5 C.F.R. § 9901.409 Rating and rewarding performance.
Title 5 - Administrative Personnel
(a) The NSPS performance management system will establish a multi-level rating system as described in the implementing issuances. (b) An appropriate rating official will prepare and issue a rating of record after the completion of the appraisal period. In accordance with implementing issuances, an additional rating of record may be issued to reflect a substantial and sustained change in the employee's performance since the last rating of record. A rating of record will be used as a basis for— (1) A pay determination under any applicable pay rules; (2) Determining reduction in force retention standing; and (3) Such other action that the Secretary considers appropriate, as specified in implementing issuances. (c) A rating of record will assess an employee's performance with respect to his or her performance expectations, as amplified through work assignments or other instructions, and/or relative contributions and is considered final when issued to the employee with all appropriate reviews and signatures. (d) An appropriate rating official will communicate the rating of record and number of shares to the employee prior to payout. (e) A rating of record issued under this subpart is an official rating of record for the purpose of any provision of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, for which an official rating of record is required. Ratings of record will be transferred between subordinate organizations and to other Federal departments or agencies in accordance with implementing issuances. (f) The Secretary may not lower the rating of record of an employee based on an approved absence from work, including the absence of a disabled veteran to seek medical treatment as provided in Executive Order 5396. (g) A rating of record may be challenged by a nonbargaining unit employee only through a reconsideration process as provided in implementing issuances. This process will be the sole and exclusive method for all nonbargaining unit employees to challenge a rating of record. A payout determination will not be subject to the reconsideration process. (h) A bargaining unit employee may choose a negotiated grievance procedure or the administrative reconsideration process established under paragraph (g) of this section, but not both, to challenge his or her rating of record. An employee who chooses the administrative reconsideration process may not revert to a negotiated grievance procedure. A payout determination will not be subject to the negotiated grievance procedure. Any individual or panel reviewing a rating of record under a negotiated grievance procedure may not conduct an independent evaluation of the employee's performance, determine the appropriate share payout, or otherwise substitute his or her judgment for that of the rating official. (i) A supervisor or other rating official may prepare an additional performance appraisal for the purposes specified in the applicable performance management system (e.g., transfers and details) at any time after the completion of the minimum period. Such an appraisal is not a rating of record. (j) Implementing issuances will establish policies and procedures for crediting performance in a reduction in force in accordance with subpart F of this part (or other appropriate workforce shaping procedures for those not covered by subpart F of this part, such as National Guard Technicians under 32 U.S.C. 709).
Title 5: Administrative Personnel
PART 9901—DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND LABOR RELATIONS SYSTEMS
Subpart D—Performance Management
§ 9901.409 Rating and rewarding performance.
