TABLE OF CONTENTS
Topics | Sections |
14.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? 14.2 What is the scope of this chapter? 14.3 What is the overall policy? 14.4 What are the authorities for this chapter? | |
14.5 Who is responsible for overseeing and implementing the reemployment of annuitants under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)? | |
14.6 Is there a limit to the number of positions the Service can fill using the NDAA authority? 14.7 What are the criteria for using this authority? 14.8 What are the requirements and restrictions for using the NDAA authority? 14.9 What documents does a supervisor need to prepare to request approval to reemploy an annuitant under NDAA authority? 14.10 What are the requirements for maintaining documentation related to the appointment of the annuitant? 14.11 What is the Service’s policy about setting pay, leave, awards, and other benefits (e.g., retirement, Thrift Savings Plan, Social Security, etc.) for reemployed annuitants? |
OVERVIEW
14.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter describes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) policy on reemploying individuals who are receiving an annuity.
14.2 What is the scope of this chapter? This chapter applies to Service employees who have retired, are currently receiving an annuity, and may be interested in working for the Service again without a reduction in their annuity. This chapter does not apply to annuitants whose salary is “offset” or annuity discontinued.
14.3 What is the overall policy?
A. In accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), supervisors and managers may request approval to reemploy an individual who is receiving an annuity from the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees Retirement System without discontinuing or reducing the person’s salary to offset the annuity they are receiving.
B. Unless the NDAA is extended, the authority for this program expires on December 31, 2024.
14.4 What are the authorities for this chapter?
A. Department of the Interior (Department) Personnel Bulletin (Amended) No: 10-01: Part-Time Reemployment of Civilian Retirees under the NDAA for FY 2010, as extended by NDAA for FY 2015, and Personnel Bulletin No: 20-01: Extension of Authority for Dual Compensation Waivers for Part-Time Reemployed Civilian Employees under the NDAA, Fiscal Year 2010.
B. NDAA for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 (Public Law 111-84), the NDAA for FY 2015 (Public Law 113-291), and the NDAA for FY 2020 (Public Law 116-92).
C. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Memorandum, “Policy Guidance on the Reemployment of Civilian Retirees under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010,” dated December 9, 2011.
RESPONSIBILITIES
14.5 Who is responsible for overseeing and implementing the reemployment of annuitants under the NDAA? See Table 14-1
Table 14-1: Responsibilities for the Reemployment of Annuitant Program
These employees… | Are responsible for… |
A. The Director | Approving or declining to approve Servicewide policy. |
B. The Assistant Director – Management and Administration | Ensuring that policy and procedures are in place for using the Service’s hiring authorities. |
C. The Chief, Joint Administrative Operations (JAO), Headquarters (HQ) Human Capital Division | (1) Providing technical guidance to Service officials and the Human Resources Operations (HR Ops) Staffing Chief on the appropriate use of the NDAA authority; (2) Reviewing and approving requests that meet regulatory, policy, and procedural requirements on a case-by-case basis after HR Ops completes technical reviews; and (3) Ensuring that we do not fill more positions under NDAA than we have allotted slots. |
D. Directorate members at HQ and in the Regions | (1) Administering hiring under the NDAA authority; (2) Consulting with the HR Ops Staffing team to ensure that requests are properly documented and reasonably justified; (3) Ensuring that staff: (a) Send requests through the HR Ops Staffing team to HQ Human Capital, and (b) Establish and maintain case files for NDAA appointments according to the requirements in section 14.10; (4) Tracking reemployed annuitants’ hours so they don’t exceed the maximum limitation; and (5) Maintaining documentation that reflects which hours annuitants spend on training and mentoring. |
E. The Chief, JAO HR Ops | (1) Reviewing packages before they are sent to HQ Human Capital; and (2) At their discretion, delegating authority for reviewing NDAA packages, but no lower than to a Branch Chief/Service Delivery Area Manager. |
F. The JAO HR Ops Staffing Team | (1) Consulting with Directorate members to ensure that requests are properly documented and justified, and (2) Reviewing packages before they are sent to the Chief, JAO HR Ops for approval. |
G. Supervisors and Managers | (1) Following the requirements in this chapter to request reemployment of an annuitant under the NDAA, and (2) Maintaining documentation that reflects which hours annuitants spend on training and mentoring and providing this information annually to HQ Human Capital. |
REQUIREMENTS AND APPROVAL PROCESS
14.6 Is there a limit to the number of positions the Service can fill using the NDAA authority? Yes. The Department allocates a percentage of their full-time workforce to the bureaus to fill positions using the NDAA authority. We may have up to 83 NDAA appointments within a calendar year.
14.7 What are the criteria for using this authority? We may only use this authority when it is necessary to meet one of the following criteria:
A. Fulfill functions critical to our mission;
B. Assist in the development, management, or oversight of Service procurement actions;
C. Assist the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to perform OIG’s mission;
D. Promote appropriate training or mentoring programs for employees;
E. Assist in the recruitment or retention of other employees; or
F. Respond to an emergency involving a direct threat to life or property or other unusual circumstances.
14.8 What are the requirements and restrictions for using the NDAA authority?
A. Appointments under this authority are temporary and must comply with 5 CFR 316.401.
B. We cannot waive the salary offset provision in 5 U.S.C. 8344 and 8468 for an annuitant for more than:
(1) 520 hours of service the annuitant performs during the 6 months after they began getting an annuity;
(2) 1,040 hours of service the annuitant performs during any 12-month period; or
(3) A total of 3,120 hours of service the annuitant performs under this authority.
C. We must not include any hours an annuitant spends training or mentoring employees (up to 520 hours) in their hours of service when calculating the hour restrictions in section 14.8B unless that was the primary purpose of the appointment. As a result, it is possible for an annuitant to work 1,560 hours total during a 12-month period if 520 of the hours were for training or mentoring, or both.
D. We must not make temporary appointments for periods of more than 1 year (see 5 CFR 316.401(c)(1) or 5 CFR 213.104(a)(1)).
(1) We may extend an appointment up to a maximum of 1 additional year (for a total of 24 months of service).
(2) We may not fill a position (or its successor) by a temporary appointment under this authority if that position had previously been filled by temporary appointment(s) in either the competitive or excepted service for a total of 2 years, or 24 months, within the preceding 3-year period (see 5 CFR 316.401(c)(2) or 5 CFR 213.104(a)(1) and (b)(1) - (2)).
14.9 What documents does a supervisor need to prepare to request approval to reemploy an annuitant under NDAA authority? The requests must include the following documents:
A. A justification memorandum from the supervising Directorate member to the Chief, JAO HQ Human Capital that is uploaded and surnamed in the Data Tracking System (DTS). The Chief, JAO HR Ops must surname the memorandum before it is sent to HQ Human Capital for approval (see Exhibit 1 for information on the DTS routing). The memorandum must include the following information:
(1) The criteria justifying the annuitant’s appointment (see section 14.7);
(2) Full name of applicant; the official position title, series, and grade; duty station; and DTS routing number;
(3) An explanation of the recruitment process (e.g., announcement posted to clear displaced Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) eligible individuals) and appointing authority used to reemploy the annuitant;
(4) The work schedule for the annuitant’s appointment, to include the number of hours per week;
(5) A statement about the potential of extending the appointment, if applicable;
(6) If mentoring hours are used during the appointment, include the number of hours being used for mentoring; and
(7) Duration of temporary action, which should be either:
(a) “Not to Exceed 120 Days,” or
(b) “Beyond 120 Days but Not To Exceed 1 Year” (see Exhibit 1 for more information).
B. A written statement from the annuitant confirming that they are not currently employed by any agency in the Federal Government;
C. The annuitant’s current resume; and
D. A copy of the annuitant’s SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, for the retirement action.
14.10 What are the requirements for maintaining documentation related to the appointment of the annuitant? The JAO HQ Human Capital Division must keep a folder separately from the annuitant’s electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF). The annuitant’s name and not-to-exceed date (i.e., lastname_firstinitial_ntedate) must be part of the naming convention of the folder located within the shared Microsoft TEAMS file that HQ Human Capital and JAO HR Ops maintain. These files must be maintained for 2 years after the annuitant has separated or the not-to-exceed date, per OPM’s General Records Schedule (DAA-GRS2014-0002-0017). The folder must contain the following documents:
A. The approval memorandum that the Chief, JAO HQ Human Capital signed;
B. The SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, for the appointment of the reemployed annuitant; and
C. The items listed in subsections 14.9A through D.
14.11 What is the Service’s policy about setting pay, leave, awards, and other benefits (e.g., retirement, Thrift Savings Plan, Social Security, etc.) for reemployed annuitants? With the exception of the hour and appointment limitations, the NDAA laws do not include any special provisions, restrictions, or limitations on pay, leave, awards, and benefits for reemployed annuitants. We will apply our current HR policies and procedures and OPM’s regulations to determine reemployed annuitants’ eligibility and entitlement to pay, leave, awards, and other benefits and to monitor performance. Supervisors must ensure that a copy of the approval memorandum is submitted with any hiring requests.