3-4.200 Personnel

3-4.213 Excepted Service

1. Attorneys, Assistant United States Attorneys. Attorneys appointed to the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) are excepted from the competitive service as Schedule A employees, 5 C.F.R § 213.3102, and are compensated in accordance with the General Schedule.
   Assistant United States Attorneys are appointed to United States Attorneys' offices (USAOs), are excepted from the competitive service under the aegis of 28 U.S.C. § 542, and are compensated in accordance with an administratively-determined pay system.

   United States Attorneys are authorized to recruit, screen, and submit nominations of the best-qualified to serve as Assistant United States Attorneys.

   Law Clerks -- Appointing Authority. Law Clerk appointments may be made to law school graduates who have not passed the bar, not-to-exceed 14 months or less under the aegis of 5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(e). For information on classification and funding, and the use of the Honors Program, see the EOUSA Resource Manual at 20.

   Special Assistant United States Attorneys and Special Attorneys. The Director, EOUSA, is responsible for administering the Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) and Special Attorney program. Cross designation of State and Local attorneys and AUSAs, and appointment of Special Attorneys or Private Attorneys as SAUSAs, must be authorized by the EOUSA. See Administrative Procedures Handbook.

   Summer Legal Intern Program -- Appointing Authority. Summer Legal Intern appointees receive appointments as Paralegal Specialists, GS-950, under the aegis of 5 C.F.R § 213.3101. For information on eligibility and appointing procedures, see the EOUSA Resource Manual at 21.

   Assignment of Attorney Work to Paralegal Specialists. See generally the EOUSA Resource Manual at 22.

   Student Educational Employment Program (SEEP). See generally the EOUSA Resource Manual at 23.

   Separation of the Schedule C Secretary to the United States Attorney. See generally the EOUSA Resource Manual at 151.

3-4.250 Personnel Management in Agencies

Other reference(s): 5 U.S.C. §§ 2903 and 3331; 5 C.F.R., Part 250; USAM 3-4.200

1. General. It is the policy of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) to accomplish the most efficient and effective mix of centralized/decentralized services which will satisfy mission requirements while ensuring the integrity of all statutory and regulatory requirements of the Federal personnel system. Accordingly, selected personnel authorities may be delegated to particular United States Attorneys' offices (USAOs) to the extent that such a delegation will promote the effective accomplishment of the mission of the USAO. Specific delegations will be in writing, and are subject to modification or revocation as necessary.

2. Oath of Office. All employees are required to execute an oath of office (Appointment Affidavit, SF-61) upon appointment (see 5 U.S.C. §§ 2903, 3331). The Director, EOUSA, is authorized to administer personally and to delegate authority to administer the oath of office. United States Attorneys and the Assistant Director, Personnel Staff, are delegated such authority by the Director, EOUSA. Any redelegation of this authority must be in writing.

3-4.273 Personnel Management Evaluation

3-4.274 Corrective Actions

3-4.293 Personnel Records

3-4.294 Availability of Official Information

3-4.295 Personnel Forms and Documents

3-4.296 Processing Personnel Actions

3-4.300 Employment (General)

1. Personnel. The authority to take final action in all matters pertaining to the employment, separation and general administration of:
   • Non-attorney personnel (not including law students) in United States Attorneys' offices (USAOs) and the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) has been delegated to the Director, EOUSA (see 28 C.F.R. § 0.138); and the Executive Office may, and has, delegated authority beyond that described in this chapter to individual USAOs.

   • With respect to Assistant United States Attorneys authority has been delegated to the Deputy Attorney General see 29 C.F.R. § 0.15), with certain authorities redelegated to the Director, EOUSA. The Director's authority may not be redelegated. The authority to appoint Assistant United States Attorneys has been delegated to the Director, OAPM. See also 3-2.200.
   The Executive Office may delegate authority beyond that described in this chapter to individual United States Attorneys' offices.

   All recruitment will be conducted with an affirmative effort to achieve the goal of providing an equal opportunity for employment to as many interested, qualified applicants as possible.

   Appointments in EOUSA and USAOs are restricted to United States citizens or those who owe permanent allegiance to the United States (currently, natives of American Samoa are the only group that owes permanent allegiance to the United States).

   Employee Orientation. The EOUSA and USAOs will provide for a well-planned, organized, and systematic program which will orient new employees to the mission of their office and to their individual jobs. See generally the EOUSA Resource Manual at 26.

   Filling Vacant Secretary to the United States Attorney Positions. To allow incoming United States Attorneys to create a vacancy in the position of Secretary to the United States Attorney (SUSA) and facilitate the placement of a confidential assistant of their choosing, all vacant SUSA positions are to be filled by term appointment, time-limited promotion, or reassignment. Term appointment is a nonstatus appointment in the competitive service for a specified period exceeding one year but not more than four years. Time-limited promotion is an assignment of a current employee to a higher-grade position (with attendant salary increase) for a temporary period not to exceed five years. Reassignment is an assignment of a current employee to a position at the same grade level. See generally the EOUSA Resource Manual at 27.

   Hosting Enrollees of Federal Grant Programs. See generally the EOUSA Resource Manual at 28.

3-4.308 Volunteer Service

3-4.316 Temporary Employment

3-4.332 Recruitment and Selection Through Competitive Examination

3-4.334 Temporary Assignment Under Intergovernmental Personnel Act

1. Sabbatical Program. Subject to case-by-case approval by the Assistant Director, Personnel Staff, Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA), United States Attorneys are authorized to establish sabbatical programs with law schools. Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) may spend no more than one full year teaching at a law school and a professor from that law school may spend a similar period of time working in the United States Attorney's office (USAO). This program will give selected AUSAs a break from their routine, an opportunity to "recharge their batteries," and a chance to do some in-depth research in their areas of interest.
   This program has been established under the provisions of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 (5 C.F.R. § 334) and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-454), which, inter alia, permit exchanges between the Federal Government and institutions of higher learning. In every case, a formal agreement must be entered into between the school and the Director, EOUSA, and the employee must agree to the assignment.

   To be eligible, an AUSA normally will have at least five years of experience with the USAO and have expressed the intent to remain with the office for at least two years after completion of the sabbatical. Of course, the law school must agree to the specific AUSA as well as to the courses to be taught.

   Professors selected for this program will be appointed as Special AUSAs. They must be interested in trial work, meet any local bar membership requirements, and successfully complete a full-field background investigation. The professors must agree that information gained during their year with the Department will be kept confidential and that any articles written about their assignments will be cleared through the Department of Justice.

   Cross Designation of Federal Prosecutors as State and Local Prosecutors. To cross designate a federal prosecutor as a State or Local Prosecutor, approval is required from the Assistant Director, Personnel Staff, EOUSA. Appointments are subject to some security restrictions. Assignments are authorized upon the request from or with the concurrence of a state or local government, and with the consent of the employee concerned.

3-4.335 Promotion and Internal Placement

3-4.340 Other Than Full-Time Career Employment (Part-Time, Seasonal, On-Call, and Intermittent)

3-4.430 Performance Management -- Performance Appraisal for Attorneys and Non-attorneys

1. Employee Coverage. All United States Attorneys' offices (USAO) and Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) employees are covered by the provisions of this section except for the following:
   1. Senior Executive Service (SES) employees;

   2. Positions filled by Noncareer Executive Assignments;

   3. Employees or positions for which employment is not reasonably expected to exceed 120 calendar days in a consecutive 12-month period; or

   4. Positions otherwise specifically excluded by law or regulation.

2. Responsibilities.
   1. The United States Attorney is the highest level of review for the purpose of establishing Performance Work Plans and evaluating performance.

   2. The Director, EOUSA, is considered the highest level of review in EOUSA, and is responsible for the resolution of all performance grievances.

3. Appraisal Periods. Appraisal periods for USAO and EOUSA employees can be found in the EOUSA Resource Manual at 52.

4. Rating and Reviewing Officials.
   1. Assignment of responsibility as a rating or reviewing official is determined by the United States Attorney or the Director, EOUSA, as appropriate. Generally, responsibility as a rating official should be assigned to the lowest practical supervisory level within the organization. Similarly, responsibility as a reviewing official should be assigned to the lowest practical level above the rating official.

   2. When the United States Attorney or the Director, EOUSA, is the rating official, s/he shall also serve as the reviewing official.

5. Performance Work Plans. A Performance Work Plan (PWP) containing one or more critical performance elements will be developed for each covered employee. Non-critical performance elements may not be included. Employee input is strongly encouraged in developing PWPs. For further information, see the EOUSA Resource Manual at 53.

6. Progress Reviews. At least one formal progress review will be held during the appraisal cycle. At the progress review, the employee's accomplishments relative to each performance element will be discussed. The employee and the rating official will sign and date the employee's PWP to document the completion of each formal progress review.

7. Formal Appraisal of Performance. Rating officials should collect information regarding each employee's performance sufficiently in advance of the end of the appraisal cycle to ensure timely delivery of a completed, approved, formal appraisal of performance. Employee input should be encouraged to insure all relevant accomplishments are considered by the rating official. For further information on this topic, see the EOUSA Resource Manual at 54.

8. Details and Temporary Promotions within the Department.
   1. Written performance elements and standards shall be provided to an employee who is detailed or temporarily promoted within the Department for more than 90 days. Elements and standards shall be provided to the employee no later than 30 days after the effective date of the detail or temporary promotion.

   2. The reviewing official shall approve the interim rating prior to formal communication to the employee.

9. Actions Based on Less Than Fully Successful Performance. Whenever a supervisor concludes that an employee's performance is not acceptable and would cause one or more performance elements to be evaluated at the "Fails to Meet Expectations" level, the supervisor must:
   1. Advise the employee of specific shortcomings between observed performance in the critical element(s) under scrutiny and the performance standard(s) associated with the particular element(s);

   2. Provide the employee with a full opportunity to explain the observed deficiencies; and

   3. Prepare a memorandum to the file summarizing the above discussions. The employee shall be provided a copy.

3-4.431 Performance Rating Grievances

3-4.441 Discipinary Actions and Grievances

Non-Attorney Staff-The authority to initiate disciplinary actions (including reprimands, suspensions, removals, reductions in grade/pay, furloughs for 30 days or less) against non-Assistant United States Attorneys is delegated to each United States Attorney. This authority should be redelegated to first-level supervisors to allow for the following process:

Written Reprimands	Issued by Immediate Supervisor
Suspensions	Proposed by Immediate Supervisor Decision Issued by Second-Level Supervisor
Reductions in Grade/Pay	Proposed by Immediate Supervisor Decision Issued by Second-Level Supervisor
Removals	Proposed by Immediate Supervisor Decision Issued by Second-Level Supervisor

3-4.451 Incentive Awards

3-4.511 Classification Under the General Schedule

1. United States Attorneys and Assistant United States Attorneys. United States Attorneys and Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) are not covered by the Classification Act of 1949; consequently, they do not have position descriptions. The Executive Office for United States Attorneys, however, maintains records indicating which attorneys handle specialized functional areas, such as criminal or civil matters, or who have supervisory responsibilities. Thus, Assistant United States Attorneys are assigned numbers, called "Master Record Numbers" (the National Finance Center's nomenclature for "position description numbers"), which reflect their functional specialties.

2. Delegated Classification Authority. Certain United States Attorneys have been delegated classification authority. As the parameters of the delegations vary, a specific letter is transmitted detailing the scope of authority. Any action which is effected is to comply fully with Office of Personnel Management Position Classification Standards.

3. Position Management.
   1. Responsibility. United States Attorneys and the Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys are responsible for organizing and assigning work among positions in their respective organizations in a manner which will serve mission needs effectively and economically. This includes achieving a proper balance between skills availability, funds limitations, sound human resource utilization, efficiency and economy, mission requirements, and matters of public policy.

   2. Workyear Ceilings. Approved FTE workyear ceilings in each employment category (AUSA, paralegal, support staff, and student) are not to be exceeded unless an exception is requested and approved. To request an exception to workyear ceilings in each employment category (AUSA, paralegal, support staff, and students), for each type of appropriation, approval is required by the Deputy Director for Financial Management, EOUSA.

   3. Position Descriptions. Managers are responsible for ensuring that current, factually correct position descriptions (PDs) are prepared for all positions paid on the basis of the General Schedule (e.g., GM and GS). PDs are necessary for purposes in addition to classification, such as recruitment, placement, training, and performance evaluation.

   4. Projected Positions. The term "projected position" in the context of this section means a support position which is established in advance of the date the duties and responsibilities actually materialize. In order to verify that duties and responsibilities have materialized as expected, projected positions must be desk audited within six months after they are occupied.

Information on related topics is available in the EOUSA Resource Manual at 57 et seq.:

Pay Under the General Schedule, Within-Grade Salary Increases	EOUSA Resource Manual at 57
Pay Under Other Systems	EOUSA Resource Manual at 58
Grade and Pay Retention	EOUSA Resource Manual at 59

3-4.550 Pay Administration (General)

1. Overtime. United States Attorneys or their designees are authorized to approve paid overtime for their non-attorney staffs, subject to availability of overtime budget.
   Pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 550.111, any approval of overtime must be documented in writing by a person authorized to do so. It is recommended that the United States Attorney redelegate, in writing, this approval authority (normally, this redelegation would be to the Administrative Officer or to supervisors who are delegated authority to approve Time and Attendance records).

   United States Attorneys are NOT authorized to approve overtime premium pay for attorney personnel. Assistant United States Attorneys are professionals and should expect to work in excess of regular hours without overtime premium pay.

   Overtime compensation earned while in travel status will be controlled for nonexempt General Schedule (GS) employees by telling the employee when to travel and by what mode. If the employee travels at a different time or by a different mode than that which was ordered, the employee receives the lesser amount of compensation based on actual and estimated travel.

   Compensatory Time. It is the policy of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) that employees must use any compensatory time off they have earned prior to annual leave.

   Time and Attendance Reports. Unless an exception is specifically authorized by the Director, EOUSA, only the United States Attorney may sign his/her own Time and Attendance report, as certifying official.

   Hours of Duty. See the EOUSA Resource Manual at 60.

3-4.610 Group Dismissals (Administrative Leave)

1. With the noted exception, the Director, EOUSA, and United States Attorneys are: authorized to grant absence from duty without charge to leave or without loss of compensation (otherwise known as administrative leave) consistent with sound management practices. (NOTE: This authority is not delegated for dismissal of groups of employees in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area; that authority is retained by the Justice Management Division).

2. Emergency Situations. With the noted exception, the Director, EOUSA, and United States Attorneys or their designees may close an office and place employees on administrative leave when it is in the best interest of the government to do so or the personal safety of the office personnel requires it; i.e., bomb threats, snowstorms, floods, etc. (NOTE: Dismissals of employees in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, due to weather conditions, are authorized by OPM).

3-4.620 Alternative Work Schedules

1. Proposed core hours and flexible hours;

2. Whether arrival and departure time will be set on a daily or weekly basis;

3. Plans for maintaining time and attendance records;

4. Additional building costs resulting from flexitime, if any, and potential savings in overtime or other expenses; and

5. Proposed effective date.

3-4.630 Absence and Leave

1. General. See the EOUSA Resource Manual at 61.

2. Excused Absences (Also known as Administrative Leave).

   Unless specified otherwise, authority to approve excused absences for individual employees:

   • in excess of one hour must be approved by a higher-level supervisor (such as the First Assistant United States Attorney or the United States Attorney); and

   • in excess of eight hours must be approved by the Director, EOUSA.

   Unless specified otherwise, authority to approve excused absences for groups of employees:

   • up to eight hours to close an activity for 1) reasons specified in DOJ Order 1630, 2) hot or cold working conditions, or 3) adverse weather conditions, must be approved by the United Statesm Attorney; and

   • all other group absences must be approved by the Director, EOUSA.
   1. Voting and Registration.
      • United States Attorneys or their designees are authorized to administer procedures and leave limits to be followed for employees who wish to register and vote in local, state or national elections.

      • Administrative Officers are responsible for disseminating information to serviced employees as to procedures to be followed in voting and registration leave requests.

   2. Blood Donation. The Department encourages participation in blood donation programs. Contributions to these important programs benefit the community at large and thus every member of the Department. Office heads or their designees may excuse an employee up to an hour to give blood. In addition, up to four hours of administrative leave may be granted the employee for recuperative purposes, if needed. An employee who feels well and is able to work after donating blood must return to his/her duty station.

   3. Admission to the Bar. Administrative leave may be granted by office heads or their designees, however, it may not be authorized for studying for or taking bar exams.

   4. Official Time for Employee Representational Functions. The Director, EOUSA, and United States Attorneys, or their designees, are authorized to approve official time for representational functions after determining that such time is reasonable and mutually beneficial to the office and its employees.

   5. Attendance at Events Without Charge to Leave. Excused absence may be granted in limited circumstances when an event:
      • Is directly related to the office's mission;

      • Will enhance the professional development or skills of the employee in his/her current position (See the EOUSA Resource Manual at 12); or

      • Is officially sponsored/sanctioned by the Attorney General.
   United States Attorneys may, at their discretion, grant employees a reasonable amount of time charged as excused absence to attend events such as training, conferences, or conventions as an official representative of the office or as a contributor on the agenda without charge to leave.