|
Return to Federal
Employee's Page
REINSTATEMENT
ELIGIBILITY
If you previously worked for the federal government in a career or career-conditional
appointment you may have reinstatement eligibility.
The following questions and answers concerning reinstatement eligibility are posted on
OPM's USAJOBS web site at http://www.usajobs.opm.gov. I've added clarifications were I
felt they were needed and expanded on the answers in several areas.
What is Reinstatement?
Reinstatement allows you to reenter the Federal competitive service workforce without
competing with the public in a civil service examination. You may apply for any open civil
service examination, but reinstatement eligibility also enables you to apply for Federal
jobs open only to status candidates.
What are the Eligibility Requirements?
You must have held a career or career-conditional appointment at some time in the past. If
so, there is no time limit on reinstatement eligibility for those who: Have veterans'
preference, or Acquired career tenure by completing 3 years of substantially continuous
creditable service.
If you do not have veterans' preference or did not acquire career tenure, you may be
reinstated within 3 years after the date of your separation. Reinstatement eligibility may
be extended by certain activities that occur during the 3-year period after separation
from your last career or career-conditional appointment.
Examples of these activities are:
* Federal employment under temporary, term, or similar appointments.
* Federal employment in excepted, non-appropriated fund, or Senior Executive Service
positions.
* Federal employment in the legislative and judicial branches.
* Active military duty terminated under honorable conditions.
* Service with the District of Columbia Government prior to January 1, 1980 (and other
service for certain employees converted to the District's independent merit system).
* Certain government employment or full-time training that provided valuable training and
experience for the job to be filled.
* Periods of overseas residence of a dependent who followed a Federal military or civilian
employee to an overseas post of duty.
How Do I Apply for Reinstatement?
You must conduct your own job search. Reinstatement eligibility does not guarantee you a
job offer. Hiring agencies have the discretion to determine the sources of applicants they
will
consider.
Individuals usually apply to agencies in response to vacancies announced under the merit
promotion program. Some agencies accept applications only when they have an appropriate
open merit promotion announcement, while others accept applications at any time. If you
are seeking a higher grade or a position with more promotion potential than you previously
held, generally you must apply under a merit promotion announcement and rank among the
best-qualified applicants to be selected. Status applicants include individuals who are
eligible for reinstatement.
CLARIFICATION: Reinstatement eligible often assume
that they can apply for any open job that they qualify for non-competitively. This is not
the case. If the highest grade that you last held in your federal job was a GS-9 grade you
can only be rehired into a GS-9 position or lower grade non-competitively. You can't be
hired non-competitively into a higher graded position. The only way for a reinstatement
eligible to be hired into a hired graded position is to bid competitively through an open
job announcement.
Reinstatement eligibles should contact agencies in their area to determine if job
vacancies exist. If an agency knows that a fully qualified reinstatement eligible
applicant is available and they like that persons application and interview they can be
hired on-the-spot. Agencies like having this option for several reasons. First, they are
getting a trained and qualified employee. Secondly they don't have to advertise the
vacancy thereby saving considerable time, sometimes months including personnel action
processing, to get the job filled.
To establish your reinstatement eligibility, you must provide a copy of your most recent
SF 50, Notification of Personnel Action, showing tenure group 1 or 2, along with your
application. You may obtain a copy of your personnel records from your former agency if
you recently separated.
The Federal Records Center has been established as a
depository for official personnel folders of persons no longer in the Federal service.
Federal agencies, generally, transfer employment records to the Federal Records Center
thirty days after the employee has been separated from Federal service.
The telephone numbers and e-mail addresses listed may only be used to
contact the facilities regarding procedures for submitting written requests
for information. The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 USC 552a) and OPM require a
signed and dated written request for information from
Federal records. No requests for information from personnel or any other
type of records will be accepted by telephone or e-mail.
Federal Records Center
National Archives and Records Administration
111 Winnebago Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63118
(314) 801-9250, FAX: 314-801-9269
Email:
cpr.center@nara.gov
Inquiries must include your full name under which formerly employed, social
security number, date of birth, and to the extent known, former Federal employing
agencies, addresses and dates of such employment
How Can I Find Out About Agency Merit Promotion Announcements?
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management makes job announcements available through the
Career America Connection at 912-757-3000 and Touch Screen Computers located throughout
the Nation, and through the Federal Job Opportunities Board (computer bulletin board
system) at 912-757-3100. Also try their new web site at http://www.usajobs.opm.gov. Their
nationwide T.D.D. line is 912-744-2299. You should contact the agencies in which you are
interested in working for specific application instructions.
CLARIFICATION: I suggest that you contact all agencies
in your area that would utilize your job skills and send them an updated OF-612 or
original SF-171 application along with your last SF-50 as mentioned above. Also send a
cover letter describing what job you are looking for with a general introduction. Address
the cover letter to the Human Resource Manager or Personnel Director. Contact your local
Federal Executive Board (FEB) for a list of agencies in your area. A number of FEBs are
going online with this information.
"Take Charge of Your Federal
Career: A Practical, Action-Oriented Career Management Workbook for Federal
Employees" by Dennis V. Damp describes this process in detail, plus it directs
readers to where the jobs are. Available for $17.95 plus shipping. Order by phone toll
free with all major credit cards at 1-800-782-7424
(ORDERS ONLY).
Return to Federal Employee's Page
Home | About Us | Site Map | Feedback | Search |
|
