Dear Bureaupat,

I just received a new SF-50 indicating I have completed the service requirement for career tenure (from June '06 - June '09). What does this mean?

Also, I soon will be moving to a different state and transferring to a new Government agency, still within the same series and grade. Will my 3 years of service transfer? What about my S/L and A/L? Does the new agency have to pay me at least what I'm making now?

Dear Careerist,

Congratulations!  You have  navigated through the good, the bad and the ugly and made varsity squad.  As a bona fide federal employee with career status, you can now loosen your belt a bit and enjoy the perks of being inducted into federal society.

So what is career tenure and what does it mean for you?

After serving three years of substantially continuous creditable service, a career conditional employee becomes a career employee and gains career tenure. This means you now have permanent reinstatement eligibility and may be considered for positions without having to take another competitive civil service examination. It also means you get preferential treatment when applying to new federal jobs, and are more difficult to fire.

By the way, "substantially continuous service" means service without a break of more than 30 calendar days (i.e., the break must be for less than or equal to 30 calendar days).

When you make the big move between locations and agencies, everything should transfer seamlessly.  Emphasis on the word "should." In reality, my experience has shown it to be a crap shoot. So please ensure you retain a copy of your last your last Earnings and Leave Statement and bring it to your next duty station when you in-process. Transfers between agencies can be a horror, and if your first leave and earnings statement is not correct from your new agency, camp out at the pay office and follow up until they get it right. Just don't follow them to their cars or home, or anything creepy like that.

Regarding your pay, it could go up or down depending on your new location. If you are in the General Schedule (GS), use the 2009 GS Locality Pay Tables to find out what your adjusted base pay will be in your new locality. Generally, the new agency will try to match or increase the pay you had previously, but this is up for negotiation. So when they ask you for your pay requirements, ask for something higher than you have now.

A friendly tip: if you make it to retirement eligibility, get a job in a state with the highest locality pay possible.  Your retirement pay is calculated at your high-three rate of pay which includes locality. It sounds like gaming the system, but everyone tries to do it. After all, after 30 years, you've earned it!

Congratulations and best to you on your new position!

The Only,

- Bureaupat

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