(a) Purpose. Many individuals in society possess great productive potential which goes unrealized because they cannot meet the requirements of a standard workweek. Permanent part-time employment also provides benefits to other individuals in a variety of ways, such as providing older individuals with a gradual transition into retirement, providing employment opportunities to handicapped individuals or others who require a reduced workweek, providing parents with opportunities to balance family responsibilities with the need for added income, and assisting students who must finance their own education or vocational training. In view of this, the National Endowment for the Humanities will operate a part-time career employment program, consistent with its responsibilities and in accordance with Public Law 95-437, the Federal Employees' Part-Time Career Employment Act of 1978.

(b) Program Coordinator. The Personnel Officer is responsible for program operation and coordination.

(a) Part-time employment means employment of 16 to 32 hours a week under a schedule consisting of an equal or varied number of hours per day, whether in a position which would be part-time without regard to the Act or one established to allow job-sharing or comparable arrangements, but does not include employment on a temporary or intermittent basis.

(b) Career employment includes competitive and excepted service employees in tenure groups I and II.

Positions becoming vacant, unless excepted as provided by § 1176.8, will be reviewed to determine the feasibility of converting them to part-time. Among the criteria which may be used when conducting this review are:

(a) Mission requirements.

(b) Workload.

(c) Employment ceilings and budgetary considerations.

(d) Availability of qualified applicants willing to work part-time.

Position management and other internal reviews may indicate that positions may be either converted from full-time or initially established as part-time positions. Criteria listed in § 1176.3 may be used during these reviews. If a decision is made to convert to or to establish a part-time position, regular position management and classification procedures will be followed.

(a) An agencywide plan for promoting part-time employment opportunities will be developed annually. This plan will establish annual goals and set interim and final deadlines for achieving these goals. This plan will be applicable throughout the agency, and will be transmitted to the Office of Personnel Management with the required report to OPM on the status of the program as of September 30 of each year.

(b) Beginning in FY 1981 in administering personnel ceilings, part-time career employees shall be counted against ceiling authorizations as a fraction. This will be determined by dividing 40 hours into the average number of hours of such employee's regularly scheduled workweek.

Regular employment reports will be used to determine levels of part-time employment. This program will also be designated an item of special interest to be reviewed during personnel management reviews.

When applicants from outside the Federal service are desired, part-time vacanies may be publicized through various recruiting means, such as:

(a) Federal Job Information Centers.

(b) State Employment Offices.

(c) Veterans' Administration Recruiting Bulletins.

(a) The Personnel Officer may except positions from inclusion in this program to provide fewer than 16 hours per week. This will normally be done in furtherance of special hiring programs such as the Stay-in-School or Handicapped Employment Program.

(b) On occasions when it becomes necessary to allow supervisors and managers to temporarily increase the hours of duty of employees above 32 hours per week for limited and specific periods of time to meet heavy workloads, perform special assignments, permit employee training, etc., the Endowment policy is as follows:

(1) Requests to work NEH employees on a 32 hour/week appointment more than 32 hours must be submitted in advance to the Personnel Office;

(2) Justification should be concise but specific and must state the exact time frame for the increase in hours above 32 hours per week; and

(3) The Program Coordinator will decide if the request meets the intent of the law and this agency's policy.