NASA Procedures and Guidelines
This Document is Obsolete and Is No Longer Used. Check the NODIS Library to access the current version: http://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov
NPR 3330.1A Eff. Date: June 06, 2006 Cancellation Date:	NASA Career Transition Assistance Plan, (Revalidated with Change 1, 02/13/2013)
| TOC | Change History | Preface | Chapter1 | Chapter2 | Chapter3 | Chapter4 | Chapter5 | Chapter6 | Appendix A | Appendix B | ALL |

Chapter 4. Reemployment Priority List (RPL)

4.1 Introduction

4.1.1 The RPL is a placement program that provides reemployment consideration for current and former career and career-conditional competitive service employees who are separated by RIF or have received a RIF separation notice or certificate of expected separation or are separated (or who accept a lower-graded position instead of separation) due to compensable injury or disability and who fully recover more than one year from the date compensation is payable. Federal regulations require each agency to establish and maintain an RPL specific to each commuting area for its employees who meet the eligibility requirements.

4.1.2 In accordance with the policies in paragraph 4.6, NASA RPL registrants are given priority consideration for competitive service vacancies over applicants who do not work for NASA.

4.2 Responsibility

4.2.1 The Assistant Administrator for Human Capital Management has overall responsibility for ensuring Agency compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements for maintaining and operating RPLs.

4.2.2 Center HR Directors shall:

a. Establish and maintain an RPL for the commuting area of their respective Center and, an RPL for any facility outside of the Center commuting area. If two or more NASA Centers or components are in the same commuting area, a single RPL will be established and maintained for the NASA activities in that commuting area. The RPL requires the endorsement of the affected Centers.

b. Establish and maintain a single RPL if two or more NASA Centers or component facilities are in the same commuting area. The RPL requires the endorsement of the affected Centers

c. Provide each eligible employee with information about the RPL, including appeal rights, at the time the employee is given a specific RIF notice of separation or a certification of expected separation.

d. Register eligible Center employees on the RPL within ten calendar days after receipt of an application or request from the individual.

e. Ensure that selection practices for filling all competitive service vacancies comply with the requirements to give priority consideration to any RPL registrants.

4.2.3 Employees who are eligible for RPL registration are responsible for requesting registration within the required timeframe, as well as providing any changes to the information on the registration.

4.3 Eligibility

4.3.1 A NASA employee affected by a RIF is eligible for RPL registration if the employee:

a. Has received a specific notice of RIF separation or a certification of expected separation.

b. Is serving under a competitive service appointment in tenure group I or II.

c. Has received a rating above unacceptable (level 1) as the last annual performance rating of record.

d. Has not declined a RIF offer of a position with the same type of work schedule and a representative rate at least as high as that of the position from which the employee was or will be separated.

e. Submits the application for RPL registration no later than 30 calendar days after the RIF separation date.

4.3.2 A NASA competitive service employee in tenure group I or II who is separated (or who accepts a lower-graded position in lieu of separation) due to a compensable injury or disability and who has fully recovered more than one year after compensation began is entitled to be placed on the RPL if the employee applies for reemployment within 30 calendar days after the date compensation ceases. However, if an appeal for continuation of compensation is filed, the 30-day period begins the day after resolution is reached.

4.4 Registration

4.4.1 Employees who are eligible for RPL registration, based on a RIF, are entered on the RPL only for the local commuting area where the employee?s former position was located. In the case of an RPL that has major components throughout a large commuting area (e.g., Headquarters and Goddard), employees may indicate availability for only one of those components if they desire. Eligible employees may register for positions for which qualified and available that are not at a higher grade (or equivalent), have no greater promotion potential than the position from which the employee was or will be separated, and have the same type of work schedule (full-time, part-time, intermittent, seasonal, on-call) as the position from which the employee was or will be separated. Employees may indicate availability for permanent, term, and temporary positions. In addition, an employee is entitled to consideration for any higher grade previously held on a nontemporary basis in the competitive service from which the employee was demoted under RIF procedures.

4.4.2 To be entered on the RPL, an eligible employee shall complete the application form provided by the Center and attach a resume. The form and resume must be submitted to the HR office within the required timeframe.

4.4.3 The form and resume shall be submitted to the HR office within the required timeframe.

4.4.4 Registration may occur as soon as a specific RIF notice of separation or a certification of expected separation has been issued. The employee shall submit the application within 30 calendar days after the RIF separation date. An employee who fails to submit a timely application form and resume is not entitled to be placed on the RPL.

4.4.5 Employees who are eligible for RPL registration, based on injury compensation, are entered on the RPL for the local commuting area of their former position and registered for their former position or an equivalent position (i.e., a position with the same representative rate as the employees former position).

4.4.6 Reemployment shall be requested within 30 calendar days after the compensation ceases. When an appeal for continuation of compensation is filed, the 30-day period begins the day after resolution is reached.

4.4.7 If 90 days after initial registration, NASA is unable to reemploy the registrant in the commuting area, employees may extend their registration to additional commuting areas. Employees are responsible for contacting the registering HR office to request extension of their registration.

4.4.8 In lieu of consideration at other commuting areas, registrants may extend their registration at their former local commuting area for the next best available position. This extension may occur 90 days or more after the initial registration. The Center HR staff shall assist the employee in determining the most appropriate additional position for which to register based on an assessment of potential placement opportunities.

4.5 Restrictions in Filling Positions

4.5.1 If a qualified individual is available on the Centers RPL, the Center shall not offer a position to an individual who is not on the RPL if the Center is filling a competitive service position by:

a. A new appointment, unless the individual appointed is a qualified 10-point preference eligible.

b. Transfer or reemployment, unless the individual appointed is a preference eligible, is exercising restoration rights based on return from military service or recovery from a compensable injury or disability within one year, or is exercising other statutory or regulatory reemployment rights.

4.5.2 Other actions for which the RPL does not apply are defined in 5 CFR 330.205.

4.5.3 Employees are considered qualified for a position if they:

a. Meet the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) qualification requirements (or, if applicable, the Aerospace Technology (AST) qualification requirements) for the position, including any selective placement factors.

b. Are physically qualified to perform the duties, with or without reasonable accommodation.

c. Meet any special qualifying condition that OPM has approved for the position.

d. Meet any other applicable requirement for appointment to the competitive service.

4.7 Selection from the RPL

4.7.1 The default Agency-wide selection procedure to be followed when there are multiple registrants on the RPL qualified for a position is retention standing order, as provided in 5 CFR 330.207(b).

4.7.2 As an alternative, Centers may establish rating and ranking order as the selection procedure to be used for their RPL, as provided in 5 CFR 330.207. If this option is taken, the Center maintaining the RPL shall establish this procedure in writing.

4.7.3 The Center shall use the established selection procedure in all instances of applying the RPL until the established, written policy is changed.

4.8 Termination of RPL Eligibility

Employees who are registered on the RPL shall be advised at the time of their registration of the circumstances that terminate their RPL eligibility, in accordance with the terminating conditions stipulated in 5 CFR 330.203. No further notification of termination of RPL eligibility is required.

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