attainments in professional, scientific, or technical research, practice, or administration; or (D) to perform other work of equal importance, difficulty, and responsibility, and requiring comparable qualifications. (14) Grade GS-14 includes those classes of positions the duties of which are (A) to perform, under general administrative direction, with wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment, work of exceptional difficulty and responsibility along special technical, supervisory, or administrative lines which has demonstrated leadership and unusual attainments; (B) to serve as head of a major organization within a bureau involving work of comparable level; (C) to plan and direct or to plan and execute major professional, scientific, technical, administrative, fiscal, or other specialized programs, requiring extended training and experience which has demonstrated leadership and unusual attainments in professional, scientific, or technical research, practice, or administration, or in administrative, fiscal, or other specialized activities; or (D) to perform consulting or other professional, scientific, technical, administrative, fiscal, or other specialized work of equal importance, difficulty, and responsibility, and requiring comparable qualifications. (15) Grade GS-15 includes those classes of positions the duties of which are— (A) to perform, under general administrative direction, with very wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment, work of outstanding difficulty and responsibility along special technical, supervisory, or administrative lines which has demonstrated leadership and exceptional attainments; (B) to serve as head of a major organization within a bureau involving work of comparable level; (C) to plan and direct or to plan and execute specialized programs of marked difficulty, responsibility, and national significance, along professional, scientific, technical, administrative, fiscal, or other lines, requiring extended training and experience which has demonstrated leadership and unusual attainments in professional, scientific, or technical research, practice, or administration, or in administrative, fiscal, or other specialized activities; or (D) to perform consulting or other professional, scientific, technical, administrative, fiscal, or other specialized work of equal importance, difficulty, and responsibility, and requiring comparable qualifications. § 5105. Standards for classification of positions (a) The Office of Personnel Management, after consulting the agencies, shall prepare standards for placing positions in their proper classes and grades. The Office may make such inquiries or investigations of the duties, responsibilities, and qualification re quirements of positions as it considers necessary for this purpose. The agencies, on request of the Office, shall furnish information for and cooperate in the preparation of the standards. In the standards, which shall be published in such form as the Office may determine, the Office shall (1) define the various classes of positions in terms of duties, responsibilities, and qualification requirements; (2) establish the official class titles; and (3) set forth the grades in which the classes have been placed by the Office. (b) The Office, after consulting the agencies to the extent considered necessary, shall revise, supplement, or abolish existing standards, or prepare new standards, so that, as nearly as may be practicable, positions existing at any given time will be covered by current published standards. (c) The official class titles established under subsection (a)(2) of this section shall be used for personnel, budget, and fiscal purposes. However, this requirement does not prevent the use of organizational or other titles for internal administration, public convenience, law enforcement, or similar purposes. § 5106. Basis for classifying positions (a) Each position shall be placed in its appropriate class. The basis for determining the appropriate class is the duties and responsibilities of the position and the qualifications required by the duties and responsibilities. (b) Each class shall be placed in its appropriate grade. The basis for determining the appropriate grade is the level of difficulty, responsibility, and qualification requirements of the work of the class. (c) Appropriated funds may not be used to pay an employee who places a supervisory position in a class and grade solely on the basis of the size of the organization unit or the number of subordinates supervised. These factors may be given effect only to the extent warranted by the work load of the organization unit and then only in combination with other factors, such as the kind, difficulty, and complexity of work supervised, the degree and scope of responsibility delegated to the supervisor, and the kind, degree, and character of the supervision exercised. $5107. Classification of positions . Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, each agency shall place each position under its jurisdiction in its appropriate class and grade in conformance with standards published by the Office of Personnel Management or, if no published standards apply directly, consistently with published standards. When facts warrant, an agency may change a position which it has placed in a class or grade under this section from that class or grade to another class or grade. Subject to subchapter VI of chapter 53 of this title, these actions of an agency are the basis for pay and personnel transactions until changed by certificate of the Office. § 5108. Classification of positions above GS-15 (a) The Office of Personnel Management may, for any Executive agency (1) establish, and from time to time revise, the maximum number of positions which may at any one time be classified above GS-15; and (2) establish standards and procedures (including requiring agencies, where necessary in the judgment of the Office, to obtain the prior approval of the Office) in accordance with which positions may be classified above GS-15. (b) The President, rather then the Office, shall exercise the authority under subsection (a) in the case of positions proposed to be placed in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration Senior Executive Service. § 5109. Positions classified by statute (a) The position held by an employee of the Department of Agriculture while he, under section 450d of title 7, is designated and vested with a delegated regulatory function or part thereof shall be classified in accordance with this chapter, but not lower than GS14. (b)(1) The position held by a fully experienced and qualified railroad safety inspector of the Department of Transportation shall be classified in accordance with this chapter, but not lower than GS-12. (2) The position held by a railroad safety specialist of the Department shall be classified in accordance with this chapter, but not lower than GS-13. § 5110. Review of classification of positions (a) The Office of Personnel Management, from time to time, shall review such number of positions in each agency as will enable the Office to determine whether the agency is placing positions in classes and grades in conformance with or consistently with published standards. (b) When the Office finds under subsection (a) of this section that a position is not placed in its proper class and grade in conformance with published standards or that a position for which there is no published standard is not placed in the class and grade consistently with published standards, it shall, after consultation with appropriate officials of the agency concerned, place the position in its appropriate class and grade and shall certify this action to the agency. The agency shall act in accordance with the certificate, and the certificate is binding on all administrative, certifying, payroll, disbursing, and accounting officials. § 5111. Revocation and restoration of authority to classify positions (a) When the Office of Personnel Management finds that an agency is not placing positions in classes and grades in conformance with or consistently with published standards, it may revoke or suspend the authority granted to the agency by section 5107 of this title and require that prior approval of the Office be secured before an action placing a position in a class and grade becomes effective for payroll and other personnel purposes. The Office may limit the revocation or suspension to (1) the departmental or field service, or any part thereof; (3) an organization unit or group of organization units; (5) classes in particular occupational groups or grades; or (b) After revocation or suspension, the Office may restore the authority to the extent that it is satisfied that later actions placing positions in classes and grades will be in conformance with or consistent with published standards. §5112. General authority of the Office of Personnel Management (a) Notwithstanding section 5107 of this title, the Office of Personnel Management may— (1) ascertain currently the facts as to the duties, responsibilities, and qualification requirements of a position; (2) place in an appropriate class and grade a newly created position or a position coming initially under this chapter; (3) decide whether a position is in its appropriate class and grade; and (4) change a position from one class or grade to another class or grade when the facts warrant. The Office shall certify to the agency concerned its action under paragraph (2) or (4) of this subsection. The agency shall act in accordance with the certificate, and the certificate is binding on all administrative, certifying, payroll, disbursing, and accounting offi cials. (b) An employee affected or an agency may request at any time that the Office exercise the authority granted to it by subsection (a) of this section and the Office shall act on the request. §5113. Classification records The Office of Personnel Management may (1) prescribe the form in which each agency shall record the duties and responsibilities of positions and the places where these records shall be maintained; (2) examine these or other pertinent records of the agency; and (3) interview employees of the agency who have knowledge of the duties and responsibilities of positions and information as to the reasons for placing a position in a class or grade. [§5114. Repealed. Pub. L. 99-386, title I, § 110(a), Aug. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 822.] §5115. Regulations The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations necessary for the administration of this chapter, except sections 5109 and 5114. Sec. 5301. 5302. 5303. 5304. 5304a. 5305. 5306. 5307. CHAPTER 53-PAY RATES AND SYSTEMS SUBCHAPTER I-PAY COMPARABILITY SYSTEM Policy. Definitions. Annual adjustments to pay schedules. Locality-based comparability payment 1. Authority to fix an alternative level of comparability payments. Pay fixed by administrative action. Limitation on certain payments. 5317. Presidential authority to place positions at levels IV and V. 5318. Adjustments in rates of pay. SUBCHAPTER III-GENERAL SCHEDULE PAY RATES Definitions; application. The General Schedule. Minimum rate for new appointments. 5331. 5332. 5333. Rate on change of position or type of appointment; regulations. Additional step-increases. Regulations. SUBCHAPTER IV-PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS Definitions; application. Prevailing rate determinations; wage schedules; night differentials. 5342. 5343. 5344. [5345. 5346. Job grading system. Repealed.] Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee. Prevailing rate employees; legislative, judicial, Bureau of Engraving and 1 So in law. The item for section 5304 does not conform to the heading for such section. |