agency and the right to appeal to the Commission from this determination as provided by this section.

(h) Administrative oversight, error, or delay. When a determination by an agency prescribed by this section is not made on a timely basis through administrative oversight, error, or delay, the determination when made:

(1) Shall be based on the employee's performance during the period that would have been covered had the determination been timely made; and

(2) Is considered to have been made as of the date it would have been made were it not for the administrative oversight, error, or delay.

(1) Waiver of requirement for determination. The requirement for a determination as prescribed by paragraph (a) of this section is waived for periods of service which are counted as creditable service toward a waiting period under § 531.404 (c), (d), (e), or (f).

(j) Waiver in retroactive correction cases. The requirement for a determination as prescribed by paragraph (a) of this section is waived when (1) the waiting period is completed during a period for which the employee is entitled to back pay under Subpart H of Part 550 of this chapter and (2) the employee had 60 days or less of service during that waiting period because of an unjustified or unwarranted personnel action. § 531.408 Effective date-within-grade increase.

(a) A within-grade increase is effective on the first day of the first pay period following completion of the required waiting period and compliance with the other conditions of eligibility.

(b) When the effective date of a within-grade increase and the effective date of a personnel action occur at the same time, the agency shall process the actions in the order that gives the employee the maximum benefit.

§ 531.409 Corrective action withingrade increase.

(a) When a within-grade increase is delayed beyond its proper effective date through administrative oversight, error, or delay, the agency shall make the increase effective as of the date it was properly due.

(b) When an improper personnel action is corrected in accordance with a

mandatory statutory or regulatory requirement, the waiting period is not extended and begins on the date it would have begun had the improper action not occurred.

§ 531.410 Authority-quality increase.

The head of an agency, or a person authorized to act in his behalf, may grant a quality increase in accordance with section 5336 of title 5, United States Code, and this subpart.

§ 531.411 Quality of performance required.

(a) A supervisory recommendation for a quality increase shall be in writing and shall show why performance can be characterized as high quality performance above that ordinarily found in the type of position concerned.

(b) Before a quality increase may be granted, the head of an agency, or a person authorized to act in his behalf, shall find that (1) the employee concerned has been performing the most important functions of his position in a manner that substantially exceeds normal requirements so that when viewed as a whole the employee's work performance is of a high level of effectiveness, and (2) the employee's high level of effectiveness has been sustained to the extent that it may be considered characteristic of his performance.

§ 531.412 Agency plans-quality

crease.

in

Each agency shall establish a plan for granting quality increases. The plan shall include standards and procedures to provide for the granting of quality increases with reasonable consistency throughout the agency and with fairness to all employees.

§ 531.413 Reports-quality increase.

The Commission, from time to time, may request agencies to report on the use of the authority to grant quality increases.

Subpart E-Salary Retention

§ 531.501 Purpose.

The purpose of this subpart is to provide the regulations necessary to administer section 5337 of title 5, United States Code, and carry out the intent of Congress in establishing salary retention benefits for General Schedule employees

(a) "Agency" has the meaning given that word by section 5102 of title 5, United States Code.

(b) "Employee" means an employee in a General Schedule position.

(c) "Rate of basic pay" means the rate of pay fixed by law or administrative action for the position held by an employee before any deductions and exclusive of additional pay of any kind.

(d) "Salary retention" means an employee's entitlement to be paid at a rate fixed under subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, and this subpart, and includes those rates preserved by section 2 of the Act of August 23, 1958, Public Law 85-737, 72 Stat. 830.

(e) "Salary retention period" means the period of not to exceed 2 continuous years during which an employee is entitled to salary retention under section 5337 of title 5, United States Code.

§ 531.504 Documentation.

When an employee is granted the benefits of this subpart, the agency concerned shall:

(a) Notify him of the action taken and the effective date thereof; and

(b) Make a written record of the action which becomes a permanent part of the employee's Official Personnel Folder even though no salary change occurs at the time of demotion.

§ 531.505 Equivalent tenure.

lished such a system, each excepted employee having an appointment not limited to 1 year or less is deemed to have tenure equivalent to a career-conditional or career employee in the competitive service.

(b) Status quo employment. When an employee had an appointment in the excepted service of tenure equivalent to that held by a career-conditional or career appointee in the competitive service, and he continues to serve under the same appointment as a status quo employee, he continues as a status quo employee to have tenure equivalent to a career-conditional or career appointee in the competitive service in determining his entitlement to salary retention under this subpart.

The reference in section 5337(a) (3) of title 5, United States Code, to the demotion of an employee "at his own request," includes a demotion to which he has consented in lieu of a proposed adverse action for personal cause, and one that he personally requests for another reason. The employee's consent to, or personal request for, a demotion shall be in writing and signed by the employee. § 531.508 Demotion in a reduction in force.

Salary retention does not apply to a demotion in a reduction in force due to (a) a lack of funds for personal services in the competitive area when that lack of funds results from a limitation imposed on an agency or a military department by outside authority, or (b) a curtailment of the number of man hours required to perform the current work of the agency or department in the competitive area.

§ 531.509 Continuous service.

The period of 2 continuous years of service immediately prior to a demotion required by section 5337(a) (4) of title 5, United States Code, must be served in a General Schedule position or in a position covered by § 539.201 of this chapter. This period includes any period or pe

riods of nonpay status occurring in the 2-year period. Similarly, the salary retention period after demotion includes any period or periods in a nonpay status.

§ 531.510

Transfer of functions.

The movement of an employee with his function in a transfer of function between agencies does not terminate or defeat the employee's eligibility for salary retention in determining whether he remained "in the same agency," as required by section 5337(a) (4) of title 5, United States Code.

§ 531.511 Work performance.

An employee who has not received an official rating of less than satisfactory covering any part of the 2-year period required to be served immediately prior to a demotion is eligible for salary retention.

§ 531.512 Rate determination.

(a) At the time of an employee's demotion, the agency shall select a rate in the grade to which he is demoted which would have been the employee's rate of basic pay if he were not entitled to a retained rate. When the agency does not select a higher rate under § 531.203 (c), it shall determine the rate, subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section, as follows:

(1) When the employee's retained rate is equal to a rate in the grade to which he is demoted, that rate shall be selected.

(2) When the employee's retained rate falls between two rates of the grade to which he is demoted, the lower of the two rates shall be selected.

(3) When the employee's retained rate is above the maximum rate of the grade to which he is demoted, the maximum rate shall be selected.

(b) When the employee's retained rate is a rate established under section 5303 of title 5, United States Code, the agency shall determine what the employee's rate in the grade from which demoted would have been if the rate established by section 5303 had not applied to him and this rate shall be considered to be the employee's retained rate for the purpose of selecting a rate under the provisions of subparagraph (1), (2), or (3) of paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) At the time of the employee's demotion, the agency shall (1) record in the employee's Official Personnel Folder

(c) An employee receiving a retained rate under section 2 of the act of August 23, 1958, Public Law 85-737, 72 Stat. 830, holds that retained rate without time limitation in accordance with that section. However, if the employee is reassigned, the agency shall terminate his retained rate and adjust his rate of basic pay in a manner comparable to that provided in § 531.515.

(d) When an employee's retained rate is terminated by reassignment, the agency shall furnish him with a written notification of the effective date of the termination of the retained rate and of his right to appeal under § 531.516. § 531.514 Within-grade increases.

An employee with a retained rate is eligible for within-grade increase, only in the grade in which he is serving and on the rate selected under § 531.512. § 531.515 Pay adjustment.

When an employee's retained rate is terminated because of the expiration of the salary retention period, the agency shall adjust his rate of basic pay within the grade in which he is serving to the rate previously selected in accordance with 531.512(a) together with any within-grade increases to which the employee became entitled during the salary retention period.

§ 531.516 Appeals to the Commission.

(a) General. An employee who is reduced in grade or pay, or reassigned

during his salary retention period, may appeal to the Commission from a decision of the agency that (1) he is not entitled to salary retention, or (2) will terminate or adversely affect the salary retention he is currently receiving. This right of appeal does not in any way restrict an employee's entitlement to appeal to the Commission under another part of this chapter or under statute.

(b) Agency notification to employee. When an employee is reduced in grade or pay, or reassigned during a salary retention period, the agency shall inform him in writing whether or not he is entitled to salary retention, or the salary retention he is currently receiving will be terminated or adversely affected. When an agency decides that (1) an employee is not entitled to salary retention, or (2) the salary retention an employee is currently receiving will be terminated, the agency shall inform him in writing of his right of appeal to the Commission under this section.

(c) Time limit-(1) General. Except as provided in subparagraph (2) of this paragraph, an employee may submit an appeal to the Commission at any time after his receipt of a decision to deny or terminate salary retention but not later than 15 calendar days after his demotion or reassignment has been effected.

(2) Exceptions. When an employee appeals a decision to deny or terminate salary retention to the agency under established procedures, other than those based on Subpart B of Part 771 of this chapter, the time limit on an appeal to the Commission is not later than 15 calendar days after receipt of the notice of final decision on the appeal to the agency. The Commission may extend the time limits in this paragraph when the employee shows that he was not informed of his right of appeal or of the applicable time limit and was not otherwise aware of that right or that time limit, or that he was prevented by circumstances beyond his control from appealing within the time limit.

(d) How submitted. The appeal shall be in writing and shall set forth the employee's reasons why he considers the agency's decision erroneous, with such offer of proof and evidence as he is able to submit.

(e) Agency action when Commission recommends corrective action. (1) It is

532.701 532.702

Responsibility of surveying agency. Determination process.

Subpart F-[Reserved]

Subpart G-Appeals

Applicability.

Agency responsibility.

532.703 Appeal to the Commission.

Subparts A-D-[Reserved] Subpart E-Wage Rates for Principal Types of Federal Positions

AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Subpart E issued under 5 U.S.C. 5341 (c).

SOURCE: The provisions of this Subpart E appear at 35 F.R. 11025, July 9, 1970, unless otherwise noted.

§ 532.501 Applicability.

(a) Agency. This subpart and section 5341(c) of title 5, United States Code, apply to an agency which has employees whose rates of pay are fixed and adjusted under section 5341(a) of title 5, United States Code in accordance with prevailing rates.

(b) Employee. This subpart and section 5341(c) of title 5, United States Code, apply to an employee who is excepted from chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code by section 5102(c) (7) of that title.

§ 532.502 Definitions.

In this subpart:

(a) "Survey area" means that part of a wage area within which private enterprise establishments included in the wage

survey are located and within which sufficient comparable samples can be obtained;

(b) "Wage area" means the geographic area within which a single wage schedule is established for wage employees;

(c) "Wage employee" means an employee to whom this subpart applies;

(d) "Wage schedule” means a schedule which establishes pay rates for wage employees;

(e) "Wage survey" means the collection of wage rate data from private industry for use in establishing a wage schedule.

§ 532.503

Determining applicability of section 5341(c).

In determining the applicability of section 5341(c) of title 5, United States Code:

(a) "Principal types of Federal positions" means those groups of occupations which require work of a specialized nature and which are peculiar to a specialized Government industry which is the dominant industry among the total wage employment in the wage area. The specialized Government industry is the dominant industry when the number of wage employees in the wage area in occupations which make up the principal types of Federal positions comprise either (1) 25 percent or more of the total wage employment in the wage area or (2) not less than 1,000 employees when the total wage employment in the wage area exceeds 4,000. When more than one Government specialized industry in the wage area qualifies under this paragraph, the two specialized Government industries having the greatest number of wage employees are the dominant industries. For the purpose of this subparagraph total wage employment in a wage area means the total of all wage employees in the wage area who are paid under the same wage schedule.

(b) "Sufficient number of comparable positions" means that number of positions in private industry in the survey area similar to those in the specialized Government industry identified under paragraph (a) of this section which will provide survey coverage representative of the principal types of Federal positions. Subject to obtaining adequate data under § 532.505 (e) (3), there is deemed to

be a sufficient number of comparable private positions in a survey area when all positions in private establishments in industries designated by the Commission to be similar to each dominant industry as determined under paragraph (a) of this section are at least equal in number to the total number of wage positions for that dominant industry in the local wage area.

§ 532.504 Responsibility of surveying

agency.

The agency making the survey (the surveying agency) is responsible for making the determinations required by section 5341 (c) of title 5, United States Code, and for carrying out the other requirements of this subpart.

§ 532.505 Determination process.

(a) Time of making determinations. The initial determination as to whether there exists in the survey area a sufficient number of comparable positions in private industry to establish a wage schedule for the principal types of Federal positions subject to the regular wage. schedule, is made before a wage survey is ordered to be conducted in a survey area and is based on all relevant, available evidence.

(b) More than one type of wage schedule. When there is more than one type of wage schedule in the wage area, the agency shall make a separate determination for each wage schedule.

(c) Obtaining views from organizations or individuals. (1) In making its determinations, the surveying agency shall consider all relevant evidence submitted by labor organizations holding formal or exclusive recognition for Federal wage employees in the wage area, the findings and recommendations of its local wage survey organization, and any recommendations of the agency wage committee established under the Coordinated Federal Wage System.

(2) At least 30 calendar days before a survey is ordered, the surveying agency shall inform all installations in the wage area having wage employees subject to the wage schedule of the date by which organizations or individuals may present to it any recommendations and supporting evidence concerning principal types of Federal positions for which they believe there is not sufficient private in