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United States Department of the Interior FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE |
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DIRECTOR’S ORDER NO. 200 |
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Subject: Reemployment of Civilian Retirees under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2010
Sec. 1 What is the purpose of this Order? This Order establishes policy and guidance for requesting approval to reemploy an individual 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 he/she is receiving. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) gives us the authority to do this.
Sec. 2 Who is responsible for this policy?
a. The Director is responsible for:
(1) Administering hiring under the NDAA authority; (2) Approving requests that meet regulatory, policy, and procedural requirements on a case by case basis; (3) Ensuring that policy and procedures are in place for using the hiring authority; and (4) Ensuring that we do not fill more positions under NDAA than we have allotted slots.
b. Regional and Assistant Directors and the Chief, Office of Law Enforcement, are responsible for:
(1) Reviewing, approving, and certifying requests to reemploy annuitants under NDAA; (2) Consulting with the Regional servicing Human Resources (HR) office to ensure that requests are properly documented and reasonably justified; (3) Ensuring that staff: (i) Send requests through their servicing HR office to the Headquarters Division of Human Capital; (ii) Establish and maintain case files for NDAA appointments according to the requirements in section 8 of this Order; (iii) Track reemployed annuitants’ hours so they don’t exceed the maximum limitation; and (iv) Maintain documentation that reflects which hours annuitants spend on training and mentoring.
c. The Headquarters, Chief, Division of Human Capital is responsible for:
(1) Providing technical guidance to Service officials and Regional HR offices on the appropriate use of the NDAA authority, (2) Reviewing requests to appoint a reemployed annuitant under the NDAA authority for technical adequacy and compliance, and (3) Preparing the transmittal document and sending the request through the appropriate officials to the Director for approval.
Sec. 3 What laws and policies are important for implementing NDAA? HR specialists should be familiar with:
a. NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010 (Public Law 111-84); October 28, 2009.
b. Office of Personnel Management’s memorandum, Reemployment of Civilian Retirees under the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2010; January 8, 2010.
c. DOI Personnel Bulletin (Interim) No: 10-01; Part-Time Reemployment of Civilian Retirees under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2010; March 2, 2010.
Sec. 4 Is there a limit to the number of positions the Service can fill using the NDAA authority? Yes. The Department allocated a percentage of their full time workforce to the bureaus to fill positions using the NDAA authority. We may appoint up to 83 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) within a calendar year using the NDAA authority.
Sec.5 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 implementation or oversight of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) or Troubled Asset Relief Program under Title I of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
c. Assist in the development, management, or oversight of agency procurement actions;
d. Assist the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to perform OIG’s mission;
e. Promote appropriate training or mentoring programs for employees;
f. Assist in the recruitment or retention of other employees; or
g. Respond to an emergency involving a direct threat to life or property or other unusual circumstances.
Sec. 6 What are the requirements and restrictions for using NDAA authority?
a. We cannot waive the salary offset provision in 5 USC 8344 and 8468 for an annuitant for more than:
(1) 520 hours of service performed during the 6 months after the individual began getting his/her annuity; (2) 1,040 hours of service performed during any 12-month period; or (3) A total of 3,120 hours of service performed by the annuitant under this authority.
b. We must not include any hours the annuitant spends training or mentoring employees (up to 520 hours) in the hours of service performed when calculating the hour restrictions in section 6a 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/mentoring.
c. We cannot make temporary appointments for periods of more than 1 year (see 5 CFR 315.401(c)(1)).
(1) We may extend appointments up to a maximum of 1 additional year (24 months of total service). (2) We may not fill a position using a temporary appointment if we previously filled the position by a temporary appointment for an aggregate of 2 years, or 24 months, within the preceding 3-year period (see 5 CFR 316.401(c)(2)). However, for seasonal or intermittent work, we may extend temporary appointments beyond the 2-year period of service if we meet certain requirements (see 5 CFR 316.401(d)(1)(i) and (ii)).
d. If a supervisor thinks that he/she will need to reemploy an annuitant to work in the same position or a position performing the same basic duties for more than 24 months, the annuitant must work less than 1,040 hours during each service year. For example:
Not Eligible for an Extension Beyond 24 Months: Annuitant works 1,040 hours in first service year Annuitant works 1,039 hours in second service year Annuitant is not eligible for another temporary appointment
Eligible for Extension Beyond 24 Months: Annuitant works 1,039 hours in first service year Annuitant works 1,039 hours in second service year Annuitant works 1,040 hours in third service year Totaling 3,118 hours
Sec. 7 What documents does a supervisor need to prepare to request approval to reemploy an annuitant under NDAA authority? The requests must contain the following required documents:
a. Justification memorandum to the Director from the Assistant Director (for a Headquarters hire) or Regional Director. Appropriate officials in the chain of command must surname the memorandum. The memorandum must include the following information:
(1) The criteria used to justify the reemployed annuitant’s appointment (see section 5), (2) An explanation of the recruitment process and appointing authority used to reemploy the annuitant, (3) The work schedule for the annuitant’s appointment, and (4) A statement about the potential of extending the appointment, if applicable.
b. A statement from the annuitant confirming that he/she is not currently employed by any agency in the Federal Government;
c. The annuitant’s current resume; and
d. Copies of the annuitant’s SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) for the retirement action.
Sec. 8 What are the requirements for maintaining documentation related to the appointment of the reemployed annuitant? We must keep a file separately from the reemployed annuitant’s Official Personnel Folder. The annuitant’s name must be posted on the outside of the case file and clearly visible inside the file. The file must contain the following documents:
a. The approval memorandum signed by the Director,
b. The appointment SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) of the reemployed annuitant, and
c. The items listed in section 7b - d above.
Sec. 9 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 limitation, Public Law 111-84 doesn’t contain 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.
Sec. 10 When is this Order effective? This Order is effective immediately. It remains in effect until we incorporate it into the Fish and Wildlife Service Manual or until we amend, supersede, or revoke it, whichever comes first. If we do not amend, supersede, or revoke it, the provisions of this Order will terminate 18 months from the date of signature.
/sgd/ Paul R. Schmidt ACTING DIRECTOR
Date: April 29, 2010
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