Note: Disregard sections 441 through 443, which describe an obsolete process.
The Postal Service appoints most employees with disabilities from a competitive hiring register. However, when the competitive process itself is a barrier to employment for qualified individuals with severe disabilities, and these individuals would be able to perform at or above the regular standards of job performance, a special noncompetitive authority may be used.
The Postal Service must certify state DVR and VA organizations that wish to participate in referring applicants for noncompetitive hiring consideration. These organizations must submit a certification package to the manager, Field Human Resources (District), and to the vice president, Employee Resource Management, for review and approval. The package must include the following information:
Once the Postal Service approves a certification package for a vocational rehabilitation agency, that agency has the authority to identify and screen applicants for Postal Service positions when the Postal Service requests referrals. In essence, the agency provides the Postal Service with an alternative means of assessing an applicant’s qualifications. The Postal Service considers an applicant referred by a certified agency to have successfully met the Postal Service’s selection requirements. Therefore, a certified agency must ensure that each applicant referred meets selection standards and has the ability to perform satisfactorily as a Postal Service employee.
