The area of consideration for non-managerial positions must be large enough to ensure a reasonable number of highly qualified candidates for the position to be filled. The areas must be determined based on factors such as the presence of a significant supply of eligibles to produce enough highly qualified candidates, the desirability of affording employees broad promotional opportunities and the necessity of keeping the solicitation area within the limits of administrative efficiency.

All employees within the specified area of consideration must have the opportunity to apply and be considered for promotion to positions for which they are eligible. Therefore, all promotion opportunity notices must be posted in a manner that will afford these employees the opportunity to see them.

Office of Chief Counsel career/career-conditional employees are eligible to be considered along with IRS employees (which includes Treasury Complaints Center employees) for bargaining and non-bargaining unit vacancy announcements. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) career/career-conditional employees are eligible to be considered for non-bargaining unit vacancy announcements only. If a vacancy announcement is limited to "IRS employees," Chief Counsel and TIGTA applicants will also be given consideration. No distinction will be made between IRS employees and Office of Chief Counsel or TIGTA employees (TIGTA career/career-conditional employees are limited to non-bargaining unit vacancies.) All internal IRS announcements must contain, as part of the area of consideration, the statement "open to Office of Chief Counsel and TIGTA employees on career/career-conditional appointments or with personal competitive status" (TIGTA career/career-conditional employees are limited to non-bargaining unit vacancies).

Qualified employees outside of the specified area of consideration must be considered for the vacant position unless there is a statement on the vacancy announcement clearly indicating that the area of consideration is restricted to employees in a specific smaller or larger area. Those areas must be clearly defined in the vacancy announcement and if applications will not be considered from employees outside the restricted area of consideration, that fact must also be indicated on the vacancy announcement.

The decision to restrict the area of consideration for non-bargaining (NBU) vacancy announcements will be made by the Operating Divisions, in conjunction with their servicing Personnel Office. These determinations must be sufficiently broad to ensure the availability of highly qualified candidates.

Area of consideration determinations must be made prior to announcing the position(s), documented in the promotion file, and the vacancy announcement must specify the area of consideration. Divisions are responsible for ensuring merit system principles are being maintained. Areas of consideration should not be defined too restrictively so as to limit open and fair competition from both within and outside the Division. When the area of consideration is restricted, the vacancy announcement must state the restricted area of consideration and specify that applications received from outside the area of consideration will not be considered.

Additionally, personnel offices must ensure that such a decision is in the best interest of the Service, its mission and objectives; that inbreeding does not result; and that Federal Equal Opportunity recruitment program objectives are not adversely affected. Below are examples of areas of consideration:

The decision whether to restrict consideration to Service employees, or to consider, concurrently, persons from outside the Service, or to select from other appropriate sources (e.g. reinstatement eligibles, transfers, persons with disabilities, Veteran's appointments or those within reach on an OPM/DEU certificate) should be based on the nature of the position to be filled, the likely number of highly qualified candidates available, the need for fresh ideas and new approaches.

When considering candidates referred from an OPM/DEU register, it should be noted that these candidates have met prescribed qualification standards and have been evaluated by OPM/DEU and determined to be qualified for the position to be filled. Candidates on the OPM/DEU certificate who are within reach for selection will be considered "best qualified" for purposes of referral to the selecting official. It then becomes the judgment of the selecting official as to whom among the best qualified of OPM/DEU candidates as well as IRS employees will be selected. IRS employees and OPM/DEU register eligibles will be referred on separate lists to the selecting official.

Outside candidates, under concurrent consideration, may not be appointed by transfer or reinstatement to a higher grade position or one with increased promotion potential above the highest grade held in a non-temporary Federal government position, unless evaluated under competitive promotion procedures with IRS employees eligible for promotion and found to be best qualified. (This requirement does not apply to current or former Federal employees referred from OPM registers.) To the extent possible, the same evaluation methods should be applied to both IRS employees and outside candidates.

The following outlines the order of consideration when announcing and filling positions under this Plan. (See Exhibit 6.335.1-1 for specific guidance.)

Vacancy announcements should be used for notifying employees of a promotion opportunity. Announcements must receive sufficient publicity and be open for a minimum of 10 work days so that all eligible employees within the area of consideration have an opportunity to learn of the vacancy and apply for consideration.

Vacancy announcements must be clearly written, with sufficient information for the employee to understand the area of consideration, the duties of the position, the qualifications required (including selective placement factors), the evaluation methods to be used and what the employee must do to be considered. If the information cannot be outlined in detail within the announcement, the announcement must inform the employees where it can be obtained.

Vacancy announcements should contain as much information for the applicant as possible. At a minimum, the announcement must contain the following information:

Open continuous announcements should be used primarily for types of positions that have recurring and frequent vacancies. This type of announcement allows applicants to submit their applications at any time. Applicants are added to the register if they are determined to be highly qualified.

Rosters should be utilized when it is anticipated that a significant number of vacancies will occur within a certain period of time (no longer than one year). Announcements for rosters have specific closing dates and should specify the final date upon which a selection will be made from the roster. Candidates must be eligible by the closing date of the roster announcement or by a date specified on the announcement. Rosters are considered "established" for the purposes of selection once the Highly Qualified determination has been made by the ranking panel/official.

Forms required for vacancy announcement consideration are, at a minimum:

An employee may file a continuous consideration application for general interest in a position with the personnel office responsible for announcing the position for the specified organization. Continuous consideration applications will be maintained on file until their expiration on December 31 of each year.

Employees will complete and ensure that an accurate record of work experience, incentive awards and training are contained on the required application forms. This information will be used to determine qualifications and rank the employee's potential to perform the position to be filled. Applicants will be notified of their qualifications eligibility determination. This notification will contain the reason for an ineligible determination.

In order to be considered for any vacancy announcement, employees will ensure that all required forms are received (or postmarked) by the Personnel Office indicated on the vacancy announcement no later than the closing date of the announcement (unless otherwise specified in the announcement). A separate application package must be submitted for each position for which application is made.

The immediate manager ensures that a method is in place to ensure that employees who are temporarily absent from duty (i.e. leave, training, furlough, etc.) are informed of vacancies announced within their area of consideration.

Servicing Personnel Offices are responsible for referring for consideration the name(s) of employees:

Managers can submit names of employees for vacancies. Managers must inform the referred employee of this referral. Managerial referrals must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement in order to be considered; however, employees whose names have been submitted as managerial referrals must coordinate receipt of complete application forms with the AWSS servicing personnel office. Solicitation of managerial referrals must never be used alone, but only as a supplement to other methods previously mentioned

Priority Consideration is the process by which competitive procedures are temporarily suspended for the purpose of correcting or minimizing any injustice resulting from a violation of Federal Merit Promotion procedures. When non-selected employees have not actually been adversely affected by the violation, they are not entitled to Priority Consideration.

Once identified, every attempt should be made to correct the promotion violation as quickly as possible. Priority Consideration can only be granted as a remedy for violations of Merit Promotion regulation or procedures, as outlined in this Plan or under the portion of the negotiated agreement outlining Merit Promotion procedures.

When Priority Consideration is prescribed as an appropriate remedy for a Merit Promotion violation, it must be ordered by the Division Commissioner or the equivalent [may be re-delegated - see Delegation Order 2, formerly 81] Personnel has the responsibility to administer priority consideration and to ensure it is properly applied in accordance with regulations and procedures.

Below are examples of situations in which Priority Consideration is an appropriate remedy when regulatory or procedural violations have occurred. Other situations involving procedural or regulatory violations may also warrant Priority Consideration as a remedy. These examples are not all-inclusive but include:

Priority Consideration is also an appropriate remedy in EEO discrimination cases when it is found through formal EEO complaint procedures that discrimination resulted in the improper consideration of the employee. Since it is the practice of the Service to correct identified promotion problems without waiting for the resolution of the EEO complaint, every attempt should be taken to correct the promotion violation as quickly as possible. Absent a finding of discrimination, Priority Consideration under promotion procedures can only be granted as a remedy if a merit promotion violation has occurred which fully warrants the granting of such a remedy under the guidelines specified in this document.

When Priority Consideration is ordered, it will apply to the specific position for which consideration was lost, if that position is vacant. However, if the position is encumbered, the employee who was not given proper consideration in the original promotion action and who has not already been promoted, is entitled to Priority Consideration for the first appropriate vacancy that becomes available.

An appropriate vacancy is one for which the employee meets basic qualifications and is a reasonable candidate. It should be at the grade level and generally in the same area of consideration as the position for which proper consideration was lost. In those circumstances where no appropriate vacancy is anticipated in the original area of consideration within two (2) years from the date priority consideration is granted, the employee's priority consideration will be extended to apply to similar vacancies within the original area of consideration, provided the employee meets basic eligibility requirements. The employee entitled to Priority Consideration should usually be consulted as to their job preferences and must always be informed in advance that Priority Consideration is being given. If possible, the employee's wishes should be accommodated, but management makes the final decision. The employee should receive priority consideration only in the Division that had the vacancy. In unusual cases, at the discretion of management, Priority Consideration may be allowed for a position in a different Division with concurrence of the other Division Commissioner. Priority consideration is granted once for each time proper consideration was denied.

A candidate entitled to Priority Consideration does not have to compete with nor should they be considered with, any candidates who are not also entitled to the same level of Priority Consideration. Candidates entitled to Priority Consideration must be given consideration before any other steps (other than the IRS Priority Placement Program) to fill the vacancy.

The selecting official must provide written and signed certification that the employee was given full and fair consideration for the vacant position. Priority consideration is intended to assure the candidate receives bona fide consideration just as if they were being considered on a regular best-qualified list.

Since Priority Consideration represents granting an exception to normal merit promotion competitive procedures, it can be authorized only under the conditions that have been described above. It cannot be granted to provide relief to an employee because of poor personnel practices or to settle disputes (such as grievance issues) not in violation of EEOC regulation or Merit Promotion requirements.

Candidates must meet all minimum eligibility requirements including time-in-grade restrictions before they may be promoted. Minimum qualification standards used for filling positions according to this Plan are standards established or approved by OPM and may be found in OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions and the Job Qualification System for Trades and Labor Occupations (Handbook X-118C). The personnel offices are responsible for the application of these standards and the determination of a candidate's basic eligibility for specific positions. The qualification standard used in filling the position must be documented in the promotion records. Documentation of each candidate's qualification determinations must also be maintained in the promotion records.

Employees rated below fully successful in a particular performance aspect are not eligible to apply for competitive promotion to a vacant position that requires the same or similar performance aspect.

Candidates may also meet qualification requirements under the specific provisions of an appropriately approved training agreement, which makes it possible to substitute the successful completion of intensive and accelerated training for a portion of the normal qualification requirements. Documentation related to these requirements must be maintained in the promotion records.

Selective placement factors will be applied in the same manner as minimum qualification requirements; they cannot be used merely because they would be desirable. Selecting officials and personnel offices are jointly responsible for identifying selective placement factors. Selective placement factors used must be documented on the form used to refer best-qualified candidates for selection. Selective placement factors cannot be changed at any time during the promotion action. Also, selective placement factors once established, generally should remain consistent for the same type of position unless the duties/responsibilities of the position have changed. When a selective placement factor is used, the justification for its use must be maintained in the promotion records. Selective placement factors should be used only when they are critical to the proper filling of the position. Examples of appropriate selective placement factors are as follows:

The following are examples of inappropriate selective placement factors:

Personnel offices have the responsibility for maintaining the documentation of the validity and job-relatedness of the selective placement factors (see OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Section II. General Policies and Instructions). However, the development of the documentation is a joint responsibility between the Division and the Personnel Office.

Candidates will be evaluated without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, marital or family status (except as may be required to comply with restrictions on employment of relatives in IRM 6.300), or other differences.

Written tests may not be used to determine basic eligibility unless specifically required by OPM standards.

Crediting leave without pay (LWOP) for meeting length and quality of experience requirements will be completed in accordance with IRM 6.300, Crediting Leave Without Pay for Promotion/Reassignment.

Developing the Evaluation Process: A comprehensive job analysis must be used in developing the specific evaluation criteria that will provide the basis for the evaluative process. Vacancies must be analyzed to determine what knowledge, skills, abilities and other personal characteristics (KSAOs) (i.e., professional certification) are needed and at what level they are required for successful and highly successful job performance. The result of the job analysis is the development of specific evaluation criteria and standardized instructions for their use. Guidance on conducting a job analysis can be found in 5 CFR 300.

Evaluation methods must also be developed that will effectively measure the stated criteria. Methods must be valid, objective, reliable and job-related in accordance with the requirements contained in the Scope and Authority portion of this Plan.

Evaluation criteria are stated requirements of knowledge, skills, abilities and other personal characteristics (KSAOs) (i.e., professional certification) necessary for superior performance in the position to be filled. Evaluation criteria are developed jointly between the Division and the Personnel Office and must be established and documented prior to the beginning of the competitive process. Criteria cannot be changed during the course of the promotion action. Evaluation criteria should be documented on the form used to refer best-qualified candidates for selection.

The vacancy should be analyzed to identify those KSAOs most likely to produce superior performance. Current position descriptions as well as knowledge of the specific duties of the positions should be used as a base from which the criteria can be established. Criteria must also be measurable (i.e., there must be a method available to provide the required information). These criteria may be unweighted or weighted, but it must be ensured that the relative weight of each is proportionate to its relative importance in the performance of the job. If numeric scoring is used, cut-off scores for highly qualified should be established in advance.

A crediting plan should be developed for each criterion identified through the job analysis/job profiling (unless the criteria and plan were developed nationally). Scores for each criterion should be given equal weight unless a determination is made during the job analysis that weighting of specific criterion is necessary.

A complete record of all pertinent information used in the development of criteria, the actual information obtained, and the conclusions supported by this information must be maintained either in the promotion folder or a notation must appear in the promotion folder that would indicate where such information is maintained.

Evaluation methods are the sources of information considered by a ranking official or panel, according to pre-established criteria for a specific vacancy, to determine highly qualifed and best qualified candidates. The selecting official in conjunction with the Personnel Office must examine the evaluation criteria, determine the appropriate methods to be used to secure needed information and include them on the vacancy announcement. If appropriate methods are not available, new methods may need to be developed, or consideration given to combining pertinent available methods in a manner that furnishes the best combination of necessary information to evaluate the candidates against the criteria. The major consideration in selecting and using any evaluation method is its effectiveness in measuring the degree to which a candidate possesses the KSAOs to perform the vacancy in a highly successful manner. Methods used must also be documented on the form used to refer best-qualified candidates for selection.

The following are evaluation methods that are required by regulation:

The following methods may be used at the Selecting Official's option in addition to the mandatory methods listed above:

The use of a ranking official or panel is mandatory in identifying highly and best qualified candidates. Ranking officials and panel members must be at or above the grade level of the position to be filled. It is recommended but not required that ranking panels be used for all professional and technical occupations. Ranking officials are generally used for clerical and paraprofessional occupations.

A ranking official must be someone other than the selecting official and should have an in-depth knowledge of the requirements and functions of the position to be filled.

Panels must consist of at least three voting members, including at least one member who has direct working knowledge of the position to be filled. A representative of the Personnel Office should also participate as a non-voting member to ensure that control and documentation of panel actions meet validity and job-relatedness requirements. Ranking officials/panels will be designated by the selecting official unless specified by other National Program requirements. Women and/or minorities should be included as ranking panel members, whenever feasible. Although not recommended, selecting officials can serve as a ranking panel member but not as a ranking official. There should not be one evaluation panel for all jobs in one function; panels should be established for specific lines of work.

Ranking officials and panel members should be carefully selected and trained in their responsibilities and in the merit promotion process so that evaluations by different raters will be comparable and consistent. Ranking officials and panel members should be rotated periodically to provide all officials with an opportunity to develop expertise in promotion operations. Ranking officials and panel members should be instructed by the Personnel Office to avoid discriminatory non-merit considerations (See 5 CFR 335.103, Requirement #1).

The application of the evaluation methods against the evaluation criteria by a ranking panel/official should provide a meaningful distinction between the candidates and allow for the identification of the highly qualified and best qualified.

All candidates found to be basically eligible to compete for the position will be referred to the ranking panel/official to be evaluated against the evaluation criteria using the mandatory methods and other job-related methods designated by the selecting official.

Ranking panels/officials are not permitted to make changes to supervisory appraisals in the process of evaluating candidates. The ranking panels/officials should reflect and record their own judgment in rating the potential of the candidate against each of the evaluation criterion for the position to be filled. Information from as many methods as possible is to be used by the ranking panel/official to assign individual criterion rating scores for each of the candidates. Scores on the criteria should be combined to form an overall score for each candidate. Candidates attaining the score previously identified in the crediting plan will be identified as highly qualified. Those applicants meeting the established level will be designated "highly qualified" and will be identified by the ranking panel/official on the appropriate form.

When a promotion package has 10 or fewer candidates for a non-bargaining unit vacancy, a simplified ranking process may be used. Simplified ranking eliminates the need for ratings to be assigned and allows for candidates to be grouped by quality level for selection. (See Exhibit 6.335.1-3 for complete instructions on the simplified ranking process.) The simplified ranking process meets the requirement that applicants determined "best qualified" be evaluated based on job-related criteria that has been applied fairly and consistently in all cases. However, as a minimum, the following must take place:

The promotion file should be documented to show how the evaluation procedures were followed by the ranking panel/official, how the methods were interpreted/used and the procedure for combining the results of the individual criterion ratings to arrive at the total score for each candidate.

If the number of highly qualified candidates is five or fewer, all may be certified as best qualified. If the number of highly qualified candidates exceeds five, the best qualified will be the top three to five ranked highly qualified candidates. Up to 10 candidates may be certified if meaningful distinctions cannot be made from among a smaller number of highly qualified candidates. If the application methods repeatedly fail to indicate meaningful distinctions between candidates, the methods and criteria should be reevaluated to determine if modifications are necessary.

Best-qualified candidates should be referred to the selecting official in alphabetical order. Three to five best-qualified candidates may be certified for a single vacancy plus one additional candidate for each additional vacancy. However, candidates should not be arbitrarily eliminated from the best-qualified list when meaningful distinctions do not exist.

Although it is recommended that best-qualified referrals for positions announced at multiple grade levels be made on one certificate with the appropriate number of best-qualified candidates referred to the selecting official, different certificates for different grade levels can be issued to the selecting official.

Candidates who have been determined to not meet the "highly qualified" cut-off can be referred for selection only if there are no highly qualified candidates even after the area of consideration has been expanded and there are no highly qualified candidates from outside of IRS.

Qualified candidates who have applied for reassignment, transfer and reinstatement to the position to be filled and who are not required to compete for the position, will be listed separately and referred to the selecting official for consideration.

The selecting official has the right to select or not select from among a group of appropriately certified candidates. Management also has the right to select from other appropriate sources (i.e. reinstatement, transfer, veteran's appointment, those within reach on an appropriate external certificate, etc.) or concurrent selection from several appropriate sources.

The selecting official may select any candidate referred as best qualified as well as those referred as non-competitive candidates (i.e. reinstatements, transfer, reassignment, etc.). Additional guidance on selecting a candidate being considered for a lateral reassignment is contained in the section below, Lateral Reassignment (see 6.335.1.12.14).

If a best-qualified candidate is selected and does not accept the position, the declination must be documented in the promotion file. The selecting official then has several options:

Additional positions of the same kind (i.e. the vacancy announcement information would be the same) may be filled within 45 calendar days of the initial selection.

Promotion files should be documented if actions occur within the life of the promotion action that may lead employees to believe that pre-selection, favoritism or other merit violations are affecting competitive selections (i.e. last-minute additions to the selection referral, reappraisals of candidates, long delays in making selections, etc.).

Generally, the application and consideration procedures in the promotion system should be allowed to function as freely as possible. Employees may continue to file voluntary applications for positions of their choice. Unless the area of consideration was restricted in the vacancy announcement, employees should continue to receive full consideration for lateral reassignments by the selecting office.

However, to promote fairness for all concerned parties, an action involving an employee selected for a lateral reassignment should be effected only if the employee is considered to be the best person for the position and after the impact on the losing office has been determined, or in cases of real hardship.

The judgment as to whether or not an employee is the best person for the position does not necessarily have to result from a structured competitive process; however, non-competitive actions must be based on a review of the employee's abilities and the management needs involved. Lateral reassignments should not be effected to avoid recruiting or training local people, just because the employee involved wants to move there, or for other reasons that are not either cost effective or directly mission related.

In terms of deciding who is the best person for the job, selecting officials should be encouraged to take a closer, harder look at their local candidates, particularly when filling positions at and below the full working level. Instead of making numerous lateral reassignments at these levels, they should be fully implementing the upward mobility concept where appropriate. Most offices have a number of clerical or para-professional employees who are applying for entry-level positions in professional occupations, and these employees should also be considered fully and fairly. Selecting officials are strongly encouraged to exhaust the supply of local, well-qualified employees before going elsewhere.

As indicated above, another factor has to be considered after the "best person" test has been met. Appropriate officials should also look at the impact of the selection on the losing Division, and reach an agreement as to where the greater need exists. As a result, certain procedures will be followed before a lateral reassignment takes place between Divisions. After the selecting office has determined that an employee is the best person for the position, that Division should contact the losing Division to discuss the situation, and reach an agreement based on a mutual consideration of each other's needs.

No Division will have an all-inclusive, pre-determined practice that an office will not release employees for lateral reassignment. All lateral reassignments will be in compliance with existing regulations and the release of employees for lateral reassignment should be made within a reasonable timeframe as well as mutually agreeable to both the gaining and losing office.

In the case of competitive reassignments, an employee determined to be among the Best Qualified through the competitive process meets the "best person" test. Competitive reassignments between two Divisions (or equivalent) will be granted unless there are extenuating circumstances that would negatively impact the overall operation of the organization and that cannot be relieved by an extended reporting date. Competitive reassignments within a Division (or equivalent) can be denied with the concurrence of the lowest supervisory level in the Division with supervisory responsibility over both the gaining and losing organizations.

Release disputes between Divisions (or equivalent) should be raised for resolution to the Division Commissioners (or equivalent). If the Division Commissioners (or equivalent) cannot agree, then the Deputy Commissioner will have final authority.

No lateral reassignment may be finalized until the above process is completed, and the losing office has agreed to the release. An employee should not be notified of his/her selection until all required coordination has taken place. The release date should be coordinated between the two Divisions.

However, there are two areas where the losing office should raise no objections to an employee's leaving. These are:

When the "best person" test has been met, and the decision has been made to release the employee involved, moving expenses should normally be paid. However, even when the above conditions have been met, there may be situations when the gaining office will feel that it would not be in the "best interests of the Service" to pay for the move (Information will be contained in the Travel Handbook which can be accessed from the AWSS home page at http://awss.web.irs.gov/travelresource.htm). The appropriate management officials will determine whether or not moving expenses will be paid. However, moving expenses will not be paid when the lateral reassignment is effected at the employee's request based on hardship circumstances, except in very unusual situations personally approved by the Division Commissioner (or equivalent). Division Commissioner (or equivalent) should establish appropriate controls to comply with these instructions.

Release of an employee for promotion, reassignment or change to lower grade will normally not be delayed beyond the end of the first full pay period after selection, or after the position is vacant if selection is made in advance. Exceptions to this provision may be made in circumstances when an employee's release date within the prescribed time limits would unduly hamper operations, or greatly inconvenience the employee involved. Such exceptions can be made only by mutual concurrence of the gaining and losing Divisions.

An employee's promotion will under no circumstances be delayed beyond two full pay periods after selection unless the employee agrees to the delay. It is not required that the promotion effective date and the reporting date be the same. If they are not the same, applicable detail requirements apply.

Documentation of a promotion action must be sufficient for a reviewer to reconstruct the action in its entirety, including reasons for determining qualified, highly qualified and best qualified. Complete promotion files must be maintained for two years from the date final selection is made and the selecting official signs the appropriate selection form. There is no need to duplicate information available in the Promotion Plan, the negotiated agreement or in other Personnel records.

The promotion folder must contain, at a minimum, the following information:

The personnel action of the selected candidate must indicate whether the promotion was made under competitive procedures, as a career promotion or as an exception to competitive promotion procedures and that, at the time of promotion, the employee met all qualification requirements and other legal and regulatory requirements.

Promotion records may be used for the following purposes:

This Promotion Plan should be reviewed annually by personnel offices to ensure that:

In reviewing the Promotion Plan, employees, management and the union should be given an opportunity to present their views in order to ensure a thorough evaluation of the Program.