5 C.F.R. Subpart B—Classification
Title 5 - Administrative Personnel
(a) This subpart contains regulations establishing a classification structure and rules for covered DoD employees and positions to replace the classification structure and rules in 5 U.S.C. chapter 51 and the job grading system in 5 U.S.C. chapter 53, subchapter IV, in accordance with the merit principle that equal pay should be provided for work of equal value, with appropriate consideration of both national and local rates paid by employers in the private sector, and appropriate incentives and recognition should be provided for excellence in performance. (b) Any classification system prescribed under this subpart will be established in conjunction with the pay system described in subpart C of this part. (a) This subpart applies to eligible DoD employees and positions listed in paragraph (b) of this section, subject to a determination by the Secretary under §9901.102(b)(2). (b) The following employees of, or positions in, DoD organizational and functional units are eligible for coverage under this subpart: (1) Employees and positions that would otherwise be covered by the General Schedule classification system established under 5 U.S.C. chapter 51; (2) Employees and positions that would otherwise be covered by a prevailing rate system established under 5 U.S.C. chapter 53, subchapter IV; (3) Employees in senior-level (SL) and scientific or professional (ST) positions who would otherwise be covered by 5 U.S.C. 5376; (4) Members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) who would otherwise be covered by 5 U.S.C. chapter 53, subchapter VIII, subject to §9901.102(d); and (5) Such others designated by the Secretary as DoD may be authorized to include under 5 U.S.C. 9902. (a) When a specified category of employees is covered by a classification system established under this subpart, the provisions of 5 U.S.C. chapter 51 and 5 U.S.C. 5346 are waived with respect to that category of employees, except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, §§9901.107, and 9901.222(d) (with respect to OPM's authority under 5 U.S.C. 5112(b) and 5346(c) to act on requests for review of classification decisions). (b) Section 5108 of title 5, U.S. Code, dealing with the classification of positions above GS–15, is not waived for the purpose of defining and allocating senior executive service positions under 5 U.S.C. 3132 and 3133 or applying provisions of law outside the waivable and modifiable chapters of title 5, U.S. Code—e.g., 5 U.S.C. 4507 and 4507a (regarding Presidential rank awards) and 5 U.S.C. 6303(f) (regarding annual leave accrual for members of the SES and employees in SL/ST positions). In this subpart: Band means pay band. Basic pay has the meaning given that term in §9901.103. Career group has the meaning given that term in §9901.103. Classification, also referred to as job evaluation, means the process of analyzing and assigning a job or position to an occupational series, career group, pay schedule, and pay band for pay and other related purposes. Competencies has the meaning given that term in §9901.103. Occupational series has the meaning given that term in §9901.103. Pay band or band has the meaning given that term in §9901.103. Pay schedule has the meaning given that term in §9901.103. Position or job means the duties, responsibilities, and related competency requirements that are assigned to an employee whom the Secretary approves for coverage under §9901.202(a). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 9902(f)(4) and (m)(7), any classification system established under this subpart is not subject to collective bargaining. This bar on collective bargaining applies to all aspects of the classification system, including, but not limited to coverage determinations, the design of the classification structure, and classification methods, criteria, and administrative procedures and arrangements.
Title 5: Administrative Personnel
PART 9901—DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND LABOR RELATIONS SYSTEMS
Subpart B—Classification
General
§ 9901.201 Purpose.
§ 9901.202 Coverage.
§ 9901.203 Waivers.
§ 9901.204 Definitions.
§ 9901.205 Bar on collective bargaining.
Classification Structure
§ 9901.211 Career groups.
For the purpose of classifying positions, the Secretary may establish career groups based on factors such as mission or function; nature of work; qualifications or competencies; career or pay progression patterns; relevant labor-market features; and other characteristics of those occupations or positions. The Secretary will document in implementing issuances the criteria and rationale for grouping occupations or positions into career groups.
§ 9901.212 Pay schedules and pay bands.
(a) For purposes of identifying relative levels of work and corresponding pay ranges, the Secretary may establish one or more pay schedules within each career group.
(b) Each pay schedule may include one or more pay bands.
(c) The Secretary will document in implementing issuances the definitions for each pay band which specify the type and range of difficulty and responsibility; qualifications or competencies; or other characteristics of the work encompassed by the pay band.
(d) The Secretary will designate qualification standards and requirements for each career group, occupational series, pay schedule, and/or pay band, as provided in §9901.513.
Classification Process
§ 9901.221 Classification requirements.
(a) The Secretary will develop a methodology for describing and documenting the duties, qualifications, and other requirements of categories of jobs, and will make such descriptions and documentation available to affected employees.
(b) The Secretary will—
(1) Assign occupational series to jobs consistent with occupational series definitions established by OPM under 5 U.S.C. 5105 and 5346, or by DoD; and
(2) Apply the criteria and definitions required by §§9901.211 and 9901.212 to assign jobs to an appropriate career group, pay schedule, and pay band.
(c) The Secretary will establish procedures for classifying jobs and may make such inquiries of the duties, responsibilities, and qualification requirements of jobs as it considers necessary for the purpose of this section.
(d) Classification decisions become effective on the date an authorized official approves the classification. A classification decision is implemented by a personnel action. The personnel action implementing a classification decision must occur within four pay periods after the date of the decision. Except as provided for in §9901.222(b), such decisions will be applied prospectively and do not convey any retroactive entitlements.
§ 9901.222 Reconsideration of classification decisions.
(a) An individual employee may request that DoD or OPM reconsider the classification (i.e., pay system, career group, occupational series, official title, pay schedule, or pay band) of his or her official position of record at any time.
(b) The Secretary will establish implementing issuances for reviewing requests for reconsideration. Such issuances will include a provision stating that a retroactive effective date may be required only if the employee is wrongfully reduced in band.
(c) An employee may request OPM to review a DoD determination made under paragraph (a) of this section. If an employee does not request an OPM reconsideration decision, DoD's classification determination is final and not subject to further review or appeal.
(d) OPM's final determination on a request made under this section is not subject to further review or appeal.
(e) Any determination made under this section will be based on criteria issued by the Secretary or, where the Secretary has adopted an OPM classification standard, criteria issued by OPM.
Transitional Provisions
§ 9901.231 Conversion of positions and employees to the NSPS classification system.
(a) This section describes the transitional provisions that apply when DoD positions and employees initially are converted to a classification system established under this subpart. Affected positions and employees may convert from the GS system, a prevailing rate system, the SL/ST system, the SES system, or such other DoD systems as may be designated by the Secretary, as provided in §9901.202. For the purpose of this section, the terms “convert,” “converted,” “converting,” and “conversion” refer to positions and employees that become covered by the NSPS classification system as a result of a coverage determination made under §9901.102(b)(2) and exclude employees who move from a noncovered position to a position already covered by NSPS.
(b) The Secretary will issue implementing issuances prescribing policies and procedures for converting DoD employees to a pay band upon initial implementation of the NSPS classification system. Such procedures will include provisions for converting an employee who is retaining a grade under 5 U.S.C. chapter 53, subchapter VI, immediately prior to conversion. The Secretary will convert an employee's rate of pay as provided in §9901.373.
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