Policy for Position Management, Accretion of Duties Promotions

United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Wyoming State Office
P.O. Box 1828
IN REPLY REFER TO: Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009-1828
1400-312/1400-335 (953) P
August 3, 2010
EMS Transmission: August 3, 2010
Instruction Memorandum No. WY-2010-042
Expires: 9/30/2011
To: All Supervisors and Managers
From: Associate State Director
Subject: Policy for Position Management, Accretion of Duties Promotions
Program Area: Human Resources
Purpose: The purpose of the Instruction Memorandum (IM) is to describe the Wyoming policy
and process regarding sound and effective position management principles in the assignment of
work and outline the policy for authorizing promotions outside the normal competitive process.
Policy and Actions: This policy outlines the criteria to be used by managers and supervisors in
recommending and approving non-competitive promotions based on the addition of new and
higher graded duties to an existing position. The policy does not impact promotions that occur
due to the application of new classification standards issued by the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) nor implementation actions resulting from classification appeal decisions.
Position Management:
Sound position management is essential in actions associated with controlling salary costs and
efficiently managing the work of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Position
management principles and techniques concerning the assignment of duties and utilization of
positions and skills must be applied in a continuing and integrated fashion with the express
purpose of achieving maximum utilization of human resources in an organization structure
designed for optimum efficiency and economy.
Application of sound position management principles is required in all organizational activities
involving position redesign. Supervisors and managers are responsible for properly assigning
work, making decisions on the kind and level of work assigned to employees, and managing
2
their organizations within their budget and organizational limitations. Some important points to
consider:
Ш Duties and responsibilities included in positions and performed by employees must be
endorsed by management.
Ш Higher graded work should be assigned to existing higher graded positions whenever
possible.
Ш Higher graded work should not be distributed among multiple positions with the intent of
upgrading several positions when the work can be assigned to one or more positions.
Ш Accretion of duties promotion actions will not circumvent competitive recruitment
actions.
Ш Potentially grade-enhancing work within an organizational unit must be competitively
advertised, if there is more than one employee assigned to the same position description
(PD), or if other employee(s) in the unit could perform essentially the same duties.
Ш Accretion of duty promotions must not be based on projected duties but rather on the
identified existence of higher level continuing duties in an existing position.
Ш The new position has no further promotion potential.
Effective position management requires the joint effort of the immediate supervisor, position
classification specialist, Field Manager, District Manager, Office Chief, and/or Deputy State
Director with the approval by the Associate State Director (ASD). Coordination will eliminate
common organizational problems such as excessive layering, organizational fragmentation,
unnecessary positions, duplication of work efforts, and dead-end jobs. This 3-tier approach will
help ensure that all options available in the design of positions and the assignment of duties to
achieve position management and organizational objectives are considered. Successful position
management minimizes the need for accretion of duties promotions; and as a result, requests for
this process should be rare.
Accretion of Duties:
An accretion of duties promotion is a noncompetitive promotion that occurs due to the addition
of substantive new and higher graded duties and responsibilities to an existing position.
Criteria:
The following criteria will be met in absolute terms whenever an accretion of duties is proposed:
1. The new position retains the major duties of the old position and the old position is
abolished.
2. The new position is in the same work unit of the organization and retains the same
supervisor or leader as the old position being abolished.
3. The new position does not involve the addition of project leader, group leader, team
leader, or supervisory duties to a formerly nonsupervisory or non leader type position.
4. There is no other employee in the work unit in a similar position and to whom those
added duties could have been assigned and satisfactorily performed within a reasonable
timeframe.
3
Process:
Prior to proposing a promotion outside of the normal competitive process, the manager or
supervisor should consult with their designated Human Resources Specialist (WY-953) to
discuss the changes that have occurred in the duties since the last classification and the reason for
the change. After sound position management considerations have been examined, the
supervisor submits a justification for promotion action to the District Manager or Deputy State
Director using the attached Accretion Request format (Attachment 1).
Requests will be brought to the ASD for discussion and to determine if there are any other
position management alternatives for consideration; e.g., centralization of work, assigning work
to another office or staff, etc., and to review the supervisor’s justification. If approved by the
ASD, the action will be assigned to WY-953 to schedule a comprehensive desk audit and to
make the final classification determination of the proper title, series, and grade level for the
position.
The following paperwork must be submitted to WY-953 prior to the desk audit:
1. New PD with percentages of time indicated for each of the major duty statements.
2. Signed OF-8 (PD Cover Sheet).
3. Request for Personnel Action, SF-52 (the request should be submitted through FPPS
using the promotion nature of action code).
After the position has been classified, a personnel action will be processed (promotion,
reassignment, or possible change-to-lower grade) for the subject employee assigning them to the
new PD.
Timeframe: This IM is effective immediately.
Budget Impact: None
Background: The classification standards program for positions in the General Schedule was
established by the Classification Act of 1949, which has been codified in Chapter 51 of Title 5,
United States Code. The statute establishes the principle of providing equal pay for substantially
equal work, provides a definition of each grade in the General Schedule, and directs the OPM,
after consulting with Federal agencies, to prepare standards for agencies to use in placing
positions in their proper classes (series) and grades. Agency authority and responsibility
involves emphasizing sound position management wherein Federal managers have the
responsibility to organize work to accomplish the agency's mission in the most efficient and
economical manner.
4
Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: None.
Contact: Human Resources Officer, Randy Warren, at 307-775-6037.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Ruth Welch Sherry Dixon
Associate State Director Secretary, Wyoming State Office
1 Attachment
1 – Format for Justification of Promotion Action Based on Accretion of Duties (1p)
Distribution
Director (700) 5613 MIB 1 (w/o atch.)
CF 1 (w/atch.)