Employee Performance Appraisal Plans (EPAPs)

Instruction MemorandumUnited States Department of the InteriorBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENTWyoming State OfficeP.O. Box 1828IN REPLY REFER TO: Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009-18281400-451 (953) PAugust 4, 2010EMS Transmission: August 5, 2010Instruction Memorandum No. WY-2010-044Expires: 9/30/2011To: All SupervisorsFrom: Associate State DirectorSubject: Employee Performance Appraisal Plans (EPAPs)Closeout of FY 2010 DD: 10/30/2010Performance Awards Submitted to HR DD: 11/30/2010Initiation of FY 2011 DD: 11/30/2010Program: The Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)Awards Program 370 DM 451, Performance Management System 370 DM 430, 1400-430 and1400-451.Purpose: The purpose of this Instruction Memorandum (IM) is twofold, (1) as an annualreminder of the requirements regarding employee performance appraisal plans (EPAP), and (2)to provide guidance and deadlines for processing performance-based cash awards and QualityStep Increases (QSI).Policy/Action: EPAPs must be completed for Fiscal_Year (FY) 2010, and new EPAPs for FY2011 must be put in place by the specified deadlines; specific guidance follows.Closeout of EPAPs for FY 2010Completed EPAPs should show the employee and the rating official signatures reflecting thenotification and initiation of performance standards, receipt of training, at least one progressreview, and the end-of-year rating.EPAPs with an overall summary rating of Exceptional (level 5), Minimally Successful (level 2),or Unsatisfactory (level 1), must be approved by both the rating official and a reviewing officialprior to discussion with the employee. The authority to serve as a reviewing official is delegatedto Field Managers or higher level managers, however, concurrence from the Deputy StateDirector or District Manager is required.Each Division and District must submit their completed EPAPs as a complete group to HumanResources (HR), and must account for all employees in their Division, Office or District. AllEPAPs must be received in HR no later than October 31, 2010.Processing of FY 2010 Performance AwardsFor budget planning purposes, 1% of labor costs for the payment of monetary awards is therecommended guideline. This would include performance-based cash awards based on anemployee’s end-of-year EPAP rating of record (ROR) as well as Special Thanks for AchievingResults (STAR) awards granted throughout the year in recognition of special accomplishments.Employees are not entitled to awards, and awards are not guaranteed regardless of rating level.All awards are given at the discretion of the supervisor.Performance Award amounts must be in accordance with the Department’s PerformanceManagement System, 370 DM 430:-Employees with ratings of Superior (level 4) are eligible to receive up to 3% of theirgross income.-Employees with ratings of Exceptional (level 5) must be considered for an award, and areeligible to receive up to 5% of their gross income or a QSI. QSIs cannot be delayedbeyond December 31, 2010, without Department approval.-Employees receiving Level 4 or 5 ratings can be approved for a time-off award up to amaximum of 40 hours in lieu of a cash award.-Employees with ratings of Fully Successful (level 3) or lower are not eligible to receivean end-of-year performance award, but may receive a STAR for reasons other thansustained performance tied to the EPAP rating.-End-of-year performance-based cash awards and QSIs are intended to reward employeeachievements and should be granted in a manner that differentiates between levels ofperformance.In accordance with Wyoming’s Delegation of Authority, awards up to $910 (gross) can beapproved by the first-level supervisor. Awards greater than $910 (gross) must haveconcurrence/approval from the DM or DSD.Performance Awards for each office will not be processed until all EPAPs for that office havebeen received in HR. In addition, all awards will undergo a procedural review prior toprocessing; therefore supervisors will not distribute or notify employees of awards prior toreceiving the completed SF-50 and award from Human Resources.Each Division or District must enter performance-based cash awards, time-off awards, and QSIsinto FPPS and forward a hard copy of the award to the Human Resources Office no later thanNovember 30, 2010, using the DOI Awards Form DI-451, Revised May 2008. A fillableversion of this form is located on the HR intranet page web.wy.blm.gov/953/forms.htm. Acopy of the front page of the employee’s completed EPAP is to be attached to the awards form asdocumentation supporting the award.Initiation of EPAPs for FY 2011Supervisors must adhere to the Department’s Performance Management System, 370 DM 430when initiating EPAPs.The DOI’s EPAP forms, DI-3100 S for supervisors and DI-3100 for all other employees (bothdated September 2009), should be used to establish critical elements and standards for employeeswithin 60 days of the beginning of the performance appraisal cycle, or no later than November30, 2010. These forms are located on the EPAP intranet pageweb.wy.blm.gov/953/epaps/index.htm.Employees may have up to five critical elements, but will have no fewer than four criticalelements. Every employee is expected to have at least one critical element which is linked to theGovernment Performance and Results Act (GPRA) goals of the DOI/BLM. This elementshould cascade from the State Director or Associate State Director’s EPAP(s). The GPRA goalscan be found in section 7 of BLM’s Strategic Plan, which is located on Wyoming’s EPAPintranet page web.wy.blm.gov/953/epaps/index.htm.When initiating EPAPs both the supervisor and the employee should fill out sections A-1, A-2,and A-3 of the front page of the EPAP form. The employee training information required forsection A-2 is now included in the non-supervisory EPAP form, DI-3100, and is available onWyoming’s EPAP intranet page web.wy.blm.gov/953/epaps/index.htm.EPAPs are required for all employees in place for at least 90 days. This includes details,temporary promotions, or other temporary assignments at least 90 days in length.All EPAPs for FY 2011 are to be initiated by November 30, 2010.Timeframe: Effective ImmediatelyManual/Handbook Sections Affected: Reference material includes 5 CFR 430, 5 CFR 451, 370DM 430, 370 DM 451, Personnel Bulletin 07-07, and BLM Manual 1400-430.Coordination: This policy was coordinated with the Deputy State Directors and DistrictManagers.Contact: Please refer questions to Julie Nelson at 307-775-6107 or Julie_Nelson@blm.govor Missy Cook at 307-775-6352 or Missy_Cook@blm.gov.Signed by: Authenticated by:Ruth Welch Pamela D. HernandezAssociate State Director Division of Support ServicesDistributionDirector (700), 5613 MIB 1CF 1