On October 8, 2019, the Agency issued Order 3115, the “Merit Promotion Plan.” This Order addressed the new requirements for applying for a job at EPA through the USAJOBS application process. According to the new regulations, effective January 1, EPA employees are required to submit a copy of their most recent PARS performance rating and the appropriate SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, when applying to EPA positions posted on USAJOBS. Additionally, internal merit promotion applicants would have been required to be at least “Fully Successful” to be eligible for selection.

In response to the imposition of this last requirement, NTEU filed a national grievance demanding the elimination of this limitation on eligibility.

We are pleased to inform you that our grievance was successful, and the Agency notified NTEU that it has rescinded its requirement that internal merit promotion applicants must be at least “Fully Successful” to be eligible for selection. Now, candidates with any PARS performance rating will need to submit a copy of their most recent performance evaluation but will not be precluded from eligibility based exclusively on what that most recent rating was.