitlement to selection.

Repromotion list eligibles will be removed from placement assistance when one of the following occurs:

1. The employee is selected competitively or noncompetitvely for a position the grade of which is the same as or equivalent to the grade of the position from which the employee was downgraded.
2. The employee declines a position the grade of which is the same as or equivalent to the grade of the position from which the employee was downgraded. The job offer must meet the definition of a reasonable offer if declination will result in removal from the repromotion eligible list. For example, if an employee was downgraded from a position that did not require significant travel, shift work or a mobility agreement, the employee will not be removed from consideration for declining a position that does. If an employee declines a position at an intervening grade, the employee is removed from consideration for positions at and below the grade declined. The job offer and declination will be documented in the employee’s repromotion file.
3. The employee resigns or retires.

1. The employee accepts a position in an activity not serviced by the DFAS Human Resource.
2. The employee accepts a position in an activity not serviced by the DFAS Human Resource.

Special consideration will be given to employees who failed to receive proper consideration in a competitive promotion action through no fault of their own. Special consideration is given in advance of the referral process but there is no entitlement to selection. Employees are accorded one special consideration for the next appropriate vacancy. The next appropriate vacancy is one that meets all of the following conditions:

1. It is a similar type of position in the same pay system as the position for which the candidate failed to receive proper consideration.
2. It is a position for which the candidate has indicated interest.
3. It is a position for which the candidate is highly qualified.
4. The target grade of the position is no higher than the target grade of the position for which the employee failed to receive proper consideration.

When a qualified and available RPL eligible matches a vacant position, the RPL eligible must be selected before the position is filled by new appointment (except for a 10-point preference eligible), transfer, or reinstatement (except for a preference eligible).

The following categories of employees are RPL eligible. (These categories do not include persons restored to duty from military service or from a compensable injury within one year from the date compensation began. Employees restored to duty under these circumstances are entitled to immediate placement in accordance with applicable government-wide regulations.)

1. Career and career conditional employees in the competitive service tenure groups I and II. Employees who declined a reasonable offer before separation are not RPL eligible. Employees whose rating of record at the time of separation was unacceptable are not RPL eligible.
2. Employees who have recovered from a compensable injury more than one year from the date compensation began and who have applied for reemployment within 30 days after compensation ceases or within 30 days after an appeal for compensation is denied.

When an employee becomes an RPL eligible, the employee wil be advised of the RPL and registration procedures. Employees may register as soon as a specific notice of RIF separation or a Certification of Expected Separation notice is received. Employees must apply for registration within 30 days of the Reduction of Force (RIF) separation date. Within 10 days of receipt of the employee’s application for registration, the HR will determine the positions for which qualified and interested and register the employee in the RPL for positions in the local commuting area.

When more than one RPL eligible matches a position, employees shall be offered reemployement in retention standing order. That is, the supervisor may select from among subgroup eligibles, but may not pass over an individual in a tenure group I to select from group II, and within a group, may not pass over an individual in a higher subgroup to select from a lower subgroup.

Employees will be removed from the RPL under the following circumstances:

1. The employee accepts a permanent position with a representative rate that is equal to or higher than the position from which separated.
2. The employee requests removal.

 

3. The employee declines a permanent position with a representative rate equal to or higher than the position from which separated. An employee who declines a position at an intervening grade level will be removed from consideration for positions at and below the grade declined. An employee who declines a position with working conditions significantly different than the working conditions of the position from which separated will not be removed from the RPL.
4. Expiration of eligibility. RPL Eligibility for tenure group I employees terminates two years from the date of initial registration. RPL eligibility for tenure group II employees terminates one year from the date of initial registration.
5. The employee fails to respond to a job offer.