This subpart applies to a request from an employee or an agency for the Office to review the classification of a position subject to chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code, or for the Office to determine whether a position is subject to that chapter.

An employee whose position is reclassified to a lower grade which is based in whole or in part on a classification decision is entitled to a prompt written notice from the agency. This includes employees who are eligible for retained grade or pay. If the reclassification is due to an Office classification certificate issued under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 5110,the. This notice shall inform the employee:

(a) Of his or her right to appeal the classification decision to the agency (if the agency has an established appeal system and it has the authority to review the classification decision), or to the Office as provided in this subpart if such an appeal has not already been made;

(b) Of the time limits within which the employee's appeal must be filed in order to preserve any retroactive benefits under § 511.703; and

(c) Any other appeal or grievance rights available under applicable law, rule, regulation or negotiated agreement.

(a) Employee appeal. An employee, or the employee's designated representative acting on behalf of an employee, may request an Office decision as to:

(1) The appropriate occupational series or grade of the employee's official position.

(2) The inclusion under or exclusion from chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code, of the official position by the employee's agency or the Office, except in the case of a position located in the Office of the Architect of the Capitol.

(b) Agency appeal. The head of an agency, or an authorized representative, may appeal any classification certificate issued by the Office under sections 5103 or 5110 of title 5, U.S.C., with respect to any position in the agency.

(a) Employee. An employee may appeal by writing to the Office directly, or by forwarding the appeal through the employing agency.

(b) Referral of an employee appeal to the Office. An agency shall forward, within 60 calendar days of its receipt in the agency, and employee's appeal filed through the agency to the Office when:

(1) The employee has directed the appeal to the Office and the agency's written decision is not favorable; or

(2) The agency is not authorized to act on the employee's appeal; or

(3) The agency has not decided the appeal within the established time period.

(a) Employees. (1) An employee may submit an appeal of his or her official position at any time. If the employee has suffered a loss in grade or pay, is not entitled to retained grade or pay, and desires retroactive adjustments, the time limits in § 511.703 must be observed.

(2) If the employee is appealing an agency decision or an Office classification certificate issued under 5 U.S.C. 5103 or 5110, the employee shall promptly appeal if he or she disagrees with the classification certificate. Employees must meet the time limits provided in § 511.703 in order to preserve the right to retroactive adjustment.

(b) Agency. An agency may appeal an Office classification certificate issued under authority of section 5103 or 5110 of title 5, United States Code, at any time. Heads of agencies should appeal prior to the implementation date of the certificate if they disagree with the classification rationale.

(c) Reconsideration. An employee or agency may request reconsideration of an Office appellate decision. The request must be in writing, and filed not later than 45 calendar days after the decision is issued. This time limit may be waived under exceptional circumstances by either the Director or the Director's designee.

(a) Employee appeal. An employee's appeal shall be in writing, and shall contain the reasons why the employee believes his or her position is erroneously classified, or should be brought under or excluded from chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code. The agency, when forwarding the employee's appeal or when requested by the Office, shall furnish all relevant facts concerning the position and the agency's justification for its classification decision. The agency shall also comment on the information submitted by the employee if requested to do so by the Office. Either the employee or agency may submit relevant information to the Office at any time following the initial filing of an appeal.

(b) Agency appeal. An agency's appeal shall be in writing, and shall contain its reasons and justification for requesting a review of the Office's certificate.

(c) Inspection of the Office's appellate record. The employee, an employee's representative and the agency will be permitted to inspect the Office's appellate record on request. Agencies will make available to appellants copies of any and all information submitted by the agency to the Office with respect to the appellant's individual appeal.

(a) The following issues are not appealable to the Office under this subpart. Such issues may be reviewed under administrative or negotiated grievance procedures if applicable:

(1) The accuracy of the official position description including the inclusion or exclusion of a major duty in the official position description. When the accuracy of the official position description is questioned by the employee, the employee will be directed to review this matter with his or her supervisor. If management and the employee cannot resolve their differences informally, the accuracy of the position description should be reviewed in accordance with administrative or negotiated grievance procedures. If the accuracy of the position description cannot be resolved in this manner, the Office will decide the appeal on the basis of the actual duties and responsibilities assigned by management and performed by the employee;

(2) An assignment or detail out of the scope of normally performed duties as outlined in the official position description;

(3) The accuracy, consistency or use of agency supplemental classification guides; or,

(4) The title of the position unless a specific title is authorized in a published Office classification standard or guide, or the title reflects a qualification requirement or authorized area of specialization.

(b) The following issues are neither appealable nor reviewable:

(1) The class, grade, or pay system of a position to which the employee is not officially assigned by an official personnel action;

(2) An agency's proposed classification decision;

(3) The class, grade, or pay system of a position to which the employee is detailed or promoted on a time-limited basis, except that employees serving under time-limited promotion for 2 years or more may appeal the classification of their positions to the Office under these procedures.

(4) The classification of the employee's position based on position-to-position comparisons and not standards;

(5) The accuracy of grade level criteria contained in an Office classification guide or standard; or

(6) A classification decision that has been issued by the Office under this subpart when there has been no change in the governing classification standard(s) or the major duties of the position.

An employee may select a representative of his or her choice to assist in the preparation and presentation of an appeal. An agency may disallow an employee's representative when the individual's activities as a representative would cause a conflict of interest or position; an employee who cannot be released from his or her official duties because of the priority needs of the Government; or an employee whose release would give rise to unreasonable costs to the Government.

The employee, a designated representative, and the agency shall furnish such facts as may be requested by the Office within the time frames specified. The facts shall be in writing when so requested. The Office, in its discretion, may investigate or audit the position. A representative may not participate in OPM on-site audits unless specifically requested to do so by the Office.

The Office shall notify the employee, or a representative if one is designated, and the agency in writing of its decision.

An employee's appeal shall be cancelled and the employee so notified in writing in the following circumstances:

(a) On receipt of the employee's written request for cancellation.

(b) On failure to prosecute, when the employee or the designated representative does not furnish requested information, or proceed with the advancement of the appeal.

An appellate decision made by the Office is final unless reconsidered by the Office. There is no further right of appeal. The Office may reconsider a decision at its discretion. The decision shall constitute a certificate which is mandatory and binding on all administrative, certifying, payroll, disbursing, and accounting officials of the Government. Agencies shall review their own classification decisions for identical, similar or related positions to insure consistency with the Office's certificate.

The Office may, at its discretion, reopen and reconsider a certificate issued under this subpart.

(a) Requests which contain new and material information, or disagreements over the significance of information, will be remanded to the Director's designee for a decision.

(b) The Office may reopen and reconsider a decision only when written argument or evidence is presented which establishes a reasonable doubt concerning the technical accuracy of the decision.

The Director may, at his or her discretion, reopen and reconsider any decision when written argument or evidence is submitted which tends to establish that:

(a) The previous decision involves an erroneous interpretation of law or regulation, or a misapplication of established policy:

(b) The previous decision is of a precedential nature involving a new or unreviewed policy consideration that may have effects beyond the actual case at hand, or is otherwise of such an exceptional nature as to merit the personal attention of the Director.

Agencies may use temporary or conditional compliance action, e.g., a temporary promotion or a temporary reassignment when available, if:

(a) A position has been certified by the Office under either section 5110 or 5112 of title 5, United States Code;

(b) The certificate has not been suspended; and,

(c) The agency or employee has requested reconsideration.

(a) The Office, upon a request which identifies the individual from whose file the information is sought, shall disclose the following information from an appeal file to a member of the public, except when the disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy:

(1) Confirmation of the name of the individual from whose file the information is sought and the names of the other parties concerned;

(2) The status of the appeal;

(3) The results of the appeal (i.e., proper title, pay plan, series, and grade);

(4) the classification requested (i.e., title, pay plan, series, and grade); and

(5) With the consent of the parties concerned, other reasonably identified information from the file.

(b) The Office will disclose to the parties concerned the information contained in an appeal file in proceedings under this part. For the purposes of this section, the parties concerned means the Government employee or former Government employee involved in the proceedings, his or her representative designated in writing, and the representative of the agency or the Office involved in the proceeding.