OPM/GOVT-5

Recruiting, Examining, and Placement Records (June 19, 2006, 71 FR 35351)

Description: Records on (a) persons who have applied to OPM or agencies for Federal employment, and current and former Federal employees submitting applications for other positions in the Federal Service; and (b) applicants for Federal employment believed or found to be unsuitable for employment on medical grounds.
 

This system includes such records as: 

a. Applications for employment that contain information on work and education, military service, convictions for offenses against the law, military service, and indications of specialized training or receipt of awards or honors. These records may also include copies of correspondence between the applicant and the Office or agency. 

b. Results of written exams and indications of how information in the application was rated. These records also contain information on the ranking of an applicant, his or her placement on a list of eligibles, what certificates applicant's names appeared on, an agency's request for Office approval of the agency's objection to an eligible's qualifications and the Office's decision in the matter, an agency's request for Office approval for the agency to pass over an eligible and the Office's decision in the matter, and an agency's decision to object/pass over an eligible when the agency has authority to make such decisions under agreement with the Office. 

c. Records regarding the Office's final decision on an agency's decision to object/pass over an eligible for suitability or medical reasons or when the objection/pass over decision applies to a compensable preference eligible with 30 percent or more disability. (Does not include a rating of ineligibility for employment because of a confirmed positive test result under Executive Order 12564.) 

d. Responses to and results of approved personality or similar tests administered by the Office or agency. 

e. Records relating to rating appeals filed with the Office or agency. 

f. Registration sheets, control cards, and related documents regarding Federal employees requesting placement assistance in view of pending or realized displacement because of reduction in force, transfer or discontinuance of function, or reorganization. 

g. Records concerning non-competitive action cases referred to the Office for decision. These files include such records as waiver of time-in-grade requirements, decisions on superior qualification appointments, temporary appointments outside a register, and employee status determinations. Authority for making decisions on many of these actions has also been delegated to agencies. The records retained by the Office on such actions and copies of such files retained by the agency submitting the request to the Office, along with records that agencies maintain as a result of the Office's delegations of authorities, are considered part of this system of records. 

h. Records retained to support Schedule A appointments of severely physically handicapped individuals, retained both by the Office and agencies acting under the Office delegated authorities, are part of this system. 

i. Agency applicant supply file systems (when the agency retains applications, resumes, and other related records for hard-to-fill or unique positions, for future consideration), along with any pre-employment vouchers obtained in connection with an agency's processing of an application, are included in this system. 

j. Records derived from the Office-developed or agency-developed assessment center exercises. 

k. Case files related to medical suitability determinations and appeals. 

l.Records related to an applicant's examination for use of illegal drugs under provisions of Executive Order 12564. Such records may be retained by the agency (e.g., evidence of confirmed positive test results) or by a contractor laboratory (e.g., the record of the testing of an applicant, whether negative, or confirmed or unconfirmed positive test result). 

Note 1: Only Routine Use `p' identified for this system of records is applicable to records relating to drug testing under Executive Order 12564. Further, such records shall be disclosed only to a very limited number of officials within the agency, generally only to the agency Medical Review Official (MRO), the administrator of the agency Employee Assistance Program, and any supervisory or management official within the employee's agency having authority to take the adverse personnel action against the employee. 

Note 2: OPM does not intend that records created by agencies in connection with the agency's Merit Promotion Plan program beincluded in the term `Applicant Supply File' as used within this notice. It is OPM's position that Merit Promotion Plan records are not a system of records within the meaning of the Privacy Act as such records are usually filed by a vacancy announcement number or some other key that is not a unique personnel identifier. Agencies may choose to consider such records as within the meaning of a system of records as used in the Privacy Act, but if they do so, they are solely responsible for implementing Privacy Act requirements, including establishment and notice of a system of records pertaining to such records. Note 3: To the extent that an agency utilizes an automated medium in connection with maintenance of records in this system, the automated versions of these records are considered covered by this system of records. 

Authority for maintenance of the system: 

5 U.S.C. 1302, 3109, 3301, 3302, 3304, 3305, 3306, 3307, 309, 3313, 3317, 3318, 3319, 3326, 4103, 4723, 5532, and 5533, and Executive Order 9397.

Purpose(s) : 

The records are used in considering individuals who have applied for positions in the Federal service by making determinations of qualifications including medical qualifications, for positions applied for, and to rate and rank applicants applying for the same or similar positions. They are also used to refer candidates to Federal agencies for employment consideration, including appointment, transfer, reinstatement, reassignment, or promotion. Records derived from the Office-developed or agency-developed assessment center exercises may be used to determine training needs of participants. These records may also be used to locate individuals for personnel research. 
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