General Circular No. 001286

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource

Directors

Subject: Detail To Special Duty For Trial Period

Issue Date: June 19, 1997

Some agencies have requested details to special duty prior to

the actual promotion of employees to supervisory positions to

give the agencies a chance to evaluate their performances in

the higher job. Such details provide trial periods, similar

to probational periods, although they are not technically

probational periods because such employees retain permanent

status. The purpose of this General Circular is to inform

agencies that they may request such details, although they are

certainly not required to do so.

Competitive details (GS 15 and above), may be requested for a

maximum of 12 consecutive months with no extensions. The

detail must be announced and the employee detailed must have

been selected from the top five available grade groups. If it

is determined that the detailed employee will not be promoted,

the position must be re-announced. If the agency wishes to

promote the detailed employee by the end of trial period, the

original certificate of eligibles from which the employee was

detailed can be used, even if it has expired. The authority

for the promotion should be Rule 8.20 rather than the

certificate number.

Noncompetitive details (GS 14 and below) to supervisory

positions may be requested for a maximum of twelve consective

months with no extensions. Although not required, the detail

should be announced in house. An employee selected for a

detail of this nature must qualify for the higher position.

After the 12 month detail, if the employee is not selected for

the promotion, the position should be re-announced in-house.

Please put in the remarks section of the Standard Form 1 that

this is a supervisory trial detail.

Any questions you may have in this matter should be directed to

the Personnel Management Division at (504) 342-8274.

Sincerely,

Allen H. Reynolds

Director