Employees who are subject to a Reduction in Force (RIF) are entitled to several priority placement programs, including the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP). CTAP is for placements within the same employing agency; ICTAP is for placements in other employing agencies. An additional placement program, the Reemployment Priority List (RPL), was previously analyzed in this blog. Each of these programs has its own mechanics, and so it is important for employees subject to RIFs to understand their rights under each program. Although ICTAP is also available to certain disabled veterans, and to former civil service employees who have recovered from a compensable workplace injury or injury which placed them in disability retirement, this blog entry will focus on ICTAP and CTAP rights for employees subject to RIFs and management directed reassignments (MDR) (previously discussed in this blog).
To be eligible for CTAP, the employee must meet these basic requirements under 5 C.F.R. § 330.602. The employee must be serving in an appointment in the competitive service in tenure group I or II; some excepted service positions in non-term positions at GS-15 or below are also covered if they are “covered by a law providing both noncompetitive appointment eligibility to, and selection priority for, competitive service position” or if the employee is under Schedules A-B and the employing agency offers CTAP to its employees. The employee’s last performance rating must be at or above level 3 (fully successful) or its equivalent. The employee must have received a RIF separation notice and not declined a qualifying reassignment or have received a notice of proposed removal for declining a management directed reassignment outside their commuting area. CTAP eligibility only applies prior to the employee’s separation from federal service, and expires if the agency rescinds the RIF notice or MDR proposed removal, if the employee declines an offer or fails to respond to an offer or query regarding a possible appointment with a reasonable period of time, or if the employee moves into any non-RIFed position at the employing agency or a non-term position at another agency.
To be eligible for ICTAP, the employee must meet these basic requirements under 5 C.F.R. § 330.702. The employee must be serving in an appointment in the competitive service in tenure group I or II; some excepted service positions in non-term positions at GS-15 or below are also covered if they are “provided by law with both noncompetitive appointment eligibility and selection priority for competitive service positions.” The employee’s last performance rating must be at or above level 3 (fully successful) or its equivalent. The employee must have received a RIF separation notice and not declined a qualifying reassignment (if competitive service) or have received a notice of proposed removal for declining a management directed reassignment outside their commuting area. Eligibility for ICTAP starts at separation and expires one year from RIF separation or separation for declining an MDR, unless the RIF notice is rescinded, the employee takes non-discontinued service retirement, declines a permanent appointment at any grade or pay level in the competitive or excepted service, fails to respond to an offer or query regarding a possible appointment with a reasonable period of time, or is appointed to a non-term position in any federal agency.
Published OPM guidance (The Employee’s Guide to Career Transition, at 4-5) notes that Department of Defense employees are excluded from ICTAP and CTAP and are covered by the DoD Priority Placement Program (PPP) instead.
Unlike RPL, employees seeking ICTAP or CTAP priority in a selection are not required to apply to the program; instead, they specifically claim the hiring preference when submitting their application for a particular vacancy, with documents establishing their eligibility for the hiring preference. CTAP and ICTAP preference applies to positions in the employee’s local commuting area for the last position of record, though agencies may also provide CTAP priority for a position in another commuting area after fulfilling their obligation to CTAP candidates within that commuting area. CTAP and ICTAP priority applies to all vacancies within the agency, not just a subcomponent.
Generally, ICTAP and CTAP applicants who are deemed “well-qualified” for a vacancy are supposed to receive hiring priority over other applicants, although a number of exceptions apply to this priority under CTAP and under ICTAP. Agencies also have obligations under both programs to take steps to notify potentially eligible employees of their rights under the programs, and to give notice to eligible employees of the final result of their application (including whether or not the applicant was deemed “well-qualified”).
Unfortunately, remedial options for agency violations of ICTAP and CTAP rights are limited. The Merit Systems Protection Board does not have freestanding jurisdiction over violations of ICTAP or CTAP. OPM has oversight of ICTAP and CTAP and can conduct reviews of agency compliance and require corrective action, but this enforcement mechanism is entirely discretionary and not reviewable by any higher authority. The applicant could also try a congressional constituent service request in hopes some member of Congress or their staff might take an interest in this issue. Additionally, there may be other avenues of redress available, if the applicant has grounds to think that the ICTAP/CTAP regulation violations were based on illegal intent. For example, the applicant can report the violation as a Prohibited Personnel Practice (PPP) to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), if there are grounds for thinking that a PPP occurred, but OSC maintains prosecutorial discretion for PPPs (unless whistleblower reprisal or a related issue is involved). Alternatively, r the applicant could raise an EEO complaint regarding the violation, if there are grounds to think that discrimination or EEO reprisal are involved.
If you are a federal employee subject to a RIF or MDR who wishes to seek advice regarding your rights, consider contacting Gilbert Employment Law to request an initial consultation.