Dear Bureaupat,
I was a DoD intern who
completed 21 months of a career development program and was promoted to GS-9
but did not complete the program due to personal reasons. A year later I re-entered the government at the same grade.
Does my time as an intern count towards a career federal appointment?
Dear Intern,
As you probably already suspect, the answer to this question is mixed.
First, the good news: Your time as a
federal employee will count towards your retirement, and the time in grade
ensured you re-entered federal government as a GS-09.
Now for
the bad news... To obtain career status, you must complete three years of
substantially continuous service before becoming a full career employee.
Federal rules state that if an employee does not complete the three-year
period, a single break in service of more than 30 calendar days will require
the employee to serve a new three year period. In the powerful words of Homer
Simpson: D'oh!
Specifically, a
single break in creditable service of more than 30 calendar days will require
the beginning of a new 3-year period, except under the following situations:
- Entry into or return from military
service, provided the person is reemployed in federal service during his or her
period of statutory or regulatory restoration or reemployment rights;
- Transfer to and from an international
organization, provided the person is reemployed in federal service;
- Breaks during which an employee was
eligible to receive injury compensation under the Office of Workers'
Compensation Programs;
- A break which occurred before
restoration of employment after an unjustified or unwarranted separation (e.g.
you were fired unlawfully and were reinstated).
Unfortunately, the clock
will be reset for you to reach your career status. This time around, I
recommend staying the course and maintaining copies of your SF-50 throughout
your three-year campaign.
Yours in Gov,
Bureaupat
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