U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
This Directive was canceled February 3, 2004
Order |
Subject |
Personnel Management Manual: Chapter 3: Assignment and Utilization of Employees, Section 3: Detail of Employees |
Classification Code |
Date |
|
M3000.1B |
|
|
Par.
- Purpose
- References
- Policy
- Definition of a Detail
- Approval Authority and Documentation
- Use of Details
- Restrictions
- Responsibilities
- PURPOSE. To set forth provisions for detailing Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) employees to non-Senior Executive Service positions.
- REFERENCES.
Title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 3341.
- POLICY. Details within the FHWA will be used primarily for meeting
temporary needs in the FHWA work program and will be confined to the shortest
period of time possible.
- DEFINITION OF A DETAIL. Detail is an official personnel action by
which an employee is temporarily assigned, for a specified period of time, to
duties and responsibilities other than those of his or herpermanent position.
The employee receives the salary attached to his or her permanent position while on detail.
- APPROVAL AUTHORITY AND DOCUMENTATION. Unit Managers are authorized
to approve details within their respective delegations of authority. A Standard
Form SF-52, Request for Personnel Action, recording the detail, or terminating
it, will be prepared by the losing office in consultation with the gaining office
and will be processed by the servicing personnel office. See attached Summary
Chart for time limits, approval and documentation requirements.
- USE OF DETAILS. The duties may be at a higher or lower grade or the
same grade performed in a different organization unit. Employee clearances must
be compatible with the security requirements of detail positions. If an employee
is not authorized to perform the full scope of duties of the position, there
should be a written statement documenting which duties may or may not be performed.
Details to a supervisory or managerial position exceeding 30 days must be processed
as a temporary promotion. The following are examples of when details may be appropriate:
- to address emergency work situations,
- to offset temporary staffing or workload imbalances, and under these
conditions, as an option to minimize overtime,
- to fill positions needing to be staffed pending reduction-in-force assignment
determinations, the classifications of positions pending a reorganization,
or during a commercial activity study,
- to permit employee developmental assignments not involving an official position change, and
- to permit personnel exchanges under Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignments.
- RESTRICTIONS.
- The following restrictions on use of details apply:
1) details to higher graded positions or positions with more promotion
potential must be made under competitive procedures if they go beyond 120 days,
2) details in excess of 120 days to unclassified duties must be documented
with an SF-52, position description, and an OF-8, and
3) details exceeding 120 days must be extended in increments of no more than 120 days.
- RESPONSIBILITIES.
- Supervisors. Supervisors are responsible for coordinating the
detail between the gaining and losing organization and for preparing the proper
documentation, including providing a description of duties, developing critical
job elements and performance standards, and arranging training to develop
supervisory competencies for employees detailed for more than 6 months to
a supervisory position.
- Employees. Employees may be directed to perform work other than
that ordinarily performed and different from those duties set forth in their
official position descriptions. Employees are expected to cooperate by accepting
and carrying out such temporary assignments. Failure to do so may result in
disciplinary action.
SUMMARY CHART
DETAIL |
TIME PERIOD |
APPROVAL AUTHORITY |
DOCUMENTATION |
Any grade |
30 days or less |
Supervisor |
None |
Same grade |
More than 30 days but less than 120 |
Unit Manager |
None |
Lower grade |
120 days or more but less than 1 year |
|
|
Unclassified Duties |
More than 1 year |
OPM |
|
Higher grade or one with more promotion potential |
More than 30 days but less than 120 days
More than 120 days but less than 1 year |
Unit Manager
Action must be made under competitive procedures |
SF-52, Position Description, OF-8 |
More than 1 year |
OPM |
Time periods are expressed in calendar days.
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Page last modified on October 19, 2015