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The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposes eliminating the time-in-grade (TIG) restriction on advancement to competitive service positions in the General Schedule. Currently, employees in competitive service General Schedule positions in grades 5 and above must serve 52 weeks in grade before becoming eligible for promotion to the next grade level. Abolishing the restriction would eliminate the 52-week service requirement. If the requirement is eliminated, an employee must continue to meet occupational qualification standard requirements, and any additional job-related qualification requirements, established for the position.

Statement of Need:

The intended effect of this proposed rulemaking is to remove an unnecessary barrier which may hinder recruitment and retention of needed skill sets; provide agencies greater flexibility and efficiency in the management of their workforces, and avoid conflicts with a skills-based hiring approach.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits:

OPM does not anticipate significant budgetary effects government-wide.  Time in Grade is an administrative burden which unduly restricts agencies’ ability to make selections based on job-related criteria.  The TIG restriction may be a disincentive to recruiting or retaining employees with needed skills sets.  OPM anticipates administrative cost reductions from eliminating TIG-related approvals and reviews which may lead to efficiency gains by enabling agencies to fill positions with qualified candidates more quickly than is currently the case.