Reassignment is the permanent assignment with or without relocation of an employee to another established position with the same level in the same salary schedule, or to a position with an equivalent level in another salary schedule. The following policies apply to reassignment:
- Reassignment to a bargaining position. General policies and procedures governing reassignments to bargaining positions are contained in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. (See 72, Bargaining Positions and 76, Bargaining Job-Qualification Standards, for detailed policies and procedures.)
- Reassignment to a nonbargaining position. The following apply:
- Management may reassign nonbargaining employees noncompetitively (see 743.11).
- Employees with saved grade may be considered noncompetitively for positions up to the level of their former position or at any intervening level.
- Employees who desire reassignment may also apply in the same way as employees who desire promotion consideration.
- An employee with a disability who desires reassignment should work through the appropriate Reasonable Accommodation Committee at the district, area, or headquarters level.
- Mutual exchanges. Career bargaining employees may exchange positions at the same level, if the exchange is approved by management at the installations involved, subject to the provisions of the applicable collective bargaining agreement. An exchange of positions does not necessarily mean that the employees involved take over the duty assignments of the positions.
Exclusions: Part-time flexible employees may not exchange positions with full-time employees, or bargaining employees with nonbargaining employees, or nonsupervisory employees with supervisory employees.
Employees whose positions have been abolished are assigned in accordance with Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) section 354, Assignment of Unassigned Employees.
A promotion is the permanent assignment with or without relocation of an employee to an established position with a higher level than the employee’s previous position, or to an established position with a higher than equivalent level in another schedule (see ELM section 413, Promotion to Nonbargaining Unit Positions). Restrictions on the promotion, or recommendation for promotion, of immediate relatives of nonbargaining employees are described in Chapter 5. The following policies apply to promotion:
- Promotion to a bargaining position. General principles governing promotions to bargaining positions are contained in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. (See 72, Bargaining Positions.)
- Promotion to a nonbargaining position. General policies and procedures governing promotions to nonbargaining positions are contained in ELM section 350, Assignment, Reassignment, and Promotion. (See 73 through 75 of this handbook for specific policies.)
Except as otherwise indicated, competitive procedures apply to all permanent promotions.
The following promotion actions are exempted from competitive promotion procedures:
- Promotion of an incumbent to a position reclassified at a higher level without significant change in duties and responsibilities.
- Promotion and assignment of current nonbargaining employees to higher-level nonbargaining positions under the specific conditions described in 74. This includes employees with retreat rights, those previously reduced in level, or those serving with saved grade.
- Promotion of an employee who satisfactorily completes an approved training program that specifically provides for promotion, if:
- The employee was selected for the program under competitive procedures; and
- The fact that selection could lead to promotion was made known to potential candidates for the program.
Management may approve a nonbargaining employee’s voluntary request for change to a vacant nonbargaining position at a lower grade consistent with section 743.11 and ELM section 354.23(f). An employee with a disability who desires noncompetitive change to a lower-level nonbargaining position should work through the appropriate Reasonable Accommodation Committee at the district, area, or headquarters level.
Employees on extended leave, including leave without pay, will also be considered, provided they are otherwise eligible and have applied for promotion. If the employee is selected for promotion, the personnel action is processed upon return to Postal Service duty. The date placed on the personnel action is the date the promotion would have occurred had the employee not been absent.
While on active military duty, employees continue to gain seniority and may bid on positions that become vacant during the employee’s absence. A written or electronic notice must be submitted by the employee to Human Resources, or if appropriate, to the manager in charge, such as the postmaster, indicating the employee’s interest to bid on specific positions. The following also apply:
- The bid must be processed and awarded in accordance with the appropriate collective bargaining agreement as if the employee is actively employed. If the position is awarded, a personnel action is initiated to place the employee in the newly gained position and pay scale and to assure that seniority is credited as specified by the appropriate collective bargaining agreement
- Unsuccessful bids are retained until the desired position is gained or the employee resumes active employment upon return from military service.
- Training is deferred until they return for employees who gain a position for which there is contractually required training. Upon their return, employees will be required, in accordance with the respective collective bargaining agreement, to meet the training requirements.
- No personnel action is to be initiated until the employee completes the training requirement. In these cases, every effort must be made to train the employee upon return to work. The employee would only be awarded the position upon satisfactorily completing the required training.
- An audit trail documenting the bid submissions must be maintained.
To be considered for nonbargaining positions, nonbargaining and bargaining employees on military duty must submit to Human Resources personnel a completed candidate profile for vacancies in desired positions and locations.
Human Resources personnel will treat the profile as if it were an application when there is a vacancy in the desired position and location. The following also apply:
- The application is considered in accordance with the area of consideration noted on the announcement.
- Applications resulting in a nonselection are reconsidered for other vacancies as they occur in the desired position and location, until the applicant has been successfully selected.
- Applications from employees who are on active duty with the uniformed services are to be accepted at any time for subsequent consideration when an appropriate vacancy is announced.
- Nonbargaining employees on active military duty may also request reassignments to lateral or lower-level positions in accordance with the nonbargaining selection policy.
- Selected individuals are to be placed in the new position with the appropriate pay level by initiating a personnel action while in the leave-without-pay (LWOP) status.
- Human Resources must establish and retain an audit trail of the selection activity.
- Upon the employee’s return from active military service, the responsibility for submitting bids or applications for nonbargaining positions reverts to the employee.
