ML030780496

TVA - Licensee Exhibit 125 - Recd 09/11/02: October 1, 1990, TVA Supervisors Handbook

ML030780496
Person / Time
Site:	Browns Ferry, Watts Bar, Sequoyah
Issue date:	10/01/1990
From:	Tennessee Valley Authority
To:	NRC/SECY
Byrdsong A T
References
+adjud/ruledam200506, -RFPFR, 50-259-CIVP, 50-260-CIVP, 50-296-CIVP, 50-327-CIVP, 50-328-CIVP, 50-390-CIVP, ASLBP 01-791-01-CIVP, RAS 5983
Download: ML030780496 (64)

Text

jA ::ý -15qffý3

,5-6-;?q -(Y/Vppy-i

/0 Zj4cpnqtap-9-vl-Arý 2

CZ w

ch)

C)

M 0

0 I

V.

it I

vi 1ý

,31 I I TVA Exh. 125 FG 000001

--ramp lc&e.. =ý s ec,ý -oxg

DOCKETED USNRC

,CLEAR REGULRFOMY In the rnmtbr of 1177 Staff IDENTIFIED 1/,

Applicant RECEIVED

'ntervenorREJECTED Other -_

WITHDRAWN DATE Wd

-=

D wi.e.

clerk Z'D~j 2003 MAR II AM 9: 00 OFFICE-I Hl[L"IARY RULEMAKINGS AND ADJUDICATIONS STAFF I

/

TABLE OF CONTENTS

r.

I IEALTH AND SAFETY I

° EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 11 s.i,

.rt.,.,

ETHICS AND CONDUCT.............................................

13 "SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB.....................

21 CLASSIFICATION....................................................

31 PAY................................................................

37 BEN EFITS...........................................................

43 LEAVE..............................................................

53 RE1IREM ENT...............................................

........ 59

)TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT.................................... 61 W ORKSCIlEDULES..................................................

65 MANAGING INDIVIDUAL PERrORMANCE........................... 73 D ISCIPLIN E.....

75 STAIFING DOW N...................................................

83 REDUCTION IN FORCE..............................................

87

. 9.

AI'ITEALS AND GRIEVANCES........................................ 93 VETt.RANS' PEI'IERENCE...........................................

105 RESTORATION RIGI11 S.............................................

109 EMPLOYEE RECORDS AND I1 Ig PRIVACY ACT......................

III C )

IND EX.............................................................

115 C\\

r\\)

C00000 9d K-)

p 9

¶ 0

ORGANIZATION OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY 9

Rosourcee 1",Creostwo to Industrial Ing lupp elm Servi¢es nnell III ch-eing

.Caerlo

'I

IlI&S K~)HEALTH-AND SAFETY

1.

TVA Objectives TVA has an obligation to protect the life and health of employees. This chap ter discusses how TVA meets this obligation by: providing employees a safe and healthful workplace; maintaining occupational radiation exposure as low as Is reasonably achievable; providing medical services to maintain and fur ther Improve employees' physical and mental health; and providing treat ment, compensation, and rehabilitation services for employees who sustain Injuries or illnesses in the performance of their official duties.

The TVA General Releases manual includes the following three TVA codes that can be helpful.

0 TVA Code VIII OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY is TVA's primary policy document for this program and explains program re sponsibility and accountability.

0 TVA Instruction VIII STOPWORK AUTHORITY FOR IMMINENT DANGER CONDITIONS specifies, among other things, that you, the one responsible for an operation, have the authority to stop the work when you determine that an imminent danger situation exists.

0 TVA Code II EXPRESSION OF STAFF VIEWS encourages and protects employees in expressing differing views on policy and execution of policy without fear of reprisal.

A number of additional documents are listed in appendix I of this chapter.

They can help you fulfill the full range of your health and safety responsibili ties.

\\.

IH.

Occupational Health and Safety A.

Policy TVA is committed to providing a safe and healthful workplace for each of it,. employees and to protecting the public from accidents related to TVA's 6perationi.

Occupational health and safety considerations are to be built into every TVA operation to protect the life and health of em

• )

V ployees and the public; to prevent damage to properly, materials, and equipment; and to avoid work interruptions caused by accidents. Oc cupational health and safety is serious business, and all TVA and appli cable federal regulation, and laws on occupational health and safety must be followed.

TVA encourages the active participation of each employee and em

")

• 'ployee organization in its occupational health and safety program. It is 0

alo committed to promoting employee safety off the job.

0 0

0 0D 1

l&S

,/

B.

Operating philosophy for IVA's occupational health and safety pro gram

1.

All Injuries and Illnesses are preventable.

2.

Management Is ultimately responsible and accountable for pre venting Injuries and illnesses to TVA employees.

3.

All operating exposures that may result In Injuries can be con trolled.

4.

Safety is a condition of employment.

S.

Workplace hazards are identified and promptly corrected.

6.

Accidents cost money.

7.

Most accidents are the result of actions by people.

8.

Good safety performance is a continuing requirement.

C.

Occ'upatlonal Health and Safety, Human Resources, provides agency wide assistance to all organizations as needed and serves as TVA's corporate level staff in areas of policy formulation and interpretation.

Support Includes the following I.

Industrial hygiene monitoring and assessment of occupational health hazards.

2.

Radiological hygiene monitoring and surveillance of nonnuclear radiation hazards.

3.

Development, consultation, and coordination in the delivery of structured training courses in various health and safety areas.

4.

Health and safety program evaluations to provide management an unbiased assessment of the effectiveness of their health and safety program activities.

5.

Health and safety information Including accident, Injury, and Ill ness statistics; personal exposure data; hazardous and toxic materi als data; product safety data, etc.

D.

Other support services outside Occupational Health and Safety 1 1.

Public Safety Service and Land Between the Lakes (LBL) patrol Investigate vehicular accidents, Injuries to the public on TVA prop G)erty, and fires Involving TVA property. They also provide first aid, CPR, and defensive driving training.

CD C:)

C) 0(3

2.

Workplace health and safety committees.

• 1*

0@

0.@

0 Il&S E.

Supervisor's role

1.

Plan the job.

2 Provide training.

3.

Instruct employees in their rights and responsibilities.

4.

Identify and correct hazards.

5.

Promote health and safety.

6.

Listen to employees.

7.

Do not coerce.

8.

Use the health and safely committee.

9.

Be an example.

10.

Enforce health and safety.

11.

Investigate and report accidents.

III.

Occupational Radiation Protection A.

Policy TVA protects its workers from hazards due to ionizing and nonionizing radiation such as from x-rays and radioactive materials. We strictly adhere to radiation exposure limits established by fcdcral regulations.

TVA endorses the policy of the Nuclear Regulatory Commi-tsion to maintain occupational radiation exposures 'as low as is reasonably achievable,' or "ALARA." TVA Code Vill OCCUPATIONAL RADIA TION PROTECTION; TVA Instruction VIII RADIATION PROTEC TION, Small-Scale Operations; and the TVA Occupalional flealth and Safely Manual give additional information on protecting employees from radiation hazards.

B.

Supervisors are responsible for supporting TVA's policy on radiation protection by:

1.

Maintaining continual oversight.

2.

Evaluating means by which radiation exposures to your employees can be minimized.

I

3.

Exercising sound judgment in weighing factors competing with ALARA.

4.

Instituting planned'programs for radialion exposure control.

5.

Encouraging responsible employee participation in AI.ARA pro grams. In particular, you should encourage employees to be aware of potential radiation hazards and to promptly bring Ihesc to your attention for appropriate correction.

I I

i

l t&S C.

if you need help in carrying out your responsibilities, you should Work with the radiation control supervisor in your organization if it uses radiation in its operations. You may also contact Radiation Safety and Control within OC H&S. Within Nuclear Power, contact Radiological Control.

IV.

Occupational Medical and Related Health Services A.

Major area medical offices are located in Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Muscle Shoals. Site facilities are also at Walls Bar, Sequoyah, Browns rerry and Bellefonte nuclear plant siles, and fossil power production facilities.

B.

Medical examinations can be requested by human resources officials or supervisors using form TVA 1444, Request for Medical Examination, for employees or contractor/vendor employees. Examination for TVA job applicants are requested by form TVA 9880A, Employment Affidavit and Conditions of Employment. Any medical constraints or limitations are indicated on these forms by the examining physician. Management determines if the individual can be accommodated to perform the job.

It is important to remember equal opportunity commitments regarding employment of handicapped employees.

I.

Preemployment Examination - Establishes baseline record of each employee's health status.

2.

Reemployment Examination - Ilourly trades and labor candidates who have worked for TVA within the past 5 years may be exempt from additional examination under TVA Medical Services proce dures. Annual employees who have worked for'TVA within the preceding two years may be exempt from additional examination under TVA Medical Services procedures.

3.

Return-to-work Examination - Required for employees who have sustained a work-related illness or injury and employees who have been on leave without pay for more than 30 days. Employees who have been absent for five consecutive workdays due to a non work related injury or illness should obtain Medical Services ap proval before resuming duties if medical facilities are within rea sonable distance.

4.

Transfer Examination - Required for employees transferring to or from assignments involving (1) potential exposure to ionizing radiation, (2) unescorted access to nuclear plants, (3) assignments in Nuclear Power and (4) public safety officers transferring to nu "1"1 clear facilities. For all other employees, they should clear through G) medical facilities at old station and new station If reasonably avail.

CD able.

o

5. Required Reexaminations - Required for employees whose job Dduties require examinations by federal regulation (NRC, OSHA, CD etc.), other rule, or applicable standard. Frequency depends on the 0")

Individual's specific job assignment. Contact local medical office for assistance.

h&s KJ 0.

WI 0>

• 1 I

a A 5

6.

Medical Surveillance and Biological Monitoring Exarninalans Required by OSI IA for employees whose job duties require expo.

sure to asbestos, lead and certain other toxic chemical substances, physical and biological agents. Contact local medical office for assistance.

7.

Termination or Retirement Examination - Recommended for all employees. Required for employees with a history of injury or excessive exposure to any hazardous agent In the work environ.

ment or those who are terminating from nuclear power sites or other jobs involving exposure to ionizing radiation.

S.

Performance Problem Examinations - If a supervisor su-pect.; that a health condition is contributing to employee's performance prob.

lems or inhibiting job safety, the supervisor should recommend that the employee report to Medical Services for evaluation.

Evaluation may be required in some circumstances by supervisor as condition of continued fitness for duty.

9.

Reevaluation of Medical Clearance for Unescorled Access and Other Special Medical Clearance - This examination is requested by supervisors using form TVA 1444 sent to Medical Services in a sealed envelope marked 'Administralively Confidential.'

Accom panying it should be a Administratively Confidential memoran dum describing the supervkor's observation, and concerns.,De tails concerning this examination and procedures for requesting are outlined in TVA Instruction VIII HlEALTH SERVICES, Radia tion Workers.

t0.

Alcohol and Drug Screening - Alcohol and drug tests are required for all TVA job applicants who are applying for positions in Nu clear Power. Nuclear Power's Fitness for Duty program includes random drug and alcohol screening for all employees stationed at nuclear sites, those with unescorted access, and all Management and SC-schedule employees. Drug and alcohol screening arc also available to all supervisors anytime there is cauc to su-;pcct that an employee is in violation of TVA's stated policies rega'ding drug-or alcohol.

,4

S li&S I i&S V.

Workers' Compensation Employees are entitled to benefits under the Federal Employees' Compensa lion Act (FECA) if they suffer job-related Injuries or illnesses. The policy and procedures are outlined in detail in TVA Instruction VIii INJURY, Employee.

TVA medical facilities provide treatment and examinations for job-related injuries or Illnesses in accordance with rules and regulations established by the U.S Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP).

for information or assistance from the Workers' Compensation and Rehabili ttlion Department Staff (WCRD), call extension 2820-C, briefly describe the problem or situation, and WCRD will see that appropriate assistance k* pro vided. A Claims Officer, Rehabilitation Counselor, or the Clinical Coordina tor in WCRD will assist the worksite manager as needed and also contact other individuals or organizations as indicated including TVA physicians, private physicians, treatment facilities, the claimant, and the OWCP.

A.

Employee's responsibility - In the case of traumatic injury (not illness) the employee may elect to take sick, annual or other leave in accordance with regular leave regulations or have regular TVA pay continue for a reriod of 45 calendar days.

i.

rmployee must provide written notice of the injury, using either form CA-I (for Injury) or CA-2 (for illness), Immediately after the injury.

2.

If disability continues beyond Initial 45 days, employee and super visor must submit form CA-7, within 5 days after 45 day period ends.

3.

If the employee experiences an occupational illness, employee and supervi-or must submil CA-6.

4.

Every two weeks, employee and supervisor must submit form CA-8.

I1.

Supervisor's responsibilities - The WCRII in Medical Services is avail.

able to answer additional quetlion% about the responsibilities outlined below.

I.

Assist the injured employee In obtaining needed initial medical

--n treatment and submitting the appropriate workers' compensation G) claim forms and related documentation. The employee should complete a Form CA-I to report a traumatic Injury (work Incident C

occurring within I day/shift) or a CA-2 if the employee suffered C:)an Injury or illness due to exposure to employment factors over a C:)

0) period of more than I day/shift. The Basic Workers' Compensa C:)

tion Manual explains appropriate procedures for paying continu "4

ation-of-pay (COP) and for assisting the Injured worker with any necessary documentation. Copies of the manual may be obtained from WCRD (ext. 2821, Chattanooga).

4 r 0

• 1 0

is

2.

Notify the physician when the Injured employee goes ti an outside physician for treatment that light duty will usually be provided whenever necessary and let the physician know that TVA will work with him/her to provide safe productive employment dur.

Ing recovery. Solicit assistance from Medical Services' medical facility staff or WCRD when a conflict arises with private physi cians concerning whether an employee should be returned to work.

3.

Stay in touch with the employee away from work due to a job-re lated injury.

4.

Inform the injured employee that the purpose of TVA's return-to work efforts Is to promote recovery, protect the employee from unnecessary risks to health and safety, and prevent unnecessary time away from work.

5.

Return Injured employees to work as soon as feasible, consistent with any residual medical limitations and contingent upon medical approval for the employee to work In an available job. Notify the Rehabilitation staff whenever an employee does not report to work promptly after being approved or directed to do so. TVA's Reha bilitation staff provides vocational rehabilitation assistance for employees who are not able to return to regular or modified duty upon reaching maximum medical recovery. The WCRD staff monitors the medical recovery process, coordinating with the re sponsible line manager, TVA medical, and the attending physician.

6.

Conduct an administrative review of all workers' compensa lion claims, at the time of Injury or as soon after as possible. There should be a written record of management's findings of objective fact about: a) what happened; b) how it happened; c) when It.hap pened; d) where It happened; e) the body part affected; and (t) the apparent nature and extent of injury, based on the best available Information. For traumatic injuries Involving let-tlime, attach a report of management's findings to the claim form CA-1 and place a copy of both in an administrative file. Refer suspected fraud to TVA's Inspector General's office. The Workers' Compensation staff of WCRD provides information and as.istance for processing occupational illness claim- (Form CA-2).

7.

Contest all questionable claims and controvert other claims as specified by COP eligibility requirements. The Investigation and written report of findings as presented In Item 6 above are espe cially Important when the claim Is controverted/contested. Also include a brief narrative statement, supported by objective facts, of why the claim is controverted/contested.

8.

Consult Medical Services as necessary concerning medical con straints and subsequent reevaluation of the constraints to see if they are still'needed. Medical Service-consults with the attending physician as necessary to clarify or update medical constraints.

7

9.

Refer to Positive Case Management Ilandbook for additional informa lion on: how to manage job-related injuries; return-to-work pro cedures; workers compensation claims administration; or voca tional rehabilitation services. The handbook Is prepared and dis rInbuted by the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Depart ment (extension 2820-C).

VI.

Non-Service Related Health Problems Employees are responsible for getting medical care for non-work-relatcd health problems. In emergency situations at work, TVA Medical Services provides assistance and Initial care. Employees are encouraged to utilize TVA's health awareness programs voluntarily. In some situations, a supervi s~or may refer an employee to medical services for evaluation when an em ployee's performance or attendance has deteriorated and health-related fac tors might be contributing to problems. Following the evaluation, Medical Services may refer the employee to one of the following programs.

A.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - Offers confidential assistance to TVA employees and family members who are experiencing substance abuse, financial, marital, or similar personal or emotional difficulties.

EAP further provides 24-hour crisis assistance to both supervisors and employees through a central telephone number in Chattanooga (exten sion 2701-C).

B.

Psychological Services - Provides consultation for supervisors whose employees may be experiencing difficulties and behavioral problems that may Impair productivity, attendance, and morale.

C.

Live Well Program - This is a preventive health program designed to involve employees In activities that will result in lifestyle changes con ducive to good health, such as stress reduction, weight loss, and smok Ing cessation.

VII.

Training Medical services-provides training for employees and for Instructors In emer gency care. Training courses Include First Aid, Emergency Medical Care, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Employee Assistance Program Supervisory Training, Psychological/

Stress Management Training, and other specialized psychological programs.

Additional Information about individual courses Is available through your human resources officer or Medical Services.

Wklls Appendix I 6

0'*

0 0

• 1

'S

2.

3.

4.

S.

6.

7.

a.

9.

10.

it.

12.

13.

i.

grams for rederal Employees.

c.

Title 29, Code of rederal Regulations, Part 1960, "Wl~sic Program Elements for Federal Employee Occupational Safety and Health Programs and Related Matters.'

d.

OSHA General Industry Standards (29 CFR Part 1910) that ap ply to all TVA operations and activities.

e.

OSHA Constructionl Standards (29 CrR Part 1926) that apply only to TVA construction, renovation, and demolition activi ties.

'TVA Occupational HeIalth and Safety Program PlIan.'

"TVA Occupational I lcalth and Safety Standards.'

TVA Criteria for hInvestigatin~g, Classifying, and Recording Work-Re lated AccidentIs, Injuries, and Illnesses.

Serious Accident Invest igat ion Procedure.

linplernentaltion Criteria and Guidelirres for Asbestos Opera til~.

Criteria for tire Safe 01,eratioil of TVA Cranres.

'~Safety Recognition Awards.

'Occupational I lealth and Safely Dc-;gn Requiremecnts.*

'Occupational llcalih and Safety Uulletins."

Guidelines for tire Development of Health: and Safety Performance Goals and Objectives.

Guidelines for Effective olob Planning.

Guidelines for Workplace Inspection anrd Abatenment.

15.

'Directives' are documentSl which addre's narrowly focu'ed agency needs not adequately governed by OSHIA or TVA Mtan dards.

9 8

-n G) 0D I

OCCUPATIONAL HIEALTH-AND SAFETY RESOURCE DOCUMENTS A.

TVA Occupational Heralth and Safety Manual includes the following.

i.

rederal occupational health and safety requirements which TVA's program incorporates. These are:

a.

Occupational Safety and Illealth Act of 1970.

lt&S

'I. Occupational lIcalth and Safely Information" is a poster that is re quired to be posted in every workplace. It includes the employee's major rights and responsibilities and brief summaries of other compo nents of the TVA occupational health and safety program.

C.

General Health and Safely Requirements for Salary Policy Employees is an informational booklet (available from Office Supply Warehouse, Chat lanooga) that is issued to every salary policy employee.

D.

What You Need to Know About Operating a TVA Vehicle is an instructional booklet (available from Transportalion Services, Chattanooga) that is to be issued to every employee who Is subject to driving any sedan or other light vehicle for TVA.

E.

TVA Special Light and Heavy Motor Vehicle Operator's Handbook (available from Office Supply Warehouse, Chattanooga) Is to be issued to every employee who is assigned to operate a light vehicle hauling hazardous materials or a vehicle having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds.

F.

TVA Material Safety Data Sheets (available from Occupational Health and Safety describe the hazardous properties of various chemicals used within TVA and the appropriate control measures and emergency pro cedures. This material must be readily available to every employee who is subject to coming in contact with a hazardous chemical C.

Other Information available from Occupational Health and Safely, Hu man Resources.

1.

Audiovisual Catalog identifies and briefly describes the wide variety of audiovisual Information and training materials available.

2.

Video Display Terminal: lHeallh Issues and Work Station Design Guide lines (available also as call number 999.363117 T29v in TVA Techni cal Libraries). Also available is the booklet 'About Working With VDTs.'

3.

Workplace Hazard Assessment Blooklet.

4.

Guidelines *or Implementing the Training Requirements of the Hazard Communication Standard.

5.

General Information for Local Health and Safely Committees.

6.

TVA Health and Safety Training Curriculum.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 4**

4 4) 4)

I 0

All TVA programs and actIvities-not just employment-are required by law to provide equal opportunity. Affirmative employment Is an active and positive process through which an organization seeks to achieve its goal of equal employment opportunity by not only removing discriminatory bard eri to employment but also actively seeking out applicants and employees from underrepresented groups. Managers and supervisors are responsible for developing affirmative employment programs. TVA, as an organization, Is committed to providing a workplace free of prohibited discrimination and harassment.

II.

Supervisors should work closely with human resources officials in carrying out their equal opportunity responsibilities. The environment that you create and the approach that you adopt to manage diversity in the workplace is critical. Each supervisor should do the following things as part of his/her equal opportunity action plan:

A.

Analyze the current work force and be aware of the repres-entation and distribution of minorities, women, dikabled veteran-, and person% with dkabilitics by occupation and grade level.

B.

Dtablkh goals and tlimetahlc Goal-; should be establi~hed by top management in each organi7ation and communicated to %upervio-r. for any position where employment or promotional opporlunitivc are pro jected and where underreprerentation cxi-'ts. Affirmative employment Is conidered a po-ilive factor of 'merit and efficiency' and I-a valid consideration in making selections In these targeted position'.

C.

Determine strategies to achieve your goal-.

mor each barrier that may hinder goal achievement, you should e.mablikh a strategy to eliminate the barrier. Strategies can include, but are not limited to, such aclivitie' as:

1.

Inten-ifying recruitment effortI to attract member( of under represented group-;.

2.

Maintaining information about l.kill., abilities and inter..t% of em ployees.

3.

Requesting that.utfficient numlbrs( of memlbe' of under represented groups are included on sulmini,.ion lktt for vacancie.

4.

Planning reductions in force in such a way aq to mininlmi7e the im pact on groups which are already underre'pre',ntd or would become underrvpresented as a re.ullt of the reduction.

5.

Regularly moniloring the effeclivens(i of,tffirmalive enhloyment efforts for your work group I.

II 11:0 I

EEO

6.

Providing reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified handicapped persons to perform the duties of a position. Accom modations may include modifying work sites, adjusting work schedules, restructuring jobs, acquiring or modifying equipment, or providing interpreters or readers. The Manager, Handicapped Employment, Equal Opportunity staff, can assist you In this area.

7.

Establishing and participating in affirmative action committees within your office or organization.

Ill.

Support Services Available from Corporate Equal Opportunity Staff and Line Organizatlons' Equal Opportunity Officials A.

Preparation of guidelines and Instructions for the development of af firmation employment programs.

B.

Presentation of briefings, training sessions and workshops on a variety of EO issues.

C.

Provision of resource material such as training aids, statistical workforce profile data, and other program-related materials.

<2 0@

01 4

I' 0)

ETHICS AND CONDUCT 1.

S The standards of conduct and conflict of Interest laws apply, to some extent, to all TVA employees as well as personal service contractors, experts, con sultants, and advisory committee members. Supervisors are responsible for knowing these laws and regulations as well as the specific TVA policies and procedures. All employees share the responsibility for ensuring that high standards of ethical conduct are maintained within TVA. Employees are encouraged to seek guidance whenever they have questions about their own activities or those of a subordinate conforming with the conduct stan dards.

You should consult your human resource officer when you have questions about conduct. Detailed information about TVA's conduct -tandards and applicable regulations and procedures are contained in the following docu ments:

S S

S 5

TVA Code Ill CONDUCT TVA Code ill FINANCIAL INTERESTS TVA Code III POLITICAL ACTIVITY TVA Instruction Ill CIVIC AND PROrESSIONAL ACTIVITIES TVA Instruction Ill CONDUCT, Political Activity (ERM Chapter 105)

TVA Instruction I11 CONDUCT, Regulations TVA Instruction III ELIGIBILITY FOR EMPLOYMENT, Relatives TVA Instruction III PM 6 RELATIVES, Guide rorm TVA 9873, Employee Conduct Standards and Responsibilities II.

General Standards of Conduct A.

Employees must be particularly careful that their personal interests and activities do not negatively impact or conflict with their TVA duties.

An employee must avoid any action that might result in or create the appearance of:

I.

Using public office for private gain;

2.

Giving preferential treatment to anyone;

3.

Impeding TVA efficiency or economy;

4.

Losing complete independence or impartiality;

5.

Making TVA decisions outrde official channels; or

6.

Eroding the public's confidence in TVA's integrity.

B.

Violations of the conduct regulation-or the conflict of interest laws may subject the employee to disciplinary action. The type of action taken is determined In relation to the specific'violation. In addition, violations of federal criminal statutes may subject the violator to criminal prowecu tion. Your human resource officer can provide more detailed informa tion about specific disciplinary consequences by consulting TVA In struction XIII EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE, Miconduct 13 I

)

13

coNCT, C.

Investigations All employees are required to assist the Inspector General's office in investigations. This requirement Includes giving statements or evidence to investigators or auditors of the Inspector General's office.

To report violations of the standards of conduct regulations, conflict of interest laws, or any misconduct or abuse of authority, contact your supervisor, your human resource officer, or the Inspector General's office.

"i1he Inspector General's office can be contacted at S

S 615-632-3550 (Knoxville);

1-800423-3071 (in Tennessee); or 1-800-323-3835 (in AL, AR, GA, KY, MS, MO, NC, VA)

Ill.

Use of TVA Properly and Information A.

An employee cannot directly or indirectly use or allow another to use TVA property for other than officially approved activities. This issue i:

addressed in greater detail in TVA Instruction Ill CONDUCT, Regula lions, and instruction VI OrriCE EQUIPMENT AND I'URNI'l URE, Standards and Control, and Ill CIVIC AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVI TIES. Examples of prohibited activity Include:

1.

Using franked TVA envelopes to mail personal correspondence.

2 Using TVA photocopy equipment for personal matters.

3.

Using a government-owned, leased, or rented vehicle for unoffi cial purpose-.

4.

Using TVA computers, typewriters, and word processor'. for per sonal matters.

it An employee may not u-c information gained through his/her jot) at TVA and which has not been made available to the general public to further the employee's interests. You may not use information that has not been dispersed by the agency or is available to the public only by special request.

IV.

Political Activity A

The Ilatch Act is the federal law that provide' that federal employees, including TVA employee,, cannot take an active part in political man agement or political campaigns--even if they are willing to. 'Ithe law is intended to insulate federal employees against the influence of political considerations that might affect their job tenure.

B.

In addition to the I latch Act, the TVA political activities policy provides further guidance on acceptable and prohibited political involvement for TVA employees.

9.*

0>-@

• 1 4))

9' 0

9 1-'IUCT C.

The Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board will enforce political activity restrictions in the Hatch Act. TVA investigates and decides the penalty for violation of its own political activity policies based on the Hatch Act. The most severe penalty for violation is lermi nation, and the minimum penally under the law is a 30-day'suspension.

D.

Always check with your human resource officer before initiating any activity that may be a violation of the political activity policies. Igno rance of the law will not excuse violations.

E.

Under the Hatch Act employees may not use their official authority or influence to affect the result of an election and they may not take an active part in partisan political management or campaigns. Examples of prohibited activity under this law include:

1.

You may not become a candidate in a partisan election for nomina tion or election to public office.

2.

You may not campaign for or against a political party or candidate in an election for public office or political party office.

3.

You may not serve as an officer of a political party, a member of a national, state, or local committee of a political party, an officer or member of a committee of a partisan political club, or be a candi date for any of these positions.

4.

You may not solicit, receive, collect, handle, disburse, or account for assessments, contributions, or other funds for a partisan politi cal purpose or in connection with a partisan election, or make a political contribution In a federal building or to or through a mem ber of the Board of Directors, the Chief Operating Officer, or any other TVA employee who is directly above you In the chain of command in a supervisory or administrative position.

5.

You may not sell tickets for or otherwise actively promote activi ties such as political dinners.

6 You may not take an active part in managing the political cam paign of a candidate for public or political party office.

7.

You may not work at the polls on behalf of a partisan candidate or political party by acting as a checker, challenger, or watcher, or in a similar partisan position.

8.

You may not distribute campaign material.

9.

You may not serve as a delegate, alternate, or proxy to a political party convention.

10.

You may not address a convention, rally, caucus, or similar gather ing of political party in support of or in opposition to a candidate for public office or political party office, or on a partisan political question.

1I.

You may not endorse or oppose a candidate in a partikan election through a political advertisement, broadcast, campaign literature, or similar material.

4 r

CONDUCT

12.

You may not use your automobile to drive voters to the polls on behalf of a political party or candidate in a partisan election.

F.

Employee activities that are pennissible under the Hatch Act include:

1.

2.

You may register to vote and vote as you choose in any election.

You may express your opinions as an individual, privately and publicly, on all political subjects and candidates as long as you do not take an active part in partisan political management or parli san political campaigns.

3.

You may wear a political badge or button or display a political sticker on your private automobile; however, this is undesirable while on TVA property or while at work.

4.

You may make a voluntary campaign contribution to a political party or organization.

5.

You may accept appointment to a nonpartisan public office, pro vided service in the office will not conflict or interfere with the efficient discharge of your TVA duties.

6.

You may participate In a nonpartisan election either as a candidate or In support of (or in opposition to) a candidate; and you may, if elected, serve in the office if such service will not conflict or Inter fere with your TVA duties.

7.

You may serve as an election clerk or judge, or In a similar posi tion, týo perform nonpartisan duties as prescribed by state or local law.

8.

You may be politically active in connection with an Issue not spe cifically Identified with a political party, such as a constitutional amendment, referendum, approval of municipal ordinance, or similar Issue.

9.

You may participate in nonpartisan activities of a civic, commu nity, social, labor, professional, or similar organization.

10.. You may be a member of a political party or other political organi zation and attend meetings and vote on issues, but you may not lake an active role In managing the organization.

11. You may attend a political convention (not as a delegate or alter nale), rally, fund-raising function, or other political gathering, but you may not take an active part in conducting or managing such gatherings.

12.

You may sign petitions, Including nominating petitions, but may not initiate them or canvass for signatures, If they are nominating petitions for candidates for partisan elections.

13. You may petition Congress or any Member of Congress, such as by writing your Representatives and Senators to say how you think they should vote on a particular issue.

v-i, I-i.

I I 03

.0 is r--'*UC r V.

Gifts and Entertainment A.

You may not solicit or accept anything of monetary value, including gifts, gratuities, favors, entertainment or loans from any person who has a contract or is secking to do business with TVA, who cbnducts operations or activities that are regulated by IVA, or who has interests that may be substantially affected by either the performance or nonper formance of your official duties.

Exceptions to this regulation permit employees to accept the following"

1.

Food and refreshment when it i,; furnished in the ordinary course of a meeting or tour, the employee is properly in attendance, it is of nominal value, and the occasions upon which such food or re freshment are served Is Infrequent. If any of the four criteria are absent, the acceptance of the food and refreshment is Impermis-i ble.

2.

rood and refreshment in the course of a widely attended group function such as a reception, seminar, conference or training ses sion, when proper advance approval is received.

3.

Unsolicited advertising or promotional material of nominal value such as pens, note pads, and calendars.

4.

Travel and subsislence expenses in certain cases when authori~ed by TVA; local transportation while on business when no Individ ual payment can be made and alternative arrangement, are clearly impracticable.

5.

Gifts, gratuities, favors, entertainment, loans or similar favors of monetary value that stem from a family or personal relationship when it is clear that it is the relationship rather then the business of the person concerned that motivates the gift.

6.

Loans from banks or other financial Institutions on customary terms.

13.

There.are criminal provisions covering the acceptance of gifts, entertain ment, and favors found in Title 18 U.S.C. 209.

1.

Under thi, law you are prohibited from receiving any -alary as compens tion for services you render as part of your official gov ernment duties.

2.

Under this law you may still continue to participate in a bona fide employee welfare or benefit plan maintained by a former em ployer.

C.

Gifts within the office I.

You may not solicit a contribution from another employee for a gift to an official superior or make a donation to a superior.

2.

You may not accept a gift from an employee receiving less pay than you.

I 1"7

CONI)UC

3.

Voluntary gifts of nominal value or donations In a nominal amount on a special occasion such as marriage, illness, or retire ment, are allowed as an exception to the general policy.

VI.

Work Outside of TVA A.

You may engage In outside employment, with or without compensa lion, but only If It will not harm the performance of your official duties and will not conflict with your TVA duties. Such work may include civic, charitable, religious, and community undertakings. In the course of pursuing such activities certain things are prohibited.

1.

You may not used Government-financed time or supplies

2.

You may not use or allow the use of official information that has not been made available to the general public

3.

You may not promote the use of your official title or affiliation with TVA or allow suggestion of official endorsement

4.

5.

K>

0..@

S You may not conduct business with your subordinates.

You may not represent another person or organization before an agency or court of the Federal or D.C. Governments or receive payment for someone else's representation before these bodies, In matters In which the Government has an Interest. Your represen tation is prohibited even If IltIs uncompensated. An exception to this prohibition generally allows an employee to represent a par ent, spouse, or child in a proceeding before these agencies and courts.

13. Outside work done by an employee must be approved In advance by his/her vice president and reported by the human resource manager in an annual report. Advance approval is also required for such activities as teaching, lecturing, or writing.

C.

Ifran employee engages in outside employment that is found to be in compatible with TVA employment, the employee may have to stop the outside employment or could be terminated from TVA.

D.

Post-employment restrictions are part of the federal law and they pro hibit former Government employees from 'switching sides.' If you are planning to leave TVA you should consult your human resource officer for additional Information and guidance. There are two basic restric lions.

1.

A former employee is prohibited permanently from acting as an other person's representative to the Governmcnt in certain matters in which he/she was involved personally or substantially while in federal service.

.2.

For two years after leaving TVA, a former employee is prohibited from representing another person to the Government In certain maiters which were pending under his or her official responsibility during the last year of TVA service.

II

4) 0 4..'

rc VII.

Personal Gain A.

Generally, you cannot participate personally and substantially as a TVA employee In a mailer in which you have a financial interest. There is no minimum amount of value or control that constitutes finaniial interest.

B.

This prohibiltion also applies if any of the following individuals or or ganizations have a financial interest in the matter. your spous;e; your minor child; your partner; an organization in which you serve as an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee; or a person or organi7a lion with which you are negotiating for prospective employment or have an arrangement for prospective employment.

C.

An employee may be granted a waiver if his/her financial interest Is found to be not so substantial as to affect the integrity of his or her services. A general waiver can also be granted to a group of employees for certain Interests found to be too remote or inconsequential to affect the integrity of the employees' services. The general waiver mus;t be published in the Federal Register. See TVA Code Ill IINANCIAL IN TERESTS.

D.

The TVA conduct regulations also prohibit you from having a financial interest that conflicts, or even appears to conflict, with your Govern ment duties and responsibililies.

VIII. Gambling An employee may not participate in any gambling activity while on Govern ment-owned or leased property or while on duly for TVA. Thil; includes operation of a gambling device such as a lottery or pool, a game for money or property, or selling or purchasing a nunbers slip or ticket.

IX.

Employment of Relatives A.

TVA's policy concerning the employment (if relatlves is di-.cus,-ed in detail in IVA instruction% Ill ii.II(1iI 11 Y I'0R I MI'I.OYMI NI,lela lives (I:RM Chapler 215) and It II'M 6 R'I A'IIVI', G(:uile.

it.

For purpo.es of this policy, a relative isi an applicant's or emlploye"*s father, mother, son, daughter, brother,.-.i.ter, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, husband, wife, fir-t cousin, father-in-law%,

mother-in-liw, son in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law,.%,tepfather, stepmother, step:son,.,tepsldughter,.,t epbrolher, lte-.iWer, hailf-brother, or half-siser.

C.

'I he following n..triclions apply to the emiployment of relative,

1.

A TIVA employee cannot appoiit, prohihtle, or advance a relative.

Nor can an employee advocate ihe ClnioVIlvnl, I

dvaoc.eleiit, or promotion of a relative.

10)

K>

CONDUCT,

2.

A TVA employee may not have a supervisory or administrative relationship over a relative (this prohibition applies to occasional and/or unintentional relationships as well as routine lob duties).

3.

The son or daughter of a TVA employee may not be appointed for summer employment unless the employment is part of a formal TVA training program. (TVA extends this restriction to other rela lives for most summer employment programs.)

4.

TVA conduct regulations prohibit TVA employees from giving or appearing to give preferential treatment to any person, especially a relative.

C.

In many instances It Is a violation of federal law for an employee to recommend or otherwise advocate the appointment or promotion of a relative. This restriction applies to any employee, regardless of pay schedule or grade level, who has the authority to appoint or promote any other employee or to recommend such actions. Most employees who supervise or direct the work of others have such authority.

D.

If a relative is appoinled to a position as a result of nepotism, he/she is not eligible for pay for working in that position. If payment has already been made before the violation is detected, the relative must reimburse the full amount of wages received. The employee who violates the restriction on employment of relatives is subject to appropriate disci.

pline which may Include termination.

E.

If the TVA prohibition against a supervisory or administrative relation ship to a relative is violated, human resource officers must resolve the violation not later than three pay periods after the violation becomes known.

S

• 1' 43/4

'H 4> S IIN SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB TVA's Selection System The selection process at TVA Is quite different from the'rest of The federal service. At other agencies civil service tests and scored application blanks have been the major selection devices used, which often leaves the supervisor only a choice among the lop three candidates. Under the TVA Act, Congress permitted TVA to establish its own methods of employee selection and pro motion consistent with the principles of merit and efficiency. TVA's selection process emphai7es the role and responibility of the selecting supervisor in hiring the most qualified employee for a particular vacancy.

II.

Staffing from Within TVA: Internal Selection A.

Generally, TVA's policy is to promote or transfer from within IVA before hiring from outside TVA.

D.

ERM Chapter 275, SELECTION, Promotion and Internal Transfer, Sal.

ary Policy, and the Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-7, provide guidelines on how to fill vacant or new salary policy johb; the General Agreements (Annual Operating and Maintenance), Supple mentary Schedule, A-Ill and Bl-Ill, provide guidelines on how to fill annual trades and labor positions. Filling management, specialit and excluded schedule positions is not governed by any negotiated agree.

ment, but unlawful dicrimination in filling these and all other positions i-prohibited.

C.

The supervisor's deckion concerning a selection may be challenged and you should always be prepared to explain and adequately juitify your choice.

D.

Internal selection process I.

dentfy the vacancy. Make sure that a fulltime appointment i, the best alternative; explore other staffing options such a, temporary appointments or contract employees.

a.

Salary Policy positions can be filled either through a directed transfer or posting a vacancy announcement.

b.

Trade-; and labor positions are filled in accordance with the specific general agreement relevant to the vacancy.

2.

Develop the job descriplion and have the poesilion cla4;%ified. I his step applies to management, salary policy and annual trades and labor positions. There i more informalion aboult th, proce*'. in the Classification chapter.

3.

Prepare and post the vacancy announcement. Only salary policy and annual trades and labor positions mu-t be posled in accor dance with the provisions of the applicable negotiated agreement i

4.

Await applications. The negotiated agreements specify how long an announcement must be posted and the time limit placed on the supervisor for making a selection based on the posting and appli cations he or she receives in response.

a.

Salary policy announcements must be posted for not less than 10 calendar days. The supervisor has 90 days from the date the announcement 'closes' to make a selection. This time limit may be extended by mutual agreement of TVA and the Panel.

b.

Annual trades and labor announcements must be posted not less than 15 calendar days. The supervisor has 120 days from the date the announcement 'closes' to make a selection.

5.

Receive a list of qualified candidates. Your human resource officer is responsible for reviewing all applications and making the initial determination about the applicants' qualifications. The human resource officer will send you the candidates' applications and usually their personal history records (PI IRs).

6.

Select candidates for Interview. The supervisor identifies the can didates who appear to best meet the job qualifications and require ments and recommends to the human resource officer that inter view invitations be given to these candidates. The tIRO will make the interview arrangements.

7.

Interview candidates. This is your best opportunity to collect in formation about the candidales qualifications to perform the job and let the candidate know what the job will entail. For more detailed Information about how to conduct the interview, see sec lions VI, VII, and Vill of this chapter.

8.

Make the sel.ction. The supervior selects the most qualified can didate from among thow interviewed. The }IRO is responsible for getting the necessary approval for you to hire a particular candi date. See sections IV and XIX of this chapter for a description of the criteria that should be used in making the selection or hiring decision.

9.

Extend an offer. The I IRO will contact the employee to extend the offer. The I1IRO will also assist in negotiating a release date for the employee.

-n C).

Ill.

iliring from Outside TVA: External Selection CD C)

A.

Supervisors are generally required to atto C) internal candidate before pursuing outsid

(,11 u

1:i r.-,,frm n.,tside TVA Is affected by r empt to fill the position with an de candidates.

ules and regulations, including the Veterans' Preference Act, federal laws prohibiting discriminalion, TVA's affirmative action policies, and negotiated agreements regarding reemployment right-of those previously employed by TVA.

-i, IN 05

.4 S

S S

0 Sr

'ON C.

The selection process for external candidates is in many ways similar to the process used for internal selections.

1.

Request requiition. At your request, your human resource officer will prepare and submit a requisition and a job descriplion for the salary policy or annual trades and labor position to the Employ.

ment Services staff. Human Resources, in Knoxville. In response to this request the Employment Services staff will provide you with applications that have been received from people interested in working for TVA in certain positions. Trades and labor hourly positions are not handled In this way, so you should consult your human resource officer for assistance with these vacancies.

2.

Await submission list of qualified applicants. The Employment Services staff will review TVA's reemployment registers, OWCP candidates, and outside candidates to determine if there are quali.

fied applicants with current applications on file. This list will be sent to your human resource officer.

3.

Review submission list. If there are few or no qualified applicants for the submission list, you, your human resource officer, or the Employment Services staff may decide that special recruitment efforts are necessary to solicit applications from qualified candi.

dales.

4.

Obtain recruiting assistance. The Employment Services staff is responsible for TVA's recruitment activity. In addition, some or ganizations have their own recruitment activities for certain classi fications.

5.

Select candidates for interview. You review the applications and/

or resumes submitted and recommend candidates for interview.

ing. Your human resource officer will review and approve your interview requests and will issue invitations for interviews. The human resource manager or officer Is the only TVA rerese*ntative who should contact the candidates to arrange for interviews.

6.

Interview candidates. The interview process is the same as for internal candidates. More detailed information about interviews i, in sections VI, VII and Vill of this chapter.

7.

Make selection. The supervior selects the most qualified candi date from among those interviewed. See sections IV and IX of this chapter for a description of the criteria that should be used in mak ing the selection or hiring decision.

8.

Extend offer. The human resource officer extends the offer of em ployment to the candidate and, if necessary, makes arrangements for the candidate to receive pre-employment medical examina tions. The candidate will also be required to undergo a security check Into his or her background.

IV.

Selection Criteria and the Selection Decision A.

Merit and efficiency is to be the basis for all selections in TVA. It is important to Identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities, necessary to perform the job so that you can determine which candidate will best sali'fy the requirement of merit and efficiency.

I.

For represented salary policy employees the Articles of Agreement (5-5) require that selection for promotion and transfer (except in some cases) be made'on the basis of merit and efficiency. Manage ment's judgment of merit and efficiency is controlling unless shown to be arbitrary and capricious.

2.

In evaluating merit and efficiency in salary policy selections, con sideration may be given to the following

a.

Requirements of the Job;

b.

Overall competence of the candidate as can be appraised by examination of TVA service records, and other factors, if rele vant;

c.

Organizational needs, objectives and efficiency of TVA, which includes TVA's affirmative action plans and goals;

d.

TVA's need to recoup investments in training and/or man power requirements;

e.

TVA's need for continuity of operations.

3.

For trades and labor employees, Supplementary Schedules A-Ill and A-V of the General Agreements discuss In detail what to con sider In selecting a candidate for a trades and labor position.

V.

Preparing for Selection By structuring the selection process, you help make yourself more organized and better able to pick the best candidate for the job. You should use this structured selection technique to enable you to get more information from each candidate and ensure that the information will pertain to the knowledge, skill%, and abilities needed for the job.

A.

Identify job requirements and knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)

Thewe are the attributes that the candidate must have in order to per "form the job successfully. Make sure you focus on the job itself and not on the person who Is currently holding the job. The Job description is a useful tool in identifying KSAs.

K>

-,I 0

9

(

B.

Review the applicant information. Information on each candidate will vary slightly. Usually you will have some type of application (either a TVA initial application or an application for anticipated vacancies),

either a resume or PI IR, and sometimes lest results or other data. For each applicant you should do the following:

I.

Check minimum qualifications. Only those lobs that have been analyzed by the Classification, Planning and Analysis staff have valid minimum qualifications; other things listed, such as a degree, etc., are really only desirable characteristics and, therefore, you should not screen someone out on the basis of these alone.

2.

Aswss possession of KSAs. Examine past educational and job experiences. While doing this, write down specific questions to ask the applicant to help you determine whether he/she possesses the necessary KSAs for the job.

3.

rind a rapport-builder. Pick out something in the resume or ap plication that you can uw to 'break the ice' at the start of the in terview.

C.

Decide on Information to impart. Review the infnrmatinn you need to provide to each candidate. Applicants should-be given realistic expec tations about the job so they can make informed decisions about whether the job is for them. Be honest and give both poesitive and nega tive aspects of the working conditions. It is important thai the inter view be conducted in a professional, well-prepared manner.

D.

Prepare the setting. Make sure that the interview has been -cheduled and that all the necessary paperwork is at hand. Al-o make sure you won't be interrupted during the interview.

VI.

Key Issues Associated With Interviewing rocus on getting job--related information about the required knowledge.,,kill, and abililies from each applicant and ignore irrelevant information that does n'l pertain to the KSAs. Some general points to keep in mind include:

A.

Try using multiple interviewers. Thi-can result in obtaining more reli able and valid information, reduces biases by providing more per-pec lives, and sharing the interviewing responsibilities. Be sure that all interviewers are well-prepared and understand the KSA-of the job.

B.

Take notes throughout the interview. At the beginning of the interview tell the candidate that you will be taking notes continuously and that he/she should not feel uncomfortable about thiq. Your note-taking will indicate to the applicant that you are interested in what he/she mys

'ION 25

SIELECt ION C.

Consider personal characteristics only if they are job-related. Personal characteristics have a place In the selection Interview only If they are job-related and only If you assess them through behaviorally related questions. Ask questions that will get the applicant to describe his/her past behavior. Be sure to ask all the candidates the same questions.

1).

Avoid illegal discrimination. Interview questioni. that violate laws re garding discrimination may have serious consequences for you and TVA. You must avoid collecting or using any information related to areas of discrimination. Generally, if you focus on the KSAs of the job you will not have problem;.

1.

Avoid information regarding sex and marital status.

2.

Avoid information regarding race.

3.

Avoid questions about ethnic ties.

4.

Do not consider religion.

5.

Do not use age as a criterion.

6 Do not discriminate against the handicapped.

7.

Do not discuss arrests, conviction%, or citizenship.

8.

Stop the flow of Information. Slop the applicant from volunteering any illegal Information. If he/she does volunteer prohibited infor mation during the Interview, you should stop the conversation and indicate to the applicant that this information Is not related to the job, -;hill not be used in the decision-making process and, there.

fore, Ahould not be discussed during the interview. It is also good to document the incident--what he/she said and what you said.

E.

Avoid bias. Be aware of the different kinds of blases that can lead to errors in selections.

I.

I laio effect. This is the tendency to generalize an overall Impres sion of an applicant (which may or may not be job related) onto specific information about the KSAs; the overall impression biases all the other specific evaluations on each of the KSAs and duties.

2.

Avoid overgenerali~ing

3.

Don't reach conclusions based only on expectations. Wait until you have all the information before you make anyJudgment or decision about the applicant.

4.

Avoid comparing applicants directly. Try to delay comparing applicants until you are ready to make you" final decision and have collected information from all the candidates.

5.

Keep In mind that Interviewing Is stressful for the applicant.

6.

Avoid similarity bias. This occurs when applicants are judged more favorably when they are similar to or have much in common with the interviewer.

K>/

I5; 4)- S t5

'ION VII.

The Structured Interview Form This form is used throughout the entire selection process and will provide a guide to note-taking and will help in the final deciFion. You uwc a -,eparate form for each applicant. These forml-are useful for documentation" purpnoc and so you will want to retain them after you have made your selection deci.

sion. rollow the following three steps in preparing the interview form before you meet with candidate-.

A.

ror each applicant, fill In each page of the structurvd interview form with the identified job duties and their a-;%ocialed KSAs for the po,;ihon.

B.

Review the material you have on each applicant and look for relevant experience In their background that may be evidence of the required KSAs. Make notes on the form under the duties and their required KSAs and of evidence you have found that the applicant po-ew-e% the KSAs.

C.

Develop questions to ask the applicants, using the form and the infor.

mation just reviewed about the applicants. Start with general questions you have on the first page of the form and uCe the applicant informa.

tion you have lust noted to tailor these question; in each applicant.

VIII. Conducting the Interview A.

The focus of your quetion-should bei on skill-first, knowledge second, and ability lat. It I-best to a,;k question,% rlated to skilk and experi ence of the applicant, and a-k other type-of question-; only if the appti cant can give no skill or experience information.

I.

Skills, or actual experience with a particular ta-.k, give'. the mot concrete evidence that the applicant can probably perform the task.

2.

Knowledge, or having the educatinn or training to dn a la,k, ik t.-%

concrete evidence than the behavior of actually having done the task.

3.

Ability, or having the underlying potenliatl to learn and do the tadk, is the hIal concrete and anot difficult to mea,ur." of the three types of evidence.

11.

Six critical slepq in conducting the interview

t.

['.stablish rapport. Trhi allow%, the interviewer to,get to know the applicant a-well.; po..itile and detenniine how welt the appllicant fits the job A r.laxed, oipen,lmon.phere from the.tart will make the applicant h.', ner,'ois and more willing to talk openly.

2.

Set the agenda. Ilefore beginning with the interview quceslion%,, lei the candidate know the direction the interview will take. I el the candidate know that you will Iv a.king que..,lion', and taking note., that he/.he will have an opportunity to a.k you questihon-,

and what the general time.schedule for the interview will lie 27 q¢ I

t I

SILECUiON,

3.

Gather Information. The most Important point to remember is that you are trying to get information from each applicant about whether he/she possesses the needed knowledge, skills, and abili ties for the job. Be sure to take notes during the Interview.

4.

Dispense information. Tell the applicant about TVA and the job he/she has applied for, describing in general the working condi tions, travel requirements, advancement potential, etc.

5.

Answer questions. It is Important to give the applicant a chance to ask any questions he/she has about TVA or the job.

6.

Close the interview. Cordially thank the applicant for his/her lime and Interest and explain what happens next in the selection proce dure, when you expect a decision to be made, and who they may contact for further information.

C.

Guidelines for effective interviewing I.

Maintain/enhance self esteem. This will help you build rapport with the candidate. Show interest in what the applicant says, Indi cate approval of accomplishments, and use the candidate's name.

2.

Show empathy and understanding. This also helps to build rap port and will make the candidate feel more relaxed about sharing information. Indicate that you understand what the candidate says and how he/she feels.

3.

Let the applicant do the talking. Ask open-ended questions that require the candidate to explain things. Follow up with questions that can be answered with 'yes' or "no.'

4.

Clarify information as Illis received. Make sure you have complete and clear information from the applicant. Do this by using prob ing questions, paraphrasing, repeating Information, and summariz ing key points.

5.

Listen actively. As you listen, be attentive, concentrate, and 'read between the lines.' As you listen, Indicate that you have heard and understood the message by nodding, eye contact, or with fol lowup questions.

6.

Demonstrate control under certain circumstances. Stay in control and directly confront the applicant's unacceptable behavior or responses. Do not permit intentional or unintentional avoidance of a topic or failure to follow your format for the interview.

7.

Be as neutral as possible. This %4il enable you to get the most information from the applicant by pulling the applicant at ease and encouraging the applicant to talk freely. Examples of neutral Sbehavior Include using a nod, *I see,' or *uh-huh" to Indicate

)

Interest.

S8.

Do not write negative comments immediately as they are being D

D2 stated. Wall until the applicant has moved on to another topic

-1 before making notes about a negative point.

)0

9.

Maintain eye contact 25 percent of the lime. Too much eye contact can make people nervous.

K>

t.

d S

NW' (I,

• 1

.1 0

10.

Be straight with the applicant. lie honest and straightforward with the candidate throughout the interview procmes.

IX.

Making the Hiring Decision A.

Decide the importance level of duties. Review the structured Interview form and decide which of the job duties are most important to the job Rank order the duties from most important to the icast important.

B.

Assemble all information on the candidates. This includes the struc lured interview form, application, resume, service reports, or other data provided for each candidate.

C.

Examine the results of the structured interview. Compare each candi.

date by reviewing the interview results. lie consistent when you con sider the information you have on each applicant and focus on job-re.

lated information when evaluating the candidates.

D.

Progressively eliminate candidates. l.ook at the most important or cru.

cial job duties first and eliminate those candidates that have not indi cated the ability to perform these duties. Ihen look at the next most important job duty(s) and eliminate those candidates without suitable abilities.

E.

Choose the top candidate. After progressively eliminating some candi date-, you will have a small subgroup of acceptable candidate, and you should choose the top candidate from this group.

r.

Document the decision. Write a summary justification statement of your reasons for choosing the candidate you did as the best qualified.

In the statement, focus on objective information. Document the rank order of duties and then how well candidates were qualified relative to each other. Point out what KSAs this candidate possessed that were superior to those of the other applicants X.

Orienting the New Employee A new employee may flounder unpr(ductively during the fin! few stressful week.s on the job, so it is important that you help him/her to get acclimated to the new job as quickly as possible. [.isted below are some key points to cover with the employee during orientation.

A.

Ensure that the employee understands the duties of the job I.

Review the Job description with the employee, expanding and elaborating on specific duties and la,.ks.

2.

Clearly relay performance expeclations. Make sure the nempleyee knows the quality and quantity of work that is expected.

3.

Coach the new employee by giving feedback from the very begin ning i

5,1 ECFIONk

,)

K>

I1. Cover service appraisl and salary increase information.

CLASSIFICATION I.

Management and Specialist Appraisal process - Management skills, quarterly reviews.

2.

F'orm 1 VA 3031 - Discuss time-in-gradc increawse, annual salary increases, periodic performance reports.

3.

Probationary period - Applicable to many new employees.

C.

Determine and schedule training needed for the new employee.

t.

rormal training (c.g, computer training, word processing train ing)

2.

On-the-job training.

1).

Introduce the employee to ocrte.

in the organit.ation Be sure that the employee meets everyone in the immediate work group, the managers at least one level above you, and people In your organization or other organliations with whom the employee will work frequently.

I'.

Explain the office or work site rules and routines.

1. Work schedules and flexlime.

2.

Staff meetings.

3.

Duties and responsibilities of clerical, support people.

4.

1 low to uwe the telephone system.

5.

Where to obtain office supplies.

6.

1llow to handle busine.s travel.

7.

The "culture' or 'environment* of the office or site.

1%. Provide the employee with TVA policies/procedures/reference materi als to review. rollow up to ens;ure that the employee understands what he/she has read.

I.

Code of Ethics for l'ederal Employees and the conduct regulations (both In the General Releases).

2.

Other reference documents that are important to the employee's work.

EL',

m

'I Classification, or job evaluation, Is the process of determining the relative rank or status ofjobs within an organization. Classification Involves ana lyzing the duties and responsibilities of the job, comparing it to job stan.

dards and to otherjobs In TVA, and assigning It to a grade level.

II.

Structuring the Work A.

The process begins by analyzing the mission of your work unit and identifying the functions and tasks to be performed. Tasks will Include not only the primary mission of the work unit, but also any support services and supervision required. The classification process includes the following steps I.

Job design-grouping duties and tasks together to create pos;ilions or jobs.

2.

Identifying the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities required to do the work for the positions you have defined.

3.

Defining the structure of the organi7ation, or the way in which the jobs relate to each other.

B.

Supervisors should continually analyze, review and evaluate the work assigned to each position. Job descriptions should be kept accurate and up to dfle and consideration should be given to restructuring or elimi nating positions as vacancies occur.

Job Descriptions Good job descriptions-ones that are clear, complete, and accurate-,are abo lutely essential for reliable classification of any job. Job descriptions must contain critical information about the job including: the position's duties' and responsibilities; required and desired knowledge, skills, and abilities; a de scription of the level of supervision the incumbent will have; a description of the -cope of supervision the incumbent will be required to exercise over oth ers. Information that should not be included In a job description includes length of service, overtime, financial need, volume of work, employee's effi ciency, or other qualifications that are not required to do the work.

• 1 "I

CLASSIFI 4.

-3 1

IV.

Classification Plan for Positions on the Manager and Specialist Schedule A.

A position Is placed on the Manager and Specialist schedule if it meets one of the following criteria:

1.

A significant degree of supervisory responsibility, such as author ity to hire and fire or supervision over large numbers of subordi nates. Supervision alone does not warrant placing a job on the management schedule and, generally, first-line supervision that involves technical direction of work remains in the bargaining units.

2.

Responsibility for makitig judgments or decisions involving union management agreements or other types of conflict of Interest.

3.

Certain types or degrees of policy making responsibility, such as some corporate staff jobs that have responsibility for developing and interpreting policy on behalf of TVA.

4.

Work at levels 'higher-requiring more complex or spedali7ed technical or engineering skills--than those in the represented schedules.

Bi.

Classification process TVA uses the Ilay Guidechart-Profile Method of job Evaluation as its job measurement system for manager and specialist jobs. This is a quantitative job measurement system (i e., point-factor system) which ascribes quantitative values to the job factors of know-how (knowl edge), problem-solving (complexity), and accountability (responsibil ityljob impact) inherent in every job. TVA has established job evalu ation committees comprised of line managers to evaluate all manager and specialist positions to ensure a corporate-wide perspective of rela live job worth within the agency and to establish accountability for determining and maintaining internal equity with management. Com mittees are responsible for conducting job evaluations, this role does not include assessing and critiquing organization design and/or lob structure.

C.

Roles and responsibilities I

Compensation Planning and Analysis staff, Human Resource

a.

Develops TVA's job evaluation crileria (excluding trades and labor positions).

b.

Administers the Management/Specialist Job Evaluation Sys tem.

)

c.

Ensures consistency in the administration of the Salary Policy Job Evaluation System by certifying human resource officers to administer the system and monitoring evaluations per formed by line organizations.

K>j t.

fs

C.

Vk'l'W CLAsslrr,A _.

d.

Determines the appropriate classification (i e., manager/spe.

cialisl or salary policy) to be applied to all jobs for which it is responsible.

e.

Provides consultation and assistance lo line organizations in designing work structure and individual Job structure.

f.

Facilitates meetings of the job evaluation committees by serv ing as secretary, establishing agendas, reviewing all jobs sub milled for committee evaluation, and providing recommenda.

lions of position evaluations to the respective committees.

g Reviews all positions submitted by organiiation-for presen tation to job evaluation committees and determines the ap propriate evaluation standards to be applied to positions

3.

Line management develops position descriptions which accurately describe the work performed and adhere to job evaluation stan dards thai are applicable.

4.

Line human resource organizations

a.

Provide support to management in day-to-day adminiktra tion of TVA's job evaluation systems.

"b. Assist management by providing recommendations and alter.

natives in organization design to enhance operating effi ciency.

C. Collaborate with Compensilion Planning and Analy;ib I)o develop resolutions to organization design, and individual job structure problems.

d.

Review all position descriptions and ensure accuracy of con tent prior to submission of position description to Compensa.

tion, Planning and Analysis for review and pr*ce*ing

!I (I

il

CLASSIFICt K2 V.

Classificatlon Plan for Represented and Excluded Positions The classification plan for represented and excluded positions is part of the negotiated agreement between TVA and the Panel. Therefore, any significant changes in the classificalion system must be jointly agreed to by TVA and the Panel or its unions.

The salary policy classification system for represented salary policy employ ees covers most positions In pay schedules A, 3, C, D, E, r, G, and X. Many excluded positions are also reviewed and evaluated under this plan. (Those which are not are reviewed against agency classification standards developed specifically for that particular class of work.) The classification process in volves looking at the type and level of duties and responsibilities and deler mining the appropriate pay schedule, classification group, job series, job title, and grade level of the position. Salary policy classification is done using either job factor guldecharts or classification standards.

A.

Job factors describe how work Is performed. They include such things as knowledge and skills used in the job, guidelines available to the em ployee, complexity of the work, supervision received, supervision over others, work-related contacts with others, and working conditions. Job factor guldecharts classify levels of work In pay schedules A, 13, C, D, and E. Job descriptions for positions classified using job factor guidecharts are prepared on form TVA 1213.

0.

Classification standards are written documents that define the duties and requirements of a Job and of grade levels In a series. These are used to classify positions on pay schedules F and G and certain other positions. Job descriptions for positions classified using classification standards are prepared on form TVA 12A.

C.

Classification process I.

Supervisor prepares accurate and complete job description using proper form.

2.

1lluman resource officer classifies the job based upon the job de scription and determines schedule, job title, and grade level.

3.

Management is responsible forevalualing the job, but upon com pletion of Ihe evaluation, a copy of the job description is sent to the union for review.

4.

Classification dispute may arise. A dispute over whether the em ployee's Job description accurately describes the work assigned are handled under the regular grievance procedure. This kind of dis pute must be resolved before the position can be classified prop.

erly. A second kind of dispute concerns whether the position was classified properly, and these are handled under the procedure set forth In the Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-2-1I.

e4.

a 0

(

9 D.

Roles and responsibilities The supervisor writes the Job description and periodically updates.

it. The supervisor also makes all work assignments. Job de-crip tlion, do not control work assignments, they just describe typical duties assigned to the Job and employees may temporarily be as signed work other than contained in the job description. I lowever, if new duties assigned are significantly different or not truly lem porary, the supervisor should consider restructuring the work and job classification.

2.

lluman resource officers (IROs) evaluate all salary policy job descriptions and coordinate classification action-with the salary policy unions, corporate Compenatlion Planning and Analy.,i%

staff, and the Labor Relations staff.

3.

Compensation Planning and Analysis staff, I luman Resources, has primary responsibility for developing the classification criteria/

guidelines used by I IRes in evaluating salary policy jobs They also provide advice and Job evaluation training to TVA managers, 1iROs, and appropriate union officials.

4.

Labor Relalions staff, I luman Resources, negotiates and admini sters the Articles of Agreement, including the classification portion of the agreement, and conducts grievance hearing-concerning lob content.

5.

Union representatives represent employees in classification and Job content disputes and review management's classification decisions.

Each union designates 'union reviewers' to evaluate completed classification actions.

Classification of Trades and Labor Positions.

Many of the trades and labor job classifications evolved as the craft unions were organized, and the unions cstablished specific work boundaries (juris dictions) for cich craft. I lourly trades and labor Jobl oflen do not have writ ten jo) descriptions, commonly understood craft practice i-generally fol lowed inslead. Annual trades and labor posilions do have written Job de scriplion- -I here are seven differvnl Irades and labor pay schedules a, fol lows:

A.

Schedule A - All employees are hourly contruclion workers. covered by the negotiated General Agreement for Con-;truclion employees.

1.

Schedule II - Employees are annual employee. who perform r.gular maintenance and miscellaneous operaling work. They arn, covered by the two General Agreement-for either employces in IVA's Power Gen.

crating and Tranmistion lFacilities or for all employ.'ees except tho.e in TVA's Power Generaling and Tran'misgion l'acililiC.

C.

Schedule C - l'mployec. art aninual emphoyeyc. who perform freglar operaling work in the Chemical Plant /l'-,ource l)evvlopemnt I htev a'rv covered by the two General A-ree'men t% referenced in it abxve CLASSL ILI 11

CLASSFICn D.

Schedule D - Employees are annual employees who perform regular operating work In Power organizations. They are covered by the two General Agreements referenced in B above.

E.

Schedule E-Employees are annual employees who perform regular operating and maintenance work in Resource Developmenl and Serv ices. They are covered by the negotiated General Agreement for An.

nual Operating and Maintenance Employees except those in TVA's Power Generating and Transmission Facilities.

r.

Schedule B--I lourly - Employees are hourly and perform temporary operating and maintenance and modifications work in any TVA organi.

7ation except Resource Development and Services. Covered by the negotiated General Agreement for Temporary I tourly Operating and Maintenance and Modification Employees.

G.

Schedule E-Hourly - These are just like Schedule B-Hlourly employees except that they work In either Resource Development or Services.

eiT

(

0 0

0 N)

N)

PAY CI

'ii.

If, 4~

TVA's objective Is to pay employees a 'competitive" wage or salary. Pay policies are established by the Chief Operating Officer and Board of Direc tors. The TVA Act is the basic authority for our pay plans. It establishes TVA's Independence from the civil service laws and gives the Board of Directors authority to fix compensation subject to two constraints-I) no regular employee can receive a salary In excess of that received by a Board member, and 2) rates of pay for trades and "laborers and mechanics" shall not be less than the prevailing rates paid for similar work In the vicinity.

TVA pay practices are still required to comply with other federal laws and regulations:

r rair Labor Standard-Act (rLSA) which applie* to all public and privaltt employers and specifies minimum wages, overtime pay for certain types of employees, and other recordkeeping requirement1.

4 Equal Pay Act which provides generally for 'equal pay for equal work."

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Right Act which prohibit,; any emplovnent action that discriminates and requires employers to define ernplivnicnt standards on the basis of Job requirements and ti compensate equal work based upon criteria that do not dis.criminale.

II.

Manager and Specialist Schedule Pay A.

1 he manager and speciali'st salary structure ik composed of if1 pay groups. There are three types of manager and specialist positlions:

I.

Managerial positions which include executive and other position%

with res*ponsibility for planning, staffing, organizing, and supervi.

ing and controlling both the work of the organi7ation and the re sources to support that work (i.e., Vice Presidenl, Manager (De partment), Plant Manager).

2.

Senior technical specialit position--, also' known a-dual ladder pocitions which serve a-; the agency's senior professional in a spe cific -cientific or engineering discipline or an adminnistratlic field (i.e., Senior Scientlit, National rertili7er Development Center. Sen ior Discipline Engineer (ASML CoIe Spccialist), Nuclear I'moecll

3.

Staff specialist positions which include those poilion, swhich ire responsible for a speciali7ed management.upporl funclion Vi e.,

Attorney, rinancial Analyst. Rate De.sign Specialhst) 10&

AY

JL PAY E.

Compensation for overtime work B.

Pay group determination 41 The Vice President, Iluman Resources, recommends to the Board and Chief Operating Officer the midpoint, salary range, and appropriate pay levels for all manager and specialist positions including executive-levcl positions. Each manager and specialist position in TVA has a pay group determined by the job evaluation process. This pay group, or position level, corresponds to a salary range derived from an analysis of labor market salary data. Ideally, job incumbents are not paid less than the minimum of the range or more than the range maximum Individ ual pay rates do not change when the salary structure changes C.

Salary progression The foundation for TVA's salary administration system for managers and specialists is performance-based pay. The system is designed to reward manager and specialist employees based on their contribution to TVA's overall performance. Employee lob performance is evaluated by the supervisor using the Employee Appraisal System which focuses on the performance and behavioral standards of a position. Compensa tion Planning and Analysis staff, I luman Resources, is re-ponsible for developing and recommending pay policies and procedures, anqwering questions concerning pay for employees covered by the salary admini stration plan and excluded employees, providing interpretation of the salary administration plan, and evaluating and reviewing line organiza tions' implementation of the procedures.

1).

Performance based pay

1.

Performance Increase Program is designed to reward employees whose documented performance during the fiscal year contributed to TVA's overall performance. Manager and specialist employees whose documented performance during a fiscal year is unaccept able or below job requirements will not receive a performance increase.

2.

Individual Increase program is designed to reward employees based on a composite review of each employee's value to the agency and value to the group or operations level organization The recipients and the amounts of individual increases will be at the discretion of the head of the organization (i e, senior vice president or corporate organization vice president) 7b

1.

Policy - Manager and specialist employees are expected to work overtime for which no additional compensation will be paid when the overtime is the result of the normal requirements and responsi bililies of their positions. Noncompensable overtime includes activities that are casual, Inherent to the job, or self-imposed.

I lowever, under certain conditions when overtime work is re quired and scheduled for prolonged periods or to meet unusual conditions, certain employees may be eligible to receive approved overtime compensation.

2.

Eligibility - Only those manager and specialist employees in pay groups I through 8 are eligible to receive overtime pay.

3.

Guidelines for overtime pay - Manager and specialist employees are compensated in accordance with the following guidelines:

a.

Eligible manager and specialist employees are compensated for approved overtime at their straight-time rate. Certain eligible manager and specialist employees assigned to pod-.

lions requiring rotating shift coverage are paid overtime at one and one-half limes their straight-lime rate after working 40 hours4.62963e-4 days <br />0.0111 hours <br />6.613757e-5 weeks <br />1.522e-5 months <br /> in a single work week.

b.

Eligible employees required to work on a paid TVA holiday receive holiday pay and applicable overtime pay for actual hours worked.

c.

Approved overtime compensation is computed on the basis of lime actually worked in excess of a benchmark number of hours as determined by the appropriate senior or corporate vice president. Approved days of absence and holidays fall ing on scheduled work days during the work week are counted as lime worked for the purpose of overtime compen sation.

d.

Each senior vice president and corporate vice president will manage this policy in a manner to accomplish it, objectives

4.

Approval - Vice Presidents must approve the payment of all over time for eligible employees This approval authority may be dele gated to the next lower level. Any exception to this policy must be approved by the appropriate senior or corporate vice president and the Vice President, Human Resources. Any related policy developed for use within the line organization must not be in con flict with this policy and must be submitted for review and concur rence by the Vice President, Human Resources, prior to implemen tatlion.

5.

Monitoring - Corporate I luman Resources in conjunction with rinance will monitor and evaluate the implementation of this pol icy within each organization on a regular basis.

PAY K_>

IV.

Trades and Labor Pay Ill.

Represented Salary Policy Pay Salary ranges for salary policy schedules are cstablished based on salary sur vey information collected by the Labor Relations staff in accordance with the Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement 4 (S-4:A) Survey results serve as the basis for salary negotiations. If TVA and the Panel fail to agree on a salary structure for each pay schedule, the Panel appeals the disputed rates first to mediation and then to arbitration.

A.

Salary progression. Employees go from one within-grade salary rate to the next one when they complete a full period of creditable srvice which is evaluated as 'fully adequate' or betler.

11 Supervisory differential. When a supervisor is the same schedule and grade as a subordinate and exercis FeULL supervision over that cm ployce, the supervisor may receive one within-grade step above lhat of the subordinate as a supervisory differential. The differential is re moved when it is no longer Justified. (See Articles of Agrcement, Sup.

plementary Agreement S-4:L-4,1).

C.

Pay rates after grade changes are done in accordance with the negotli alcd agreements when an employee is hired, rehired, promoted, de moted, or transferred between schedules. (See Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-4:L-4).

D.

Overtime is paid In accordance with the negotiated agreement (See Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-4:F). Overtime must always be officially approved by a higher level manager.

I.

Employees on flexible schedule do not receive overtime pay; how.

ever, If they are regularly scheduled to work outside normal work hours they are paid overtime.

2.

Employees on the inflexlile schedule generally receive overtime for work In excess of 40 hours4.62963e-4 days <br />0.0111 hours <br />6.613757e-5 weeks <br />1.522e-5 months <br /> a week or 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> a day.

3.

Part-time and hourly employees receive overtime pay only if they work more than 40 hours4.62963e-4 days <br />0.0111 hours <br />6.613757e-5 weeks <br />1.522e-5 months <br /> a week or 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> a day. If they work more than their scheduled hours (but less than 40 hours4.62963e-4 days <br />0.0111 hours <br />6.613757e-5 weeks <br />1.522e-5 months <br /> a week),

they receive only straight-time pay.

4.

Overtime rates are as follows for those eligible employees:

a.

Time and one half-for employees whose annual salary is not more than SC-2, Step 3.

b.

One and one-half times the rate of SC-2, Step 3 (except that no one Is paid less than straight time) - for employees whose annual salary Is more than SC-2, Step 3. There are some ex ceptions to this rule, see S-4:F.

CD

c.

Double time - under certain conditions for work in excess of C) 16 hours1.851852e-4 days <br />0.00444 hours <br />2.645503e-5 weeks <br />6.088e-6 months <br /> or work on the second scheduled offday.

E.

Premium pay as discussed in Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement 4, includes pay for shift differential, holiday and Sunday pay, uniform and meal allowances, call time, etc.

0..

The TVA Act requires that TVA pay the prevailing rate for work of a similar 0

nature in the vicinity for all trades and labor jobs. This rate is determined by negotiations based on a wage survey in a vicinity defined by the General Agreements. If there is not agreement reached In negotiations, the Council may appeal disputed wage rates to the Secretary of the Department of Labor.

A.

Wage administration is done in accordance with the General Agree ments and accounting memoranda issued by Finance. There are no slary ranges, only fixed hourly or annual rates. Wage administration can be complex, and supervisor's should consult their human resource officer or payroll officer with questions.

I.

There are specific provisions in the negotiated agreement-; that address the following issues: dual classification, hours of work, overtime pay, including the proper use and distribution of overtime work, holiday pay, nmeal periods, call time and reporting time, time required for em.

ployment processing, transportation allowances, and exchange of shifts and shift differential. Supervisors should be familiar with the terms of the negotiated agreement affecting pay that are applicable to their em ployees.

.0 (

(,

i

PAY BENEFITS

1.

Accident Insurance

• TVA employees may purcha.e accident insurance at group rates from Life Insurance Company of North America (LINA). The plan provides benefit% to a beneficiary in lhe event of an employee's death, or to the employee in case of dismembermcnt. There Is also a provision for partial replacement of lost wages if the employee has a non-work-related accident and Is unable to work. Additional information is available from your human resource officer and is discussed in detail in the following documents Employee booklet, Voluntary Group Accidul uInsurairce for TVA Annual Einp~lnyces 0

TVA Code Ill INSURANCE, Accident 0

ERM Chapter 431, INSURANCE, ACCIDENT, Annual I'mployees A.

Eligibility. Any active, ANNUAL employee under age 70. Eligibilily is lost if the annual employee transfers to an hourly position, retires, leaves TVA, or reaches age 70. An employee's spouse and unmarried dependent children are eligible for coverage. Coverage can he canceled at any time.

I1.

Cost. Employee pays the enlirc cost through payroll deduction.

C.

Enrollment. An eligible employee mus t apply for coverage within qO days of employment or eligibility date or waitI for the next annual open enrollment period.

D.

Changing enrollments. Application for a change in enrollment must be made within 30 days" (a) after marriage to obtain spouse coverage: (b)

"after birth to obtain newborn child coverage; and (c) after a salary in creaw which C..Stablishcs eligib~ility to oblain a higher Ivnefit.

E.

Termination of coverage. Coverage for the employee, the sphIuO, and dependent children ends on the last day in pay stalu, in a ponliton in which the employee is eligible or at the end of the last day of the month for which the premium was paid.

1'.

Conve.rion. An employee under age 70 who... coverage is canceled is entitled to have a converted policy i{'ued by LINA (without,res,,nting evidence of insurability) The employee niu-t apply in writing to.IrNA within 31 days after terminalion.

)

(G. Filing a claim. When death or dismemberment of an insurJd neployhve C"

occur-, the supervisor or administrative officer innmediatelv nolifieq the oC,).

Employee Accounting D)epartment, Knoxville, which sulnmil. nolices of C) claims to.INA.

C) 01 II.

Leave without pay (LWOP). Coverage can lie mainlained during peri ods of LWOP by paying the prmiumnv in advance. Your human re.

source officer can provide the neces.iury delails aboul Ihi, prcedurv.

43

BENEFITS II.

Before-Tax Payment Plan for Medical and Dental Contributions This plan allows those employees who elect coverage under TVA sponsored medical or dental plans to save on taxes by paying their share of the medical and dental contributions on a before-tax basis. That is, the contributions are deducted from an employee's pay before federal Income tax and social secu rity taxes are calculated, thereby reducing taxable Income.

A.

IRS guidelines limit the opportunities an employee may have to change to or from the before-tax plan to a designated open enrollment period held each year. Ilowever, an employee can make a change if he or she has a family status change at any time during the year.

It.

IRS guidelines generally prohibit an employee who participates in the program from making any changes In coverage during the plan year including dropping coverage or switching between individual and fam ily coverage unless there Is a change in family status. l lowever, such changes can be made during the annual open enrollment period with out a change in family status.

C.

Additional information about the Before-Tax Payment Plan as well as the forms necessary to enroll in the program or initiate changes under the plan are available from your human resource officer.

Ill.

Dental Plan All TVA annual employbes may elect to have dental plan coverage under one of two plans. Annual salary policy and management and specialist schedule employees are covered by one plan that is negotiated between TVA and the Salary Policy Employee Panel. Annual trades and labor employees are cov ered by another plan negotiated between TVA and the Tennessee Valley Trades and Labor Council. Both plans are administered by Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company (Provident) and both plans provide pre ventive, restorative, crown, and prosthetic dental care coverage for employees and eligible family members up to plan limits. Additional Information about the dental plans Is provided In the following documents-

• K>

t (1)

"ýITS

6.

Cost. The portion of the cost paid by employees Is established during annual negotiations between TVA and the Panel and Council. The TVA Board of Directors determines the portion of the cost that is paid by non-represented employees. Employee contributions are paid through payroll deductions.

C.

Enrollment. Eligible employees may apply for coverage within 30 days of employment or transfer to an eligible position. A late application, which Provident can accept or reject, requires satisfactory evidence of dental health.

D.

Changing enrollment-. The employee must apply within 30 days of marriage or the addition of an eligible dependent to add family cover age. Late applications will require an employee to submit sali-faclory evidence of dental health before coverage becomes effective. Changes from family to individual coverage can generally be made at any lime unless the employee Is participating in the Before-Tax Payment Plan.

(See section II of this chapter for details.)

E.

Termination of coverage. Benefits coverage stops at the end of the month in which employment terminates or in which the employee elect-to discontinue the coverage.

F.

Conversion. Conversion to an Individual policy is not available.

G.

riling a claim. Claim forms are available from your human re.sourcc office. They are completed by the employee and his/her dentist and submitted directly to Provident.

Ii.

Leave without pay (LWOP). An employee on LWOP may continue dental coverage by paying the total cost of the coverage for each month In advance. If the leave Is for a servke-connected disability, TVA will pay the employer's contribution for a period of up to 12 months.

TVA Code Ill BENEFITS, Dental TVA Instruction BENEFITS, DENTAL, Salary Policy, Annual (ERM Chapter 433)

Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement 23 TVA Instruction PM 3 BENEFITS, Medical and Dental, Transfer Employee booklet, Denial Eiaense I3enef is Plan for Annual Salary Policy Employees in ihe Tennessee Valley Authority Employee booklet, Denial Expense Benefils Plan for Annual Trades and Labor Employees of the Tennessee Valley Authority A.

Eligibility. Generally, the dental plans are available to full-time, active employees. Part-time salary policy employees who work 16 or more hours per week are also eligible. Complete rules for eligibility for Indi vidual and family coverage are set forth in the appropriate documents cited above.

G")

0 0

0 0

k)

C)

(

.,h

IIENI:rI is (

I IV.

Medical Plan IVA medical benefits are available to annual TVA employees. There arc two plans, one is negotiated between TVA and the Tennessee Valley Trades and Labor Council and it covers annual trades and labor employees. The other Is negotiated between TVA and the Salary Policy Employee Panel and it covers annual,alary policy employees as well as employees on the management and

,pecialit schedule. Blue Cros/Bllue Shield administers both the salary policy medical plan and the annual trades and labor medical plan and makes inter.

pretalion-; of benefits affecting employees covered by these plans. Additional information about the medical plans i, provided in the following documents:

"VA Code Illl BrNlFIItIS,Mi')ICAI.

TVA instruction IIINErifI S, MEDICAl., Salary Policy, Annual (ERM Chapter 437)

Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement 15 General Agreements (Between IVA and the Tennessee Valley Trades and Labor Council covering annual employees)

TVA Instruction PM 3 BENErl rs, MEDICAl. AND DENTAI., Transfer Employee booklet, Medical Plmai for Annual Salary Policy lriiplnyets Employee booklet, Medical feofils Plan for Annual Tradec and Inlvar Ein.

Ploye.s A

Eligibility. Generally, the medical plans are available to full-time, ac tive employees. Part-time salary policy employees who work 16 or more hours per week are alo eligible. Complete rules for eligibility for individual and family coverage are set forth in the appropriate docu ment cited above.

11 Cost. Annual negotiations between 1 VA and the Panel and Council determine the amount to be paid by employees. The I VA Board deter mines the portion of the cost that is paid by non-represented employ ees. Employees pay their portion through payroll deductions.

C.

Enrollment. Enrollment is voluntary, but eligible employees must en roll within 30 days of their eligibility. After that, applications must include a health statement for the employee and for each covered faim ily member. Enrollment can be rejected. If an employee's spouse has medical coverage, TVA medical coverage may be deferred. If coverage has been deferred and the spouse's covcerge ends through divorce, death, or termination of employment, the TVA employee may apply for T1 coverage under IVA's medical plan regardless of health conditions If J) the application is made within 30 days of the date the other coverage N

terminates.

f N.s t.

0 40 (0

CO D.

Changing enrollments. An employee may change from individual to family coverage if a new application is submitted within 30 days of marriage or the date of obtaining a dependent. After this date, applica.

lions will need to be accompanied by a health statement for any cov ered dependent and the requested change will be subject to the review and approval of the plan administrator. Changes from family to indi vidual coverage can generally be made at any time unless the employee is participating in the Before-Tax Payment Plan. (See section 11 of this chapter for details )

E.

Termination of coverage. Coverage terminates at the end of the month in which employment ends. A terminated employee may remain in the group plan for up to three months after termination by paying the full monthly contributions in advance. Your human resource officer an tell you more about this option. Retirees may continue coverage through the Retirement System until they are eligible for Medicare. Contact the Retirement System for more information about this option.

G.

Conversion. Under both plans, an employee or covered dependent whose coverage terminates may convert to a standard direct pay con tract by contacting Blue Cross/Blue Shield within V days after group plan coverage ends. This will be a special contract and it will not pro vide the same coverage as is available under the active plan. The rates and benefits will be different.

itI.

riling a claim. Employees and their health care providers are responsi ble for submitting claims. Employees file claims with Blue Crom,;/Blue Shield in Chattanooga or Birmingham (depending on employee's state of enrollment or the state of the provider).

Leave without pay (LWOP). Employees can retain medical plan cover age while on LWOP by making arrangements to pay the cost of the entire monthly contribution In advance.

1.

If an employee is on LWOP due to a service connected diability, "IVA will pay its portion of the employee's contribution rate for up to 12 months.

2.

If an employee is on LI.WOI' due to a non-work-related disabilily or illness, he/she may be able to continue coverage under the plan for up to six months at no cost to the employee. The employee's vice president must approve such continuation of coverage and the employee's human resource officer must properly notify Pay roll Operations in Knoxville in advance.

I

(

BENEFITS V.

Most all hourly trades and labor employees have medical insurance and pension benefits provided by the craft health and welfare, and pension funds. Through negotiations with the Council, TVA has agreed to contrib ute to various hourly pension and health and welfare funds. A Board of Trustees administers these funds; TVA does not participate In the admini.

stralion of these funds but TVA employees may serve as trustees for these funds. Eligibility for coverage and benefits are determined by the rules established for each fund. A listing of lite funds and their administrators is contained in TVA Instruction PM 3 PENSION FUNDS, Directory.

VI.

Life Insurance Life Insurance is available through the rederal Employees' Group Life Insur ance (rEGLi) program. Employees may elect either basic or optional cover age. Basic coverage includes accidental death and dismemberment coverage which may be Increased by election of an option. Other available options are outlined in the employee booklet. Details about the program are contained in the following documents:

Employee booklec, A Descriplion and CtrlifIcalion of Enrollmenl in the FEGLI Program (SF 2817A)

ERM Chapter 409, BENEFITS, INSURANCE, LIrE A.

Eligibility. Most TVA employees are eligible to enroll. Your human resource officer or administrative officer can answer enrollment ques lions for you.

B.

Cost. TVA and participating employees share in the cost of the plan as provided for In the law. Exact costs are listed in the employee booklet.

C.

Enrollment and waiver of coverage. Eligible employees are automati cally covered for basic insurance for the first 31 days of eligibility unless they waive coverage. All eligible employees are required to complete an SF 2817 to either elect or waive insurance coverage.

D.

Termination of coverage. Generally, coverage cea-es upon termination of employment. I lowever, benefits (except accidental death or dismem berment) are paid if an employee or covered family member dies within 31 days of termination.

E, Conversion. An employee may apply for a direct-pay life insurance policy upon termination from TVA. The application and first premium payment must be filed within 31 days of termination.

F.

riling a claim. The human resource officer and Retirement Services assists the beneficiary in filing a claim when an employee dies. ERM "Chapter 409, BENEFITS, INSURANCE, LIFE contains detailed Instruc tions about obtaining a claim form and filing a claim with the Office of rederal Employees' Croup Life Insurance.

t. I.

I..

'4,:

b

(.jm

(jI frITS G.

Leave without pay (LWOP). Basic coverage continues without cost for a total of 12 months of nonpay status. There are special provisions for continuation of coverage when an employee Is in nonpay status due to a service-connecled Injury or illness. There are also options available for retirees to continue coverage.

VII.

Pension and Health and Welfare funds for hourly trades and labor employ ees are addressed in section V of this chapter.

VIII. Severance Pay Severance Pay is negoliated between TVA and the Panel and Council. It is available to full-time annual salary policy employees and full-time annual operating and maintenance trades and labor employees who satisfy the eligi bility requirements set forth in their respective negotiated agreements. (See Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-10:0 and General Agree ments (Annual Operating and Maintenance), Supplementary Schedules A-VII and B-VIl.

A.

The same provisions that apply to Salary Policy employees are also applied to employees on the manage and specialist schedule.

B.

To initiate payment of severance pay, Ihe employee's human resource officer completes a form TVA 8195, 'Authori7alion of Severance Pay for Salary Policy Annual Employee,* and submits'it to the Employee Ac counting Department in Knoxville.

IX.

Social Security TVA and Its employees are subject to the Social Security Act. TVA employees who are members of the Civil Service Retirement System entering civil service (non-TVA) positions on or after January 1, 1984 are also subject to the Act.

A.

Covered employees are required to pay Social Security tax (rICA) through payroll deductions and TVA is required to pay an equal amount into the system for each employee.

B.

If you change your name after establishing a social security number, the new name should be reported to your TVA payroll office or the nearest office of the Social Security Administration. Local Social Security Ad ministration offices can supply the form SS-5 for this purpose.

C.

Employees should contact their local Social Security Administration Office to get information about the benefits which may be applicable in his/her particular situation.

49

BENEFITS X.

Travel and Relocation A.

Current annual employees, new appointees to annual positions, indi viduals coming to TVA from other government agencies, or employees with reemployment rights after military duty who have a change of official duty station are eligible for reimbursement of travel and trans portation expenses as authorized by their employing organization.

These benefits Include:

I.

Mileage allowances for use of private automobiles in traveling to the new location;

2.

Per diem allowances for the employee while en route between the old and new duty station;

3.

Travel and transportation expenses incurred in looking for a resi dence;

4.

Subsistence whilein temporary quarters; S.

Allowance for real estate transactions;

6.

Transportation and storage (temporary and nontemporary) of household goods; and

7.

Tax liability incurred as a result of relocation expenses.

B3. Relocation Services Program. Under certain conditions an annual em ployee or new appointee may be eligible to use the services of a reloca lion services contractor to assist in the sale of his/her primary resi dence. Additional Information about this program is available from your human resource officer.

C.

Relocation Incentive. A one-time 'bonus' payment may be paid to some candidates who fill critical positions within TVA which are diffi cult to fill. The payment must be requested by the candidate/employ ee's organization and approved by the TVA Board of Directors. Infor mation about this recruiting tool is available from your human resource manager.

D.

Transportation allowances for certain trades and labor craft union mem bers have been negotiated between TVA and the Council. See General Agreement (Construction), Supplementary Schedule IH-Xi[I and Gen 71 eral Agreement (Temporary I lourly Operating, Maintenance and Modi I)fication),

Supplementary Schedule T-X.

-'tTllS K-)

KJ (I

0

'I

(

0 I

Xl.

Unemployment Compensation.

Unemployment compensation benefits are available lo former TVA employ ees who satisfy eligibility criteria established by the state*in which they last worked. The amount of weekly benefits varies by state. A local State Em ployment Security Administration (SESA) office's decision concerning benefits may be appealed by either TVA or the claimant. Detailed information about TVA's policy and procedures regarding unemployment compensation are in ERM Chapter 485, UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

A.

Unemployment compensation is a direct cost to TVA, so it is important that IVA not pay unwarranted claims. Supervisor's are reeponnihle for documenting the exact reason(s) for an employee's termination.

B.

'Ihe employee is responsible for applying for unemployment compensa.

lion at the local SESA office. Terminated employees are given the nec essary forms to file a claim with the SESA.

C.

Eligibility requirements include:

t.

Must be unemployed or in a nonpay statu% for an extended period.

2.

Must file a claim and register for work at a local SESA office.

3.

Must have certain amount of qualified earning-during the past period as specified by State law.

4.

Must be able to work, be available for suitable work, and continue to seek work from the local SESA office as directed.

5.

Must have not quit the Job voluntarily without good caus: or not been discharged for misconduct connected with the work.

6.

Must not refuse a suitable Job without good caue. If a person refuses TVA's offer of another Job during the eligibility perimd for benefit-, TVA notifies the SI'SA.

D.

The Employee Accounting D~epartment in Knoxville serve% a-; the cen tral clearing point for all communicatioin-with local S.SA offict.s about claim-.

Xli.

Workers' compensation is provided for all TVA employees who sustain Injuries of Illness that are related to the performance of their official dutles.

Administrative services in your organization or your human resource officer can give advice about workers' compensation and normally maintain a sup ply of forms needed to administer this program. More detailed infornmtion is Included in the teallh and Safety chapter.

XIII.

Education benefits are discussed in greater detail in the Trainingi and De velolpment chapter.

51

. BENEFITS K)

LEAVE All full-time and part-time employees who are paid at annual rates are subject to the federal leave laws and regulation. See TVA Instruction Ill LEAVE (ERM Chapter 621) for a detailed description of annual, sick, ad.

ministrative, and leave without pay leave benefits. Family Leave Is detailed in ERM Chapter 627 and the Leave Transfer Program Is described in ERM Chapter 629.

II.

Administrative leave is an approved absence for an officially recognized activity or service related to TVA, the public service, or public interest.

"Examples of administrative leave Include court leave, military leave, law enforcement leave, and voting and registration leave. There are many con ditions which must be met before administrative leave for any of these pur poses can be approved. Administrative leave is charged to the organiza.

tion's work account.

ill.

Annual leave is earned based upon the length of federal service: Full-time employees with less than 3 years of federal creditable service earn 4 hours4.62963e-5 days <br />0.00111 hours <br />6.613757e-6 weeks <br />1.522e-6 months <br /> per pay period (13 days per year); those with between 3 and 15 years service earn 6 hours6.944444e-5 days <br />0.00167 hours <br />9.920635e-6 weeks <br />2.283e-6 months <br /> per pay period (20 days per year); and those with 15 years earn 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> per pay period (26 days per year). The current appointment must be for more than 90 days in order to earn leave. Leave earhed during any pay period may not be taken and is not credited to the employee's account until after the end of that pay period. The accrual rate for part-time em ployees Is similar to full-time employees but in proportion to the hours actually worked.

6...,

t C90

(.

0 A.

The Annual and Sick Leave Act of 1951 gave federal employees the right to annual leave but gave federal agencies the right to decide when leave may be taken. The supervisor has authority to grant leave. The supervisor may schedule leave and may deny requests for leave except In certain instances regarding sick and administrative leave. Ihe super.

visor ensdres that the employee's leave request is covered by a suffi cient leave balance and the form TVA 6 i-properly prepared.

1.

Employees should apply for annual leave as far in advance as pon sible. It may be requested verbally or by completing a form IVA

6.

2.

If annual leave is requested and approved to bI used in the event or illness because the employee does not have sick leave available, the supervisor may request evidence of incapacity in the same manner as for sick leave.

53 Ii IE 52

LEAVE

3.

The maximum balance of annual leave that can be carried over from one leave year to the next is 240 hours0.00278 days <br />0.0667 hours <br />3.968254e-4 weeks <br />9.132e-5 months <br />. lours which are forfeited are credited to the employee's TVA retirement account if the employee is a member of the TVA Retirement System.

a.

Restored leave in excess of the annual 240 hour0.00278 days <br />0.0667 hours <br />3.968254e-4 weeks <br />9.132e-5 months <br /> maximum Is credited to a separate restored leave account. The amount of restored leave does not in any way increase or change an employee's normal maximum ceiling of annual leave that can be carried over into d new year.

b.

Forfeited annual leave may only be restored If the employee's annual leave was previously scheduled and approved by the supervisor, but critical work demands required leave to be canceled. Several procedural requirements must be satisfied also and they are described in TVA Instruction III LEAVE (ERM Chapter 621)

C.

1 VA does not require that employees use annual leave in conjunction with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I lowever, supervisors are to approve annual leave requests by all employees who do not per form critical functions. The negotiated agreements also include provi sions for requiring employees to u-;e annual leave under certain condi tions. See the chapter on Work Schedules for more details about these situations.

D.

Annual leave may be donated to other employees who are approved recipients under TVA's Leave Transfer Program. See section Vill of this chapter for more information.

IV.

Leave without pay (LWOP) Is an approved absence without pay requested by an employee. Generally, LWOP Is granted at management's discretion based on the best interests of TVA as long as there is a reasonable expecta tion that the employee will return to work. Employee's may request and be granted LWOP regardless of length of service or whether they have sick or annual leave available.

A.

In certain situations involving disabled veterans and military reservists or National Guard member,;, LWOP must be granted.

-rn

-n*

B.

LWOP cannot be imposed on an employee as a penalty and should not be confu-.ed with Absent Without Leave (AWOL) which is charged for C) unauthorized absence and does not require employee consent.

0 C.

An employee must request LWOP In writing (using form TVA 6).

.1)

I.WOP for 30 days or less may be approved by any supervisor who is authori7ed to approve a form iVA 6.

1.

Form TVA 9880 is required for more than 30 days of LWOP and can only be approved by designated officials in each organi7ation.

K)

(..

.v.

(A, (S

9,.,

(.

A v N

2.

Any periods of LWOP should be reported immediately by tele phone to the Employee Accounting Department for time reporting purposes.

D.

Employees should consult their human resource office for detailed in formation regarding the Impact that LWOP may have on their benefits.

E.

Employees on LWOP are subject to reduction in force during their ab sence to the same extent as if they were in pay status.

Sick Leave Is earned by all annual employees at the rate of 4 hours4.62963e-5 days <br />0.00111 hours <br />6.613757e-6 weeks <br />1.522e-6 months <br /> per pay period (13 days/year). There Is no maximum on the number of hours of sick leave that can be carried over each year. Part-time employees accrue sick leave In proportion to hours worked.

A.

Sick leave is to be used when an employee: cannot perform duties be.

cause of sickness or injury; receives medical, dental, or optical exanina lion or treatment; is required to give care and attendance to a member of his/her immediate family who is under quarantine with a communi cable disease; or could Jeopardize the health of others by being at work because of exposure to a quarantinable communicable disease.

1.

The communicable diseases for which sick leave may be approved are limited to those specified by presidential Executive Order (cholera, diphtheria, plague, and several others)

2.

The Annual and Sick Leave Act of 1951 specifies that sick leave cannot be used for other absences.

B.

Application for sick leave is made as soon as possible on the first day of absence by having the employee or the supervisor complete a form TVA 6. The employee's signature is obtained as soon as practicable or upon return to duty at the discretion of the supervisor. Regardless of the duration of the employee's absence, the supervisor may request that the employee upon returning to work complete the back of the form TVA 6 or provide other evidence of his/her incapacity for work.

C.

Sick leave does not have lonbe approved, and an employee's leave re cord or work habits may indicate that the supervisor should check into requests for sick leave more thoroughly before approving it. However, supervisors should be consistent in how they administer sick leave approval throughout the work unit.

D.

The supervisor's signature on the upper portion of the form is approval to charge the absence to sick leave, subject to receipt of evidence of incapacity acceptable to the supervisor. If such evidence is not re ceived, the supervisor may, as appropriate, charge the absence to some other type of leave or record it as unapproved.

I

LEAVE Vt.

Advancing Leave A.

Advance annual leave

1.

An employee who has an appointment for more than 90 days in an annual position may be granted advance annual leave, if employ ment In the position is expected to continue long enough for the employee to pay back the leave borrowed.

2.

If it is known that the employee will not return to duty, advance leave cannot be granted.

3.

The maximum amount that can be advanced is the amount of leave the employee will accrue during the remainder of the leave year or that will accrue during the employee's appointment, whlchever is less.

B.

Advance sick leave I.

An employee with an Indefinite, prepermanent, or permanent ap pointment who has used all his or her accumulated and accrued sick leave may be advanced sick leave not to exceed 30 basic work.

days. An employee on a temporary appointment may be ad vanced sick leave up to the amount which will accrue through the ending date c~f the appointment.

2.

Sick leave is advanced only for cases of serious illness or injury, and leave cannot be advanced unless employment in the annual position is expected to continue long enough for the leave to be paid back.

3.

Sick leave may be granted to an employee regardless of whether the employee has annual leave available.

VII.

Family leave Is available to help employees take time away from work without pay following the birth of a child or the placement of a child for adoption or foster care with the employee, or if the employee needs to be off work to help care fora seriously ill family member. Although family leave is a form of LWOP, the employee can maintain benefit coverage at the same rates as If he/she were working. Any full-time annual TVA employee with one year of current continuous service Is allowed up to 10 weeks of full-lime unpaid family leave during any 24-month period. The family

"(-I leave policy Is described In detail In ERM Chapter 627.

Vill.

TVA's Leave Transfer Program allows employees to donate annual leave to other employees who have been approved to receive donations because they are faced with a prolonged medical emergency. To qualify as a recipi ent an employee must have a medical emergency that will cause him/her to be away from work without available paid leave for at least 80 hours9.259259e-4 days <br />0.0222 hours <br />1.322751e-4 weeks <br />3.044e-5 months <br />. Em ployees who are approved to be recipients must exhaust all available (in cluding advanced) annual leave (and sick leave, if appropriate) before they can use leave donated to them. Details about the program are contained In ERM Chapter 629. Forms for participating in the program either as a recipi.

ent or donor are available from your human resource officer.

I.

IX.

Unapproved absence is NOT a form of leave. It is an absence without ap proved leave. Anytime that an employee is not at work during his/her scheduled time and you have not previously approved a request for some form of leave, the employee should be placed on unapproved absence (also referred to as AWOL-absent without leave) until such time as you retroac tively approve the use of leave to cover the absence.

X.

Leave Control and Abuse A.

The supervisor is responsible for seeing that employees use their leave to TVA's best interest while giving consideration to their needs. You are responsible for seeing that leave is not abused.

B.

If you suspect a leave abuse problem, document the individual inci dents to help you decide if there really is a problem. Some symptoms of leave abuse Include:

Using too much sick leave; "0 Sick leave always occurring on Monday or Friday or tagged on to a holiday; 9

A pattern of sick leave usage such as every Wednesday morning:

No, or very little~accrual of annual or sick leave; Requesting annual leave with no advance notice; Calling in frequently with excuw.es for being late:

Unapproved absence.

C.

Discuss the problem with your employee. There are guidelines about coaching and counseling an employee in the Managing Individual Per formance chapter. Your supervisor and human resource officer are also available to help you with this activity.

D.

If verbal discussions don't resolve the problem, written notice of the problem may be appropriate. This is typically done by issuing the em ployee a 'leave control letter' which places conditions upon an em~ploy ee's requesting and being granted leave. Your human resource officer can provide guidance and samples to help you with this.

57

.1 F

LEAVE K)

E.

Leave abuse cannot be dealt with If you keep approving the employee's request to take or use leave. If the Justification for sick leave doesn't satisfy you, don't grant It. If you can't spare the employee because of work demands, or If the employee didn't give you enough advance notice to properly schedule a replacement, don't approve annual leave.

If the employee's pattern of leave Is a problem, don't approve It.

'4i' K0

'4 I..

(I

(

RRETIREMENT RETIP

• Ni Membership in the TVA Retirement System (TVARS) is required for full time and part-time annual positions of 16 hours1.851852e-4 days <br />0.00444 hours <br />2.645503e-5 weeks <br />6.088e-6 months <br /> or more a week. Employ tees who come to TVA from a position covered by the Civil Service Retire ment System (CSRS) or by the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) remain covered by these programs If they are employed by TVA as a federal transfer. The TVA Retirement System has four components: a pen.

sion, an annuity, a savings plan, and a 401(k) plan. The savings and 401(k) plans are optional for employees. TVA pays the full cost of the pension and the employee pays the full cost of the annuity.

A.

Annuity. Each member contributes a percentage of their salary through payroll deduction to their annuity. The employee chooses the contribu lion rate and whether the rate applies to base pay or total pay (includes overtime, etc.). The standard rate is 6% of salary; the minimum rate is 3% of salary up to the Social Security earnings base and 6% of salary in excess of that base. Employees choose whether annuity contributions are made to the fixed fund or to the variable annuity fund, or both.

B.

Savings Plan. Members can invest in mutual funds by purchasing eq uilty in the Fidelity Trend Fund, Unit Fund, Puritan Fund or Money Market Fund. Members can contribute through payroll deductions, cash, or transfers from other eligible funds in the Savings Plan. With drawals from the Savings Plan have certain limitations.

C.

40l(k) Savings and Deferral Retirement Plan. Employees can defer part of'their salary from federal income tax payments by making contribu tions to this plan. No federal income tax is paid on contributions to the plan or earnings as long as the money remains in the plan. When money is withdrawn, income taxes will be paid on both contributions and earnings.

1.

Members can borrow against the value of their funds on the 401(k) under certain circumstances without Jeopardizing tax deferment.

2.

All cr part of salary deferral contributions to the 401(k) may be invested in either the Guaranteed Investment Contracts Trust Fund, the Fidelity Equity-Income Fund, or the Fidelity Magellan Fund.

3.

Contributions are made via payroll deductions. Employees may not contribute more than 20% of their annual salary or a limit which is determined annually by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Further restrictions regarding the percentage that may be contributed are determined annually by the IRS and are based on an employee's annual earnings.

59 0

0 0

0 I

L_..

RETIREMENT

RETIREMENT L

II.

Eligibility for Retirement. There Is no mandatory retirement age. 'Nor real' retirement Is at age 65.

A.

'Early' or 'immediate' retirement is available to any member:

1.

Who is attained age 60 and over, regardless of length of service; or

2.

Who is attained age 55 through 59 with at least five years of credit able service; or

3.

Who is any age under 60 with at least five years of creditable serv ice who stops being an employee through no act or fault of the member (i.e., reduction in force).

B.

Forfeited annual leave and unused sick leave may apply toward retire ment credit fot determining creditable service for benefit eligibility and amount. Leave is counted hour for hour for the first 1000 hours0.0116 days <br />0.278 hours <br />0.00165 weeks <br />3.805e-4 months <br /> and two hours for each hour in excess of 1000 hours0.0116 days <br />0.278 hours <br />0.00165 weeks <br />3.805e-4 months <br />.

C.

Disability retirement Is available to members with at least five years of creditable service. The Retirement System Board determines a mem ber's eligibility for disability retirement. An application must be made to the System Board while the member is still in service or not later than 60 days after the member ceases to be in service.

1Il.

Retirement System Benefits A.

TVARS benefits for both normal and early retirement consist of the following:

1.

An annuity which Is the actuarial equivalent of the member's con tributions with Interest; and

2.

A pension which is based on the member's age, average base pay during the highest three consecutive year, and number of years of creditable service; and

3.

If applicable, a disability retirement allowance consisting of an annuity which is the actuarial equivalent of the members accumu lated contributions and a pension computed according to the Re tirement System Rules; and

4.

A death benefit if the member dies in service. The member's bene ficiary of record is entitled to apply for a return of the member's "11 contributions plus Interest and a death benefit provided by TVA's

6) contributions which is equal to 50% of the member's annual salary rate In effect on the date of death plus 5% for each year of credit C(1 able service.

K

(

62.'

• IV.

J(:

f xw REIFIR

-"T

g.

Members may consider benefit options which include a deferred allow ance, survivor options, early retirement, optional survivor benefits upon death in service, and the level income plan.

C.

At time of retirement, a member may withdraw part or all of his/her accumulated contributions made in excess of 6% or the standard rate, whichever is greater. At this time of retirement, a member may also withdraw all of his/her accumulated contributions.

Retirement Benefits upon Termination A.

A member under age 60 who is terminated from a covered position with six months of service or tess receives a refund of his/her accumu lated contributions.

B.

A member who has more than 6 months but less than 5 years of service is eligible for a similar refund or the contributions may be left in the System for not longer than 5 years, accumulating interest until with drawn.

C.

A member who leaves TVA with vested benefits but who is not eligible for an Immediate retirement benefit is permitted to withdraw his or her contributions plus interest without surrendering the deferred pension.

The deferred pension is surrendered if all or any portion of creditable service is used to establish benefits credits under another retirement plan for federal government employees.

(/

61 I

RETIREMENT

(

TRAP TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT I.

I.

C C

I "V

TVA's employee training and development policies encourage employees to participate in a variety of training and development experiences both within and outside the agency. These policies are described in detail in ERM Chapter 513, EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT, Occupational Qualifying Training; TVA Instruction III EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT, Outside TVA (ERM Chapter 519); and the Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agree ment 17. The General Agreements covering annual and hourly operating and maintenance employees and construction employees also contain provi sions for apprenticeship and other training programs.

A.

Definitions I.

Training is a structured activity to provide employees information or the opportunity to build skills to make them better at perform ing their current or future jobs.

2.

Education Is provided by schools and colleges and usually results in academic credit and perhaps a degree.

3.

Development activities are outside-of-the-classroom opportunities which promote individual growth and experience.

B.

Training offered within TVA either by our corporate Human Resources Development training staff or at the Group or Operations level in cludes:

1.

Technical training programs that prepare employees to perform tasks that comprise part of a specific job.

2.

Developmental courses which are directed toward skills that are generic to the performance of many lobs as opposed to a specific lob.

3.

Occupational qualifying programs that prepare employees to per form all the duties of a specific job, usually at the entry level.

C.

An employee may be reimbursed for educational expenses of courts taken outside TVA if the academic course is job related or if the em ployee is enrolled in an academic program that is related to a present or future TVA need. The policy and procedure related to this type of training is discussed fully in TVA Instruction iII EMPLOYEE DEVEL OPMENT, Outside TVA (ERM Chapter 519).

1.

Approval for reimbursement must be given before the employee begins the course work and Is not paid until after the employee satisfactorily completes the course. rorm TVA 13041 is used to obtain approval and request reimbursement.

2.

Most employees who enroll in academic programs do so on their own time or on an adjusted work schedule which allows them to maintain their full-time employment. Articles of Agreement, Sup plementary Agreement S-3:C-7, discusses modification of work schedules to permit outside study.

I

"RA!NING The supervisor Is primarily responsible for overseeing the Individual devel opment of employees.

A.

For salary policy and management schedule employees, there are basi cally rive steps that the supervisor and employee follow In carrying out this responsibility for Individual development.

1.

Assess the current Job the employee is In and determine the skills required to perform that Job.

2.

Assess the skills and abilities of the employee in that job and see how he/she 'stacks up' against the Job requirements. Determine how well the employee performs the required skills and where there is room for development.

3.

After determining the employee's strengths and weaknesses, the supervisor and employee plan for de.elopment. This plan may include a rotational assignment, special project assignment, addi tional education, training available through TVA, training available through outside sources.

4.

Carry out the development activilies.

S.

Employee should demonstrate enhanced performance after partici paling in training and development activities B.

Training programs for trades and labor employees include craft appren ticeship programs and operator training for hydro, fossil, and nuclear plants, and substations. Trainees in all these programs are expected to progress satisfactorily through Ihe program. If you supervise appren tices and operator trainees, It is your responsibility to bring employees along through the formal training program. The supervisor can en hance their training experience by:

0 WK!)(

WORK SCHEDULES

'S.

(1>*)

KU TVA has the authority to define work schedules. All employees, except Intermittent employees, are notified of their schedule by appointment pa.

penr, bulletins, or some other appropriate means. For part-time employees, a copy of the work schedule is given to the Employee Accounting Depart ment in addition to the local payroll reporting office each time the schedule is changed. All employees are to be at work as scheduled.

IT.

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) applies to TVA employees. This Act places all TVA employees in one of two categories: exempt or non-exempt.

A.

Nonexempt means that the employee is covered by the rLSA and must be paid at least time and one-half for hours worked in excess of 40 in one week. Generally, employees In the ED, SB, SE, SF, SX, and SG schedules and trades and labor employees are nonexempt.

B.

Exempt employees do not have to be paid overtime for time worked in excess of 40 hours4.62963e-4 days <br />0.0111 hours <br />6.613757e-5 weeks <br />1.522e-5 months <br /> in a week. Generally, employees on the manager and --peciali.

schedule, EA, MC, SA, SC, and SD schedules are exempt.

Ill.

Rotating their assignments; Having frequent discussions on performance Rotating them among journeyman to learn different approaches; Encouraging them by praising things they do right.

Organizational development, also known as organizational effectiveness, Involves applying the same process of development to your work group that you use with individuals. The Human Resources Development staff In Knoxville can assist you and your organization in assessing its strengths and weaknesses and developing a plan to enhance the group's effective

,n ess. Contact yourhuman resource officer foradditional information about organizational development.

eli)

Employees may be designated to work either full-time, part-time, or inter mittently. The regular work schedule provisions for represented employees are outlined in the applicable negotiated agreements referenced below.

A.

Salary policy work schedule provisions are discussed in the Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-3:A. (Addressing lunch peri ods, rest periods, time spent reporting for physical examinations, modi fication of the work schedules for outside study, time spent in travel, and transfer of official station.) TVA ERM Chapter 631, WORK SCHEDULES, Annual Employees, discusses work schedule provisions regarding excu.ed absence for professional license or certificate exami nations, training, and fund raising. Generally, the same work schedule provisions apply to non-represenlcd and manager and specialist sched ule employees.

I.

Full-time (Annual). Scheduled to work a 40-hour workweek made up of 5 workdays of 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> each within the workweek of Monday through Sunday. Days when work is not scheduled are "nonworkdays." If feasible, Sunday is designated a nonworkday and nonworkdays in a scheduled week are scheduled to fall on consecutive days.

2.

Part-time (Annual). Scheduled in advance to work one or more days a week, up to 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> a clay, and less than 40 hours4.62963e-4 days <br />0.0111 hours <br />6.613757e-5 weeks <br />1.522e-5 months <br /> per week.

Scheduled hours do not have lo be the same for each day.

3 Inlermillent (I lourly) Not regularly scheduled; called as needed 65 1.l

SCHEDS B.

Trades and labor employees

1.

-Hours of work for annual operating and maintenance employees are outlined In Supplementary Schedules A-VI and B-VI. Regular hours of work are to be bullelined and are not normally to exceed 8 consecutive hours (not counting scheduled nonpaid periods) in a 24 hour2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> period or 40 hours4.62963e-4 days <br />0.0111 hours <br />6.613757e-5 weeks <br />1.522e-5 months <br /> In a workweek.

2.

Hours of work for hourly operating, maintenance and modification employees are in Supplementary Schedule T-V.

3.

Hours of work for construction employees are in Supplementary Schedule H-VI. Straight-time workweek is generally 5 consecu live 8-hour days, Monday through rriday.

C.

Excess work periods

1.

Extended periods of work which may or may not include overtime and which are excessive are not beneficial to the employees in volved nor to the agency. Employees so scheduled have diminish ing efficiency; from the standpoint of the agency, it is neither a sound business practice nor evidence of good planning.

2.

TVA's policy defines excessive work periods are defined as fol lows:

a.

As a general practice: More than 60 hours6.944444e-4 days <br />0.0167 hours <br />9.920635e-5 weeks <br />2.283e-5 months <br /> of work in a 7-day period; or more than 12 consecutive days work: or more than 220 hours0.00255 days <br />0.0611 hours <br />3.637566e-4 weeks <br />8.371e-5 months <br /> total work in a 4-week period.

b.

In emergency-(tornadoes, etc.) or outage situations: More than 84 hours9.722222e-4 days <br />0.0233 hours <br />1.388889e-4 weeks <br />3.1962e-5 months <br /> of work In a 7-day period; or more than 12 consecutive days of work; or more than 288 hours0.00333 days <br />0.08 hours <br />4.761905e-4 weeks <br />1.09584e-4 months <br /> total work In a 4-week period.

3.

It is the responsibility of the vice president of each organization to ascertain whether there are excessive work periods (as defined above) In that organization. Furthermore, where Ihere are exces sive work periods, it is the res.ponsibilily of the vice president to develop and Implement a plan to reduce the amount of work scheduled to acceptable levels.

T1

) Flexible, Inflexible, and combination schedules are outlined in the Articles D of Agreement (S-3:A) for salary policy annual positions.

A.

Flexible schedule. For those full-time employees who have enough freedom in planning their work ihat they can take off during the basic "workweek with their supervisor's approval to make up for time that they have had to work outside their regular work schedule. This time off is called 'compensatory time.' Generally, employees who are ex empt may utilize compensatory time.

WK SCI I I.

Inflexible schedule. ior thos.e full-time employees who normally don't have discretion to change their regularly scheduled work hours. Parl time employees are always on an inflexible schedule.

(.;'

(2

& 'K.

h C.

Combination flexible/inflexible. Maybe used for certain exempt posi tions where unusual work conditions exist and it Is not feasible to take compensatory time off for all the time worked outside the basic work week.

V.

Flexitime and alternative work schedules are basically the rearranging of an employee's regular S-day, 40-hour schedule in a manner consistent with the FLSA. Each TVA organization is responsible for establishing its own plan and gaining approval for the plan from the Panel through the Labor Rela tions staff. There are basically two types of flexitlime plans as described below. Additional information is available from your human resource offi cer.

A.

Under a flexitime plan, an employee still works five days a week and eight hours each day, but work hours are modified to begin work ear lier and leave earlier or to begin work later and leave later. This is the most common form of flexitime. Most plan, give hours between which an employee's 'core' hours must be worked. Approval of such sched ules for individual employees is up to the discretion or the supervisor.

B.

Under an alternative work schedule, an employee works 40 hours4.62963e-4 days <br />0.0111 hours <br />6.613757e-5 weeks <br />1.522e-5 months <br /> in a week but over fewer than 5 days ("compressed' workweek). Before this type or work schedule can be applied to salary policy represented employees, the Panel and TVA jointly agree to waive the rlSA provi sion regarding overlime pay for work in excess of 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> in a day; overtime pay for work on scheduled workdays; and observation of holidays. Salary policy excluded employees follow the same provision as the represented employees. Use of this type of plan for manager and specialist employees requires the approval of the requesting organiza tion, Finance, and the Vice President, Human Resources c7

WKSCHEDS VI.

Holidays are established by federal statute or Executive Order. Other days are considered as holidays when Congress or the President orders an excuse from work for federal employees. The Articles of Agreement, Supplemen tary Agreement S-3:1-2 gives more information about observing holidays that fall on scheduled nonworkdays. Observation of holidays for employ.

eeso n odd or rotating shifts can be confusing. In such cases, you should consult your payroll office to confirm designated holidays.

A.

Full-time annual salary policy, trades and labor, and manager and spe.

cialist schedule employees are paid for the following holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas.

1.

Part-time annual employees.receive their basic pay only when the day off for a holiday is the same as their scheduled workday.

However, if the holiday falls on a nonworkday Sunday, the follow Ing Monday is (he holiday.

2.

Intermilttent employees do not get paid for holidays unless they work on the day.

BI.

Trades and labor hourly employees do not receive pay but are given time off for holidays which are negotiated between TVA and the Coun cil.

1.

Hourly operating, maintenance, and modification employees ob serve the same holidays as annual trades and labor employees. If the hourly employee does not work on the holiday, he/she is not paid.

2.

Hourly construction employees observe the same holidays as an nual employee% except they do not observe Columbus Day, Marlin Luther King Day, and Washington's Birthday; the.e days are con sidered regular work days and are paid as straight time. If any holidays fall on a Sunday, the following day is regarded the official holiday. If the employee does not work on a holiday, he/she is not paid.

.11.

Premium pay is any pay in excess of the basic pay rate Including holiday, overtime, and premium pay. These situations are complex and supervisors should be familiar with the appropriate negotiated agreement provisions and consult their payroll officers, human resource officers, and refer to the S

Payroll Manual when questions arise.

(:

A.

Manager and specialist employees. Shift premiums and call back pay C:

are considered special pay Items and require approval of the requesting 0

organization, Finance, and the Vice President, Human Resources, prior W'

to implementation.

WK SC!!



(3Kg



0 c:

I

! i !

I B.

Salary policy employees (see Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement 4).

i.

Shift differential is available for inflexible employees scheduled to work evenings or nights. Employees in inflexible positions on scheduled shifts who work holidays or overtime get the shift dif ferential in addition to holiday or overtime pay.

2. 1 loliday pay is provided as follows:

a.

Employees on the inflexible schedule are paid straight-time rate plus an additional one and a half times the straight-time rate for work done on holidays that falls within the basic workweek. For work outside the basic workweek, the em ployee is paid at 2 and 1/2 times the straight-time rate.

b.

Employees on the flexible schedule generally get no extra pay for work on a holiday since that may receive compensatory lime off.

c.

Hourly salary policy employees are not paid unless they work on the holiday. If they work they get paid 2 times their hourly rate.

3.

Flexible schedule employees may receive additional pay for cal louts. (See Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-4:J )

4.

Overtime pay. Usually paid for work in excess of 40 hours4.62963e-4 days <br />0.0111 hours <br />6.613757e-5 weeks <br />1.522e-5 months <br /> during the week at the rate of I and 1/2 times the employee's basic hourly rate. Exceptions to this general rule are discussed at S-4.F of the Articles of Agreement.

5.

Other overtime situations. Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-4:11 requires prc-mium pay to inflexible schedule emjoloyees for work in excess of 8 hours9.259259e-5 days <br />0.00222 hours <br />1.322751e-5 weeks <br />3.044e-6 months <br /> in a 24-hour period, if a schedule is changed on less than 24 hours2.777778e-4 days <br />0.00667 hours <br />3.968254e-5 weeks <br />9.132e-6 months <br /> notice, or if an employee is recalled from annual leave.

6.

A premium of 25 percent of the straight-time rate is paid for a workday in a full-time employee's basic workweek that falls on a Sunday.

C.

Trades and labor annual operating and maintenance employees receive additional pay for holiday work, overtime, callouts, work in excess of 16 hours1.851852e-4 days <br />0.00444 hours <br />2.645503e-5 weeks <br />6.088e-6 months <br />, meal periods, and call-in from annual leave as outlined in Supplementary Schedules A-VI and B-VI D.

Trades and labor hourly operating, maintenance and modification em ployees receive additional pay in accordance with Supplementary Schedules T-V and II-VI

WKSCIIEDS

/111.

Compensatory lime may be available to those salary policy annual employ.

ees on the flexible schedule who are considered exempt under the FLSA.

(See section II of this chapter.) Generally, employees in the SA, EA, EC, SC, and SD schedules should be given compensatory time off if they are not given overtime pay for work outside their normal workweek. Each TVA organization determines the guidelines under which compensatory time may be taken. Compensatory time records should be maintained and requests to use compensatory time must be approved in advance of use by the employee's supervisor.

X.

Inclement weather or building emergencies may cause TVA to close facili.

ties and/or dismiss employees from work. The policy and procedures ad dressing this situation are covered in ERM Chapter 633, WORK SCHED.

ULES, Early Departure and Late Arrival.

A.

Bad weather/reporting to work. TVA's policy is to always open its facilities regardless of the weather. In no case will TVA close Is admin istrative and operations facilities due to weather. Hiowever, our policy does allow TVA to dismiss employees early in the event that Inclement weather makes traveling hazardous. Ifran employee wishes toIleave work early and there has not been a general dismissal, then the em ployee must request annual leave. A supervisor may excuse an em ployee's absence for up to the first 30 minutes of the workday when he/she Is convinced that the delay was due to conditions beyond the employee's control.

B.

Bad weather/interference with work If weather or other unforeseen conditions interfere with employees doing work:

1.

Salary policy and annual trades and laboi employees are assigned to do other work suitable to their qualifications. If such work is not available the employee may be placed on annual leave or re quest LWOP. See Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agree ment S-3:C-l and Cencral Agreements, Supplementary Sched ules A-VI:L and B-VI:L.

2.

1lourly trades and labor employees are 'dogged off' and are placed In a temporary nonwork/nonpay status while waiting for work to develop. See Supplementary Schedules If-VII:F and T:V-K.

TIi C.

Building emergencies. In the caqe of a breakdown in building services (heat, air conditioning, light) which makes it impos-lble for some or all employees to work, affected employees may be excused without charge to annual leave. If the situation extends beyond the first workday and TVA is unable to find alternate workspace, employee, may be required in take annual leave or request leave without pay.

(H..

.It WK SCO X.

Holiday closing policy. Employees who work in noncritical and noncon linuous TVA positions are encouraged to take annual leave during the Thanksgiving weekend and the week between Christmas day and New Year's Day. Employees without annual leave available may request LWOP or an advance of annual leave In order to be off work at these times.

(,N -A (k) 0 "71

WK SCHEDS PERFORM MANAGING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE I.

Employee performance Is formally documented using either the form TVA 3031, Employee Service Report, for salary policy represented employees, or the form TVA 13050, Employee Appraisal for Manager and Specialist Em ployees, or the form TVA 77, Personnel Action-Hourly TL.

II.

Six Responsibilities in Managing Performance A.

Assign work and communicate performance expectations. Clearly de.

t:., scribe what need, to be done, how it need-to be done, when it needs to be done, what it should look like when it is finished, and why it should be done.

B.

Continually and informally appraise performance. You should apprai'.e an employee's performance based on the standards originally commu nicated when the work was assigned.

V C.

Informally feed back the performance appraisal. Employees should receive frequent, informal feedback concerning performance. The for mal appraisal process should not be the first or only time that an em ployee is told about performance deficiencies or outstanding work.

D.

Use progressive procedures for correcting performance problems.

V '

Counseling is a good first step that will help you and the employee identify the causes of the problem. Some things to keep in mind when discussing performance problems include:

S.

Describe the problem in a friendly but serious manner.

Ask for the employee's help in solving the problem Discuss the causes of the problem.

Identify and write down possible solutions.

Decide on specific action to be taken by each of you.

Agree on a specific follow-up date.

E.

i'ormally appraise performance. The formal performance appraisal is uwed to summari7e and document the informal apprakals you have been feeding back to the employee,ll along ad well a-any progressive procedures you have had to follow.

p.

Reward meritorious performance. Good performance can be recog nized in a variety of ways, only one of which I-money. Interesting "0

Aassignment-and training and development opportunities are other C)0 ways in which a supervisor can reward good performance.

C) 0*

.P1 0

I

IERFORMANCE Form TVA 77 Is used by supervisors of hourly trades and labor employees to document performance. Hourly T&L employees do not receive annual performance appraisals and are not covered by any TVA-wlde formal, peri.

odic performance appraisal system..Job performance Is evaluated and noted on the form TVA 77 when a status change requires that It be Issued.

A.

The analysis of work performance required on the form should be stated in clear and definite terms that relate directly to the work as signed and support the overall rating given by the supervisor. Avoid vague, subjective terminology.

13.

It is very important that the duties performed be identified and evalu ated by the employee's immediate supervisor otherwiie the accuracy and validity of the appraisal may be compromied.

Form TVA 3031 Is used to evaluate performance of annual and hourly sal ary policy employees. Similar forms, TVA 3031A or 3031B, are used for some annual trades and labor employees In Resource Development. The philosophy underlying this appraisal process as well as the administrative process necessary to complete an appraisal properly are detailed in TVA Instruction iIl PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL, Service Report (ERM Chap.

ter 233) and the Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement 12.

A.

The form TVA 3031 reflects the performance of individual activities and work assignments during the previous performance period. The con tent of the form has been negotiated with the Panel and has been used in a formal similar to today's since the 1940's.

B.

The rating received by an employee on the forms TVA 3031,3031 A, or 3031B is used in calculating credit-for-performance for represented employees In the event of a reduction in force.

Form TVA 13050 is used to evaulate the performance of management and specialist schedule employees on an annual basis. The philosophy underly ing this appraisal process as well as the administrative process necessary to complete an appraisal properly are detailed in TVA Instruction Ill PER FORMANCE APPRAISAL, Manager and Specialist (ERM Chapter 231).

DISCC N

DISCIPLINE

!



()j. :9 I)

Supervisor's role in discipline cases A.

Provide leadership; set a good example for your employees B1.

Keep adequate documentation. Documentation may include work sam ples, file notes about counseling and coaching sessions, disciplinary discussions, formal performance appraisals and should be kept for all employees, not just poor performers.

C.

Properly identify your employee's problem.

1.

Poor performance is when the employee is having difficulty per forming the full range of his/her job duties in a satisfactory man ner. Poor performance is not a basis for disciplinary action.

2.

Misconduct Is when the employee violates the TVA standards of ethics or conduct or a law, regulation, or rule.

D.

Take action when a problem appears-don't avoid doing something.

The problem will not likely go away without your involvement.

E.

Know what the provisions of the applicable negotiated agreement say about discipline for your employees.

I.

Salary Policy S-8, Demotion, rurlough, Suspension S-9, Involuntary Termination (Except Reduction in Force)

2.

Trades and Labor A-VII, Termination, Demolion, and Suspension (for Annual Operating and Maintenance employees except those in TVA's Power Generating and Transmission Facilities)

-Vill Termination, Demotion, and Suspension,(for Annual Operating and Maintenance employees in TVA's Power Gen erating and Transmission racilities) 9i-VII, Termination, Demotion, Suspension, and Reduction in force (for Construction employees)

T-VI, Termination, Demotion, Suspension, and Layoff (for hourly operating, maintenance, and modificalion employees)

F.

Get help and advice from your supervisor, human resource officer, and the Labor Relations staff concerning what you should do. There are also other staff, available to help, like Medical Services, General Coun sel's office, and Public Safety Service.

"75 I

DISCIPLINE i

C.

Consider what disciplinary action to take. This will depend upon the exact circumstances that you are dealing with. Your human resource officer and corporate human resource staffs can assist you.

1.

In many situations, progressive discipline is appropriate. For rep resented employees progressive discipline steps may include coun seling, verbal and written warnings, and suspensions preceding termination. For manager, specialist and excluded schedule em ployees, suspensions are not used as part of the discipline process.

2.

Con;ider mitigating or aggravaling factors in determining disci pline.

3.

For misconduct kiues, TVA Code XIII EMPLOYEE MISCON DUCT, Discipline, lays out an appropriate range of diciplinary reactions for many type-of policy violations.

11I. Consider special circumstances like handicap status or physical and emotional factors which may have contributed to the problem.

I.

If you have a problem that Involves a handicapped employee, you may have a duty to make "reasonable accommodation' before takIng disciplinary action. This may mean modifying the work.sitc, adjusting work schedule%, or restructuring the lot; so a, nto create an environment or job within which the qualified handicapped employee can satisfactorily perform.

2.

TVA's Employee Assistance Program is run by Medical Services and is designed to help all employees and their families who are having personal problems in such areas a, marital or family prob lems, interpersonal, legal, financial, or emotional problems. A supervisor may refer an employee to the EAP, but it is only a re ferral-the employee may decide not to utili7e thi-service.

t.

Don't abuse disciplinary procedures by taking action based on per-ona?

animosity or for purposes of discriminating against the employee. Never take action against an employee because he/she has:

-r, 0

0 0

0

DISC, e>\\

.0 0

1.

Diclosed Information which is not legally protected and which the em ployee reasonably believes shows a violation of law, rule, regulation, or mismanagement, a waste of funds, an abuse of authority or specific dan ger to public health or mfety. (These employees are commonly referred to as "whistleblowers.')

2.

r'xerci-ed an apeal right (e.g., grievance, EEO or MSPB complaint).

3 Raied a legitimate concern or complaint through proper channel, or who is serving as a witness or representative in any such procedures li.

Certain disciplinary actions are considered advense actions and they require special attention and additional procedures. A reduction in pay or grade, a suspension for more than 14 days, a furlough for up to 30 days, or a termi nation are adverse actions if the person receiving the discipline is a prefer ence eligible employee.

A.

A preference eligible employee is one who is a veteran (as indicated on form TVA 9880) and who has worked at least one year in his or her job or a similar TVA position.

BI.

If you suspend an employee pending investigalion the suspension may become an adverse action if the employee is a veteran and is held off work for more than 14 days. De sure to complete any investigation quickly and return the employee to pay status within 14 days.

C.

Before the disciplinary action can be taken against a preference eligible employee, he/she must be given 30 days advance notice that the disci pline is proposed and an opportunity to respond to the proposal. Then another notice is given to the employee to tell him/her if the discipline that was proposed will actually be implemented. Details about the content of these notices i, described in section V of this chapter.

D A preference eligible employee may appeal an adverse action to the Merit Systems Protection Board.

IV.

Taking disciplinary action usually includes one or more steps. Performance problems resulting from the employee's work habits or behavior are ideally suited to progressive discipline since the focus should be on motivating the employee to change his/her unacceptable behavior and become a valuable team member. The objective is not to punish the employee for past poor performance, but to inform and motivate the employee to improvement in the future. Misconduct problems, depending on the severity of the employ ee's actions, may warrant taking fewer or no progressive steps.

A.

There are basically two different kinds of performance problems" diffi culty doing the work (e.g, making mistakes, low quality, poor supenri sion); and poor work behaviors (e.g, lardiness, excessive absenteeism, insubordination, rud enes.).

1.

Counseling should be as part of the on-going performance ap praisal and evaluation process. If there are performance problem-,

they should be discussed in a timely manner.

2.

Oral warning i-the least severe form of discipline. It is not very different from coaching in some regards. Supervisors should document these oral warnings for their records. The appropriate steps to take in this di-cusion are similar to those outlined in sec lion iI of the Managing Individual Performance chapter.

3.

Informal written warning is very similar in formal to a formal written warning, except that it does not.become a part of the em ployee's Personal History Record (PIIR). It is normally distributed to only the employee and Ihe supervisor.

DISC 0

)ISCIPLINE

4.

Written notice of warning or reprimand may be captioned "Notice of Unacceptable Performance" to make It very clear what is at issue. A notice of reprimand is similar to a notice of warning but usually deals with a single incident of very poor judgement or improper action. The notice should include the following ele ments:

a.

Specifically Identify the problem.

b.

Cite specific examples of nonperformance. Avoid generaliza tions that don't really explain the problem.

C.

Recite what steps have already been taken to identify the problem and encourage improved performance.

d.

Request employee input about the reasons for unacceptable performance. If a medical problem is suspected, work with your human resource officer about what to say in the notice.

e.

Spell out exactly what is expected in terms of improved per formance.

f.

Give a specific tlimeframe in which to improve performance.

This will vary depending upon the nature of the position and the problem. You must give the employee a reasonable op.

portunity to show he/she can perform satisfactorily; this will vary depending upon how much time the employee was pre viously provided while you were coaching and counseling about the problem before beginning the disciplinary process.

g.

Offer appropriate assistance-intensive coachin& closer su pervision, technical training, referral for help, reassigning work within the unit-depending upon what has already been offered or provided during the counseling stage.

h.

Spell out the exact consequences of a failure to improve per.

formance within the specified time period.

5.

Suspension may be appropriate in a performance case when you know from past experience that the employee is capable of per forming. Suspension Is not used when the employee is having difficulty performing and needs an opportunity to demonstrate "1-n that he/she Is capable. Suspensions are not used in situations involving management, specialist, and excluded schedule employ G) ees except In situations required by law or regulation. (See TVA 0

Code III EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE.)

0 0

6.

Termination is appropriate when a "Notice of Unacceptable Per

0) formance" and the accompanying opportunity period has failed to stimulate the employee in sati.factory performance and other dl%

cipline has failed to work or wa, not availahle or appropriate un der the circumstances.

DISCIIl 0*

(VI.

13. A "hot" and "cold" employee-that is, one who performs well for a time, slacks off and Is disciplined, improves to a satisfactory level for a while, then repeats the pattern-creates particular difficulties. If you have already Issued a written "Notice of Unacceptable Performance' and you begin to see similar performance difficulties appearing again, immediately issue another "Notice of Unacceptable Performance' which includes a warning against this "up and down" behavior.

C.

In misconduct cases, selecting the level of discipline is often the most difficult part. Guidance in selecting the appropriate discipline is pro.

vided by the Inspector General's office in some situations and/or is provided in the "Table of Penalties" which is an appendix to TVA Code XIII EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE, Misconduct. The same disciplinary options are available for dealing with misconduct as for performance problems (i.e., counseling, written warning, termination) however some are more appropriate than others. A written notice of discipline stem ming from misconduct should include the following information:

I.

A statement of what action is being taken

2.

The specific reasons for the action, listed and discussed individu ally.

3.

The employee's work and pay status during any "notice period."

4.

Reply procedures where appropriate or, at a minimum, the name of a person to discuss the action with.

5.

Attached material referred to ih the notice, e g., Job description, service report, investigative report, warning letters, work rules, TVA codes.

9 4

11-1/

1 AI

DISCIPLINE I.

An adverse action taken against a preference eligible employee requires two notices In order to carry out the disciplinary action, one proposing the action (e.g,, Notice of Proposed Suspension') and another Indicating your decision (e.g., Notice of Decision'). Always get assistance from your hu.

man resource officer In handling an adverse action; he or she will assist you in drafting the necessary notices. Detailed description of the procedures to use in suspending an employee are contained in ERM Chapter 761, SUS PENSION, Salary Policy, and ERM Chapter 762, SUSPENSION, Trades and Labor.

A.

A notice that proposes the action should contain the following informa tion:

W What action is proposed Why the action is being taken When the action is proposed to be effective If appropriate, reference to the employee's work and/or pay status during the notice period Who will be issuing a written decision on the proposal Of the right to reply orally or In writing to the decision maker or a designee Of the right to use a reasonable amount of official time to prepare a reply Of the right to submit material% in reply to the proposal Of the right to representation

13. The notice of decision Implementing the action should contain the fol lowing information:

What action is going to be taken, if any (the action taken can be less severe than originally proposed but not more severe)

When the action is effective (never less than 30 days after the em ployee receives the notice of proposal unless there is a reasonable ground to b.lieve the employee has committed a crime for which a sentence of Imprisonment may be Imposed)

"* Upon what bases the action Is being taken (i.e..the Parts of the proposal and employee's reply that were relied upon in making the decision)

Any mitigating or aggravating circumstances that were considered iwaccidng the penalty Avenues of appeal Specific Information about appeals to the Merit Systems Protection

-n 1Board 0

DISCI, VI.

All formal written notices of discipline are placed in the employee's per sonal history record (PHR). Notices of discipline greater than a warning (i.e., suspensions, demotions, terminations) become a permanent part of the PHR. A warning letter may be removed from the PHR only on the authori zation of the employee's human resource officer. He/she may request that this document be removed from the PHR If one of the following conditions are met:

A.

The supervisor decides that It is appropriate to remove the notice (for example, althought the notice was given for poor performance, the em ployee has become a consistently good performer);

B.

The warning notice stated a specific date for removal of the letter from the file; or C.

Three years have gone by without a need for further disciplinary action.

VII.

Voluntary actions by employees are one way to avoid discipline. Some times an employee will request a voluntary personnel action (a resignation or transfer to a position at a lower grade level) rather than have discipline imposed. Sometimes the organization may allow an employee to consider a volutary action instead of being disciplined. Supervisors need to work closely with their human resource officers In these situations to avoid prob lems.

A.

If you or your organization ever offers the opportunity to an employee to take voluntary action in lieu of being disciplined, you should offer the same opportunity to all employees in similar situations If you de cide not to be consitent in offering this opportunity, have a good rea son for deviating from the usual practice, otherwise you may be ac cused of dikrimination.

B.

A supervisor is under no obligation to accept the employee's offer to take voluntary action in lieu of discipline.

C.

It is important that the employee's action be truly voluntary, otherwise he/she may succeed in having it reversed by claiming that it was invol untary or that he/she was coerced into requesting the voluntary action.

The employee's action usually will be found to be voluntary if the su pervisor can show:

1.

The employee had a reasonable time to chooe between TVA ac tion and the voluntary action; and

2.

The employee set the effective date for the action; and

3.

Management didn't make any misrepresentations to the employee that cauwd him/her to take the voluntary action under "false pre lenws.'

I I

I

! f J

DISCIPLINE D.

Sometimes employees request a change to lower grade or pay level for purely personal reasons (i.e., health) unrelated to any discipline prob lem. Usually The voluntary nature of these requests is not questioned.

However, it is a good practice to ask any employee who resigns or re quests a change to a lower grade or pay level position to confirm in writing the reason for his/her action and the effective date desired.

1.

If the employee is requesting the action as an alternative to disci pline, the written confirmation should also state that the action is voluntary, that he/she has time to consider the consequences of this action, and that the effective date has been set by or is accept able to the employee.

2.

Regardless of circumstances for initiating voluntary resignation, you can allow the employee to withdraw an offer to resign at any lime prior to the effective date. If you do not allow the employee to withdraw his offer, you should have a good reason for your decision (for example, having already hired a replacement).

514 STAFFING DOWN I.

AT\\

j 0

AN It.

0 Staff cuts are inevitable sometimes. But there are some things that supervi sors can do to minimize tile need for staff cuts or avoid them altogether.

A.

Know your budget and manage your expenditures. Staff reductions are often caused by a lack of funds. If you have an assigned budget, man age it to get the most for the dollars spent.

13. Ie innovative and solicit cost-savings ideas from all employees.

C.

Manage attrition effectively. When a position or positions are vacated due to attrition, consider whether the position(s) can be eliminated or filled at a different classification, or perhaps the the function can be merged with another and require fewer total staff.

1).

Consider voluntary personnel actions initiated by employees such as leave without pay, changing from full-time to part-time, or volunteer ing for reduction in force. More about voluntary personnel actions is in the Discipline chapter in section Vil, part D.

E.

A hiring freeze, total or partial, can be initiated at the agency or organi zation level as a means of aiding staff reductions.

When staffing reductions can't be avoided there are still things that the supervisor can do to manage the situation to TVA's and the employees' benefit A.

Plan for anticipated or imposed reductions I.

Keep the job descriptions of your employees current. Job descrip tions are the primary tool used to determine what retention regis ter an employee is placed on in a reduction in force. Anytime a supervisor or organization has to revise or prepare new job descip libns on the eve of a reduction in force it raises the appearance that the process is being manipulated to some employees' advantage.

There's more about retention registers and competitive levels in section II of the Reduction in Force chapter.

2.

Involve your human resource officer to gel advise about planning and implementing staff reductions.

B.

Determine whether cuts within your work unit or organization should be targeted or across the board, keeping in mind the work priorities of your organization.

TV

STAFFING C.

Communicate with your employees. If you don't feel that you have sufficient informalion from your superiors or human resources staff, make a point to get the Information you need to share with employees.

Employees need and deserve to have reliable information or else they will rely on the informal employee grapevine, which inevitably distorts the situation and hurls morale.

I.

Involve your staff as much as possible and solicit suggestions for solutions or altematives that will help the situation.

2.

Be sensitive to the needs of your employees who are faced with losing their jobs.

Ill.

Dog-offs and furloughs are two procedures that may be used to manage a short-term staffing redudion.

A.

Dog-off Is a procedure that has been negotiated for hourly irades and labor employees when their services are temporarily not required. Em ployees can be dogged-off for up to 30 days when there are temporary interruptions of work because of adverse weather, lack of materials, equipment, or detigns, or other temporary condition,.. Employees are not terminated, but placed in a nonpay status. See Supplementary Schedule H-VII:F (for Construction employees), Supplementary Sched ule T-V:K (for Temporary Hourly Operating, Maintenance and Modifi cation employees) and Supplementary Schedules A-VI L or 13-VI L (for Annual Operating and Maintenance employees).

1.

Dog-off is not an adverse action even when it i,; applied to veter ans.

2.

Written notice to the employee of dog-off or recall is not required, just informal notice to the employee.

D.

rurlough is the temporary removal of an employee from work and pay status for nondisciplinary reasons. Situations where furlough is used Include lack of work or funds, unforsecable circumstances such as sud den equipment breakdowns, or natural disasters that stop work. fur loughs do not apply to trades and labor employee-, only salary policy employees. See Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement, S-8:13. Furlough is a complicated procedure and you should consult closely with your human resource officer when considering this action.

-l

1.

A furlough of 30 days or less of a preference eligible employee (a i')

veteran) who has at leas' one year in his/her job or a similar TVA position, is an adverse action. (See Discipline chapter, section I1I.)

CD Adverse actions can he appealed the Merit Systems Protection CD Board. Nonvelerans and employees with less than one year are CD not covered by these adverse action procedures.

0)

2.

A furlough may be "continuou%' (30 calendar days or les,;) or in termitlent (22 workdays or less over a period of time) but cannot exceed one year.

6 KJ ST/

3.

TVA management has the authority to decide when to furlough and how long to conduct a furlough.

4.

Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement may file a grievance concerning a furlough. All employees may file a com plaint with the Equal Opportunity office if they feel that the fur lough was conducted in a discriminatory manner.

IV.

Layoff is the termination of temporary trades and labor employees who have worked for less than one year. Unlike a dog-off, these employees are terminated. Employees with more than one year of service are not laid off, but reduced in force. Layoffs should be coordinated with your human re source officer.

A.

Trades and labor construction employees are compared for layoff within competitive areas (generally construction projects) by job classifi cation with some exceptions, as provided in the negotiated agreement.

See General Agreement (Construction employees), Supplementary Schedule II-VII:C and TVA Instruction PM 7 REDUCTION Part A, for more details. Generally, employees are given as much notice of layoff as possible I.

Employees are terminated by issuing a form TVA 77 that states the reasons for layoff and includes a performance appraisal. (Dis cussed in Managing Individual Performance chapter of this hand book.) At the employee's request, the foreman or general foreman may discuss the content of the form TVA 77 with the employee.

B.

Trades and labor temporary hourly operating, maintenance and modifi cations employees are laid off as descibed in Article Ill of their General Agreement. TVA will layoff as appropriate to meet work requirements and/or skills required. Details are contained in General Agreement (temporary hourly employees), Supplementary Schedule T-VI'C and TVA Instruction PM 7 REDUCTION Part A.

9l 0

I

.0 LIN W/

I I

I

STAFFING REDUCTION IN FORCE 1I.

Reduction in force (RIF) procedures are used to terminate or furlough for more than 30 days due to a lack of work, shortage of funds, insufficient personnel ceiling, reorganization, the need to make a place for a person exercising reemployment rights or restoration rights, or the reclassification of an employee's position due to lh erosion of duties when such action will take effect after an agency has formally announced a RIF in the employee's competitive area when the RIF will take effect within 180 days.

A.

I he Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issues regulations govern.

• ' 1I ing the basic elements of any TVA Rir action; however, not all OPM regulations apply to WVA. TVA Instruction I'M 7 REDUCTION should be consulted for complete details concerning TVA's RIF procedures.

TVA is not subject to OPM regulations dealing with reassignment rights, severance pay, reemployment priority lists, the 'Displaced Em ployee Program,' or the 'Voluntary Interagency Placement Program."

In some cases TVA has negotiated similar provisions with employee unions. TVA is bound to follow applicable federal law and regulations in carrying out RIFs.

B.

Any permanent, prepermanent or indefinite employee is covered by the RIF procedures. A temporary employee who has completed a year or SA more of current, continuous service is also covered and Is treated as if he/she were an indefinite employee for RIF purposes.

C.

In a RIF, employees compete against each other for remaining work based on three retention factors: 1) tenure or type of appointment (per S0 manent, prepermanent, indefinite, temporary); 2),their eligibility for veterans' preference; and 3) total federal government service.

II.

Definitions A.

Competitive area. An organihational or geographic unit within which a RlI is conducted. These areas are negotiated for repre.%ented employ.

ecs. The same competitive areas that apply to salary policy represenled employees also apply to managers, specialists, and excluded schedule employees competitive area is discussed in detail in TVA Instruction I'M 7 REDUCTION, Part B. The collective bargaining agreement, list the competitive areas for employees:

G)

C),

Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-10.C (Z

• ,0 General Agreements (Annual Operating and Maintenance), Sup 0

plementary Schedules A-VII:C or li-VII:C C*

General Agreement (Temporary Hourly Operating, Maintenance and Modification), Supplementary Schedu leT-VI:D

"* General Agreement (Construction), Supplementary Schedule I I VILE and F

('7

RIF B.

Competitive level. Determines exactly which employees are competing against each other In a RIF. A competitive level includes all jobs in the same grade and classification series similar enough in duties, qualifica.

lions requirements and working conditions to allow Interchange of employees without a loss of productivity competitive level is discussed in detail in T*VA Instruction PM 7 REDUCTION, Part 13. The collective bargaining agreements briefly mention competitive levels:

Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S--10 D General Agreement (Annual Operating and Maintenance), Supple mentary Schedules A-VII:C--6 or B-VII':C-5 C General Agreement (Construction), Supplemenlary Schedule Il VII:E-3

1. 'Interchangeability' is a two-way street. The incumbent of one job must be able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the inter changeable job and vice verse. There should be no loss of produc tivity beyond that normally expected in the orientation of a new but fully qualified employee.

2.

This determination of competitive level and interchangeability is made by comparing the job descriptions, not the individuals cur rently occupying the positions. You are not allowed by law to consider an Individual's qualifications.

3.

Employees In one competitive level usually have the same job title, but not always. Different job titles can be put together in one com pelitive level if the positions are similar enough in duties, qualifi cation requirements and working conditions so that there can be an interchange. Job title is not determinant of competitive level and jobs with the same title could end up in different competitive levels.

4.

Separate competitive levels are required for positions that are filled on a part-time basis, on an intermittent basis, and on a full lime basis.

S.

Under each trades and labor collective bargaining agreement, a job steward is in a separate competitive level from other employees in his/her craft or classification.

-iI G")

C)

C) 00 0Z 0)1 OM 0'

K) 0 0

a-C.

Credit for performance. I he federal reduction In force regulations were amended in 1986 to give greater recognition to performance as a reten lion factor. Under these 'credit for performance' provisions an em ployee may receive additional years of service credit based on his/her annual performance ratings of record covering the three years preced ing the RIF. Under'TVA's implementation of credit for performance, each performance rating category corresponds to a specific number of years of extra service. The credit for performance provisions are only used to determine the relative position on a retention register of em ployees within a given tenure group and subgroup. Detailed informa lion about credit for performance is in TVA Instruction PM 7 REDUC TION, Part B.

I.

Credit for performance affects only the service date retention fac tor for employees.

2.

The relative standing in a RIF between veterans and non-veterans and between permanent, prepermanent, and indefinite employees is not affected by credit for performance.

3.

Credit for performance applies to all TVA employees who receive annual performance appraisals using the form TVA 3031.

a.

Hourly trades and labor employees are not covered by these provisions because they receive form TVA 77 which is not issued on an annual basis and does not constitute 'an annual performance rating of record' under the federal regulations.

b.

Management and specialist schedule employees whose per formance is documented using form TVA 13050, are not cov ered by these provisions because the appraisal does not pro vide an overall rating for the performance. These employees receive credit for performance only for periods preceding the RIF for which there Is a performance rating of record.

4.

A performance appraisal must be 'of record' in order to be used in the calculatiop at the time of the RIF notice. A rating is 'of re cord* when the information on that performance appraisal has been entered into the Employee Information System (EIS) by the human resource officer. Annual performance appraisals that were due before the date of the RIF notice, but were not part of the EIS record until on or after the date of the RIF notice are not used to determine additional service credit.

5.

If an employee has received no performance appraisals, or none for a specific time period, additional service credit is based on assumed ratings for those months not covered by an appraisal 'of record.*

RIF

6.

The additional years of credit assigned to each annual performance t

rating are as follows:

Better than fully adequate 16 years Fully adequate 12 years Marginal, Improvement needed 0 years "Not adequate 0 years Assumed rating (no appratul) 12 years

7.

The extra years of service credit that an employee may accrue un der credit for performance calculations do not Impact in any way on the determination of whether an employee has sufficient years of TVA service to invoke reassignment rights provided by the negotiated.agreement.

S.

Supervisors are not responsible for calculating credit for perform.

ance. It Is figured by computer for each individual on the reten tion register based on the information in EIS at the time of the RIF notice.

D.

Retention group. Identifies the tenure of an employee. Retention group depends upon the type of appointment the employee has at the time of the RIP and how long he/she has been in that appointment. There are three retention groups indicated by roman numerals on the retention register.

C Group I - permanent employees C Group II-prepermanent employees Group Ill - Indefinite employees or temporary employees with a year or more of current, continuous service E.

Retention subgroup. Identifies the employee's eligibility for veterans' preference. There are three subgroups within each retention group indicated by capital letters on the retention register as follows:

Subgroup AD - veterans with a military service-connected diabil ity of 30 percent or more Subroup A - all other veterans who are not included in the AD subgroup Subgroup B - all other employees who are not eligible for veter "ans' preference F.

Retention register. The document prepared before a RIF indicating the order In which employees will be retained based upon their retention

)

group, subgroup and creditable service. There is a separate retention register for each competitive level where there will be a RIF. If no RIF is planned for a particular competitive level, no retention register is prepared.

Am, Ku V.

0 Ill.

K\\

G.

1 ransfer of function. The transfer of a continuing function from one competitive area and its addtion to one or more other competitive ar eas. A function means all or a clearly identifiable segment of an organi zation's mission, regardless of how it is performed.

i.

The operation of the function must stop in one competitive arna and start up in another competitive area where it had not previ ously been performed.

2.

The movement of activities within a single competitive area is not a transfer of function, but a reorganiation.

3.

When a transfer of function occurs, employees who become sur plus in the losing competitive area have a right to transfer if, but only if, the alternative in the losing competitive area is termination or demotion. Transfers of functions are a complex part of RIPs and supervisors should work closely with their human resource officers in these cases.

a.

If the tran, fer of function causes a RIF in the gaining competi tive area, all employees compete together under the RIF regu lations for retention in positions in the gaining competitive area.

b.

If a RIF is not necessary in the gaining competitive area, the employees just transfer to the new competitive area.

c.

Employees who refuse to transfer with the function may be terminated for cause in the losing competitive area.

A reduction in force may be appealed by any employee to the Merit Sys tems Protection Board or through the Equal Opportunity complaint process.

Any represented employee can file a grievance if such is permitted under the appropriate negotiated agreement. There is more detailed information about this in the Appeals and Grievances chapter.

A.

Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals must be filed within 20 days of the effective date of the reduction in force. Information about the appeal process is Included with the employee's reduction in force notice. In order to successfully defend its position, TVA must show that the employee's RIP was done for a proper reason and all proce dures were properly applied.

B.

If an employee wants to Initiate an Equal Opportunity complaint con cerning his/her reduction in force, he/she must contact an EO coun selor within 30 day of the effective date of the RIF. More about the EO complaint process is included in the Appeals and Grievances chapter.

C.

A grievance concerning reduction in force must be filed timely and in accordance with the appropriate negotiated agreement AN 91 on

RIF V.

Voluntary esignatlon process Is an excellent way for managers to avoid disruptive Involuntary RIFe and match the need to cut staff with staff that are willing to leave. The same policies and procedures that apply to silary policy represented employees are also applied in cases Involving manager and specialist schedule employees. Detailed description of Involuntary RIF procedures are contained in TVA Instruction PM 7 REDUCTION, Part B and Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-10:N.

A.

Generally, employees who volunteer for RIF are treated the same as Involuntarily RIF'd employees with regard to retirement and other TVA-provided benefits. Unemployment compensation is not controlled by TVA and an employee's eligibility to receive this compensation from his/her state of residence may be impacted by a voluntary RIF resigna.

lion.

B.

An employee,hho volunteers for RIF may not be rehired directly by TVA for three years following the effective dale of hi-/her resignation.

Nor will TVA enter into a personal services contract directly with any employee who volunteered for reduction in force.

C.

Saliry policy employees may volunteer for reduction in force in one of two ways specified in the Articles of Agreement, S-l0:N.

1.

Volunteering in response to a general notice soliciling volunteers In the employee's competitive area. The general notice specifies which organization is soliciling RIP volunteers, the general type and number of volunteers, and generally how to go about volun.

leering.

a.

Volunteers are accepted or rejected solely at the discretion of management in the competitive area that issued the general notice.

b.

The Vice President, Human Resources, must give final ap proval for TVA to accept each offer of voluntary Rir under a general notice.

2.

Volunteering for RIF in place of another employee who ha, re ceived a notice of reduction In force. The volunteer and the permon who he/she is 'saving ' must be In the same competitive area, but not the same competitive level. The volunteer 'saves' the person highest on the retention regiter who received a RIF notice.

G'8

a.

Volunteers are accepted solely at the discretion of manage C:)

ment in the competitive area conducting the reduction in CD force.

CD

b.

The vice president of the organization conducting the RIF 01 must give final approval to accept any Individual's'offer to volunteer for RIF In place of another employee.

D.

Trades and labor annual employees may volunteer for RIF under an agreement between TVA and the Council. (See Supplementary Sched ules A-Vil D and B-VII:D)

U.

• 1 WI 0

S APPS9

'VS K)

APPEALS AND GRIEVANCES Appeal procedures establish an organized way of dealing with Inevitable conflict. The supervisor's role in dealing with any complaint situation in V 1 cludes:

Accepting the employee's ba-ic right to complain or disagree, without reprisal.

Trying, whenever possible, to resolve complaints Informally at an early stage.

Assuring that employees are aware of available means of pursuing complaints.

Seeking appropriate advice and assistance from your human resource officer when you are involved in a complaint, grievance, or appeal.

A.

The principle formal methods of appeal (grievances, discrimination complaints, and MSPB appeals) all have very specific and different pro cedural requirements and time limits. Although many of the different options overlap in terms of what type of complaints they cover, in most cases the employee's choice of one route of appeal means that other routes cannot also be pursued on the same complaint.

I..,

9 11.

0

13.

Employees have a wide variety of options available to them if they be lieve they haWe been treated unfairly or contrary to TVA policy. The various avenues for raising concerns or complaints are detailed in sec tions III through XIII of this chapter.

There are five different negotiated grievance procedures for represented employees. Each negotiated agreement has a unique procedure which ap plies to those employees covered by the agreement. Generally, all the nego tiated grievance procedures have certain things in common.

A.

Grievances may be filed either by the employee personally or through the union.

I3.

Specific time limits are se for when the employee must file the griev ance and when management must respond. Time limits may be ex tended only by agreement of both parties.

C.

A grievance will be rejected if the employee has filed a complaint on the same action under another procedure provided by law or regulation.

D.

Each of the grievance procedures contains several steps, starting with a decision by the supervisor, proceeding to an appeal to higher level management anti/or the Labor Relation% staff, and finally some type of arbitration. The supervisor 'loses control' of the grievance process after the first step, so it is Important to try to settle the problem at the earliest po.sihle stage while you still have control and before other par lies intervene In the process.

93

APPS & GRVS E.

Grievances which attempt to change a policy, standard, or procedure may not be filed. Not all Issues are 'grievable."

1.

Grievability' can be complicated. Usually the ikue is addressed by someone besides the supervisor at a later stage in the complaint process.

2.

Certain Issues may not be grievable by agreement between TVA and its unions, and these matters are reflecced in the negotiated agreements.

F.

Employees can participate In the grievance procedures, either on their own behalf or as witneswes for other employees without charge to leave.

G.

Only paid union employees or official job stewards or union repres*nla lives may have access to personnel records that are relevant to the case or have paid time off to serve as the representative.

It.

Remedies available through the grievance procedure vary and may reflect a balancing or compromise of issues.

Ill.

The Salary policy grievance procedure Is contained In Articles of Agree ment, Supplementary Agreement 11. Most requests for position reclassifi cation are handled under a separate procedures contained In Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement 2. More details about this proce.

dures are described in the Classification chapter. The grievance procedure Is a four step process. The supervisor can be involved at all levels, but is only involved In the declslon-making process at the first two levels. The supervisor may be directly Involved at all levels. It Is true that the supervi.

sor would not be Involved In the decision at the higher levels.

A.

Step I - Before a formal grievance is filed, the employee meets with the responsible supervisor and discusses the situation. The supervisor should make every effort to understand what the issue is and investi gate any practical way to resolve the problem. Thi Is the time in admit an error or to convince the employee that the policie, and procedures were properly applied.

I*

I.

Step 2 - If the employee Is not satisfied with the results of this meeting, he/she may file a formal grievance by submIlling form TVA 1.008 to the supervisor. It must be filed within 20 days after the employee learns of the action (or proposed action) that Is being grieved.

1.'The supervisor receives the form, ensures that It is complete, and forwards It to the human resource officer or distributes copiest a, necessary. The supervisor does not respond. Mere acceplance by the supervi~or Is not an admis.sion of any kind related to the griev ance.

0 0

0 IV.

The grievance procedures for trades and labor employees are detailed in Supplementary Schedules A-IX or B-IX (for Annual employees), T-VIII (for Temporary Operating, Maintenance and Modification employees), and H-IX (for Construction employees). Requests for reclassification are han dled through the regular grievance procedure.

A.

Step I - The employee discusses the issue/complaint with the supervi sor informally and the supervisor must respond to the employee within 10 days. None of this is required to be in writing, but it is good for the supervisor to keep a log of events including dates and content of dis cusqions. It is recommended that the supervisor respond in writing to explain his/her decision. This will provide a clearer record if the griev ance becomes formal later on.

B.

Step 2 - Formal grievances are filed in writing to the local plant man ager or facility manager within 20 calendar days of the date the em ployee learns of the action being grieved. The manager may attempt to resolve the situation either formally or informally. The manager gives the employee his response in writing within 15 calendar days.

0 0

0 (31 A P P S "I '

ý

2.

The organization's vice president or his/her designee has either 30 days (if a conference Is requested) or 15 days (if no conference is requested) to respond to the complaint by completing the griev ance form.

C.

Step 3 - If the employee or union representative does not agree with the vice president's decision, the matter may be appealed to the Manager of Labor Relations within 10 days. The emphasis at this stage is resolu tion. The Manager of Labor Relations will hold a conference to discuss the issue with all parties. lie/she has 15 days afer the conference to render a written decision if resolution to all parties' satisfaction is not possible.

D.

Step 4 - If the employee disagrees with the Manager of Labor Relations, arbitration of some type may be requested.

1.

The Salary Policy Panel (not the employee or a single union) may appeal certain grievances to outside binding arbitration in accor dance with the Articles of Agreement.

2.

Some issues are not arbitrable, but may be appealed to a triparlite board consisting of representatives of TVA, the Panel, and an out side party. If the board's decision is unanimous, it Is binding If it is not unanimous, It is merely advisory.

APPS & GRVS C.

Step 3 - This step does not apply to hourly construction employees; their complaints go directly from the site manager to the Manager of Labor Relations (Step 4). The employee may appeal the facility manag er's decision to the organization's vice president within 15 calendar days of the decision.

1.

If the grievance is related to a suspension, termination, nonselec tion for promotion, demption, or RIF, the employee may request a hearing. In other cases, except grievances protesting warning let ters of reprimand effective for 6 months or less, the vice president may hold a hearing to gather facts. The hearing is held within 30 days of the appeal.

2.

The hearing is a formal proceeding and a verbatim transcript is made of it. The employee may be represented by the union and the supervisor Is represented by the organization's human re source manager.

3.

The vice president's decision is Issued within 3 weeks of the ap peal or three weeks after the hearing.

D.

Step 4 - The employee may appeal the vice president's decision within 15 calendar days to the Manager of Labor Relations. A decision is is sued within three weeks of the appeal or within three weeks of a con ference if one is held.

E.

Step 5 -IThis step involves submission of a grievance that was appealed by the union to the Manager of Labor Relations to an Impartial referee for a binding decision. A union may request an impartial referee only with the agreement of the Council. Costs are shared equally between TVA and the Council.

V.

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is an independent federal agency established In part to hear appeals from federal employees. Appeals to MSPB must be filed within 20 days of the effective date of the appealed action and TVA must file Its response within the time period set by the MSPB hearing officer.

A.

MSPB Jurisdiction is very limited regarding TVA employees.

"-n

1.

Any TVA employee who is reduced In force may appeal to MSPB.

G)

See the Reduction In Force chapler, section 111, for more informa O*

tion about appealing RIF actions to MSPB.

C:)

C:)

2.

Employees (except those at the senior manager pay group) who 0*

are eligible for veterans' preference and who have worked con

(.1 tlnuously at least the past one year in their job or a similar IVA job may appeal a termination, a suspension for more than 14 calen dar days, a reduction In pay or grade, or a furlough for 30 days or less These actions are called 'adverse actions' and are discussed in the Discipline chapter, section Ill.

• 1

@3 K)

I, APPS -r -r;RVS

3.

An employee who bclicves he/she has been improperly den

/

restoration rights may appeal to MSPB. This is very rare. See the Restoration chapter for more detailed Information.

B.

Your human resource officer is responsible for preparing TVA's initial response to an employee's MSPB appeal. This response must be coordi nated with the General Counsel's office and usually there is little time to gather documentation and prepare the response. It is very important that the supervisor cooperate fully and timely with the human resource officer in preparing this information.

9 C.

There may be a formal hearing before a complaints examiner and the supervisor may be called as a witness for TVA.

D.

MSPB's first decision Is rendered by a presiding official in one of the regional offices. Either party may appeal this decision to the full Board in Washington, D.C. If the employee is not satisfied with the Board's "decision, he/she can have the decision reviewed by a federal court of appeals. TVA can appeal Board decisions to the federal court only with the Office of Personnel Management's approval.

VI.

The Equal Opportunity complaint process is available by law to any person who believes that he/she has experienced discrimination because of race

'V (any race), sex (either sex), color (any color), religion (or sincerely held relig ious-type belief), national origin (any), handicap, age (40 or over), or repri sal. The EO complaint process is also available to outside applicants.

When you are Identified by a complainant as a person who was Involved in a discriminatory action, you are referred to as an "alleged discriminating official."

0 A.

The Board of Directors has designated the Manager, Equal Opportunity, as the official in TVA to administer the discrimination complaint proce dures and make final agency decisions on these complaints (except in certain limited circumstances). The Equal Opportunity staff is neutral in the administration of the complaint process. They represent neither complainants nor supervisors during the process.

1.

Several definitions are Important to keep in mind when discussing the complaint process:

I.

A handicapped person is defined as someone who I) has a physi cal or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, 2) has a record of such an impairment, or 3) is regarded as having such an impairment.

2.

Reprisal is defined as an action that was taken because of a per.

son's prior involvement with the EO complaint process, as a com plainant, a representative or a witness, or because of opposition to discriminatory practices.

97

APPS & GRVS K)

3.

Someone Is In a "protected class" If they fall within one of the eight groups mentioned above at the beginning of section VI be cause these are the groups that are protected by the law against discriminatory treatment.

C.

Many complaints of discrimination involve allegations that an employee was treated differently from others who are not in the same protected group. In these cases, the focus is on how the complainant was treated in comparison with others, not on whether the activity really did occur.

Other cases involve allegations of "harassment," whether based on sex (such as conduct of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment) or based on membership in any of the other protected groups (such as racial or ethnic jokes).

D.

At any stage of a complaint, complainants, managers, supervisors, and other witness may be represented by a person of his/her choice, either inside or outside TVA, with some limited exceptions. The representa tive may assist and advise the witness or may simply accompany the person during proceedings. Persons who are directly Involved in the case and are expected tonbe called as witnesses cannot act as representa lives.

E.

Federal regulations provide that a complainant and his/her representa tive must be given "reasonable" lime to prepare and present the com plaint..This time must be coordinated with his/her supervisor. The supervisor makes the decision as to what is reasonable under the par ticular circumstances of the case.

I.

Time spent in meetings or Interviews held by EO staff officials Is automatically deemed reasonable.

2.

Supervisors of employees who act as representatives of more than one complainant may limit the overall hours of official time spent.

for preparation and attendance at meetings or hearings.

VII.

The Equal Opportunity Complaint Process A.

Counseling Is the first step in the EO process. Counselors are provided by each organization. Names of EO counselors are posted on bulletin "T"1 boards or are available from your human resource officer. A complain G) ant must seek counseling within a certain tlimeframe, usually within 30 C) days of the alleged discriminatory act, in order to be timely under the CD federal regulations. The counselor talks to the complainant and the 0

supervisor to sort out the matter Informally and prevent a complaint CD from being filed. A complainant can only file a formal complaint after MY1 he/she has met with the counselor to try to resolve the situation.

o Counseling may take anywhere from a week to several months. to con clude.

K)9 Si AOL

• 1 S.

4 9

0 99 APPS 1" "RVS B.

If the problem cannot be resolved through counseling, the complainant may choose to file a formal complaint with the Equal Opportunity staff at the conclusion of the counseling process. The complainant must file the formal complaint within 15 calendar days of the conclusion of coun seling. The Equal Opportunity staff will determine whether to accept or reject the complaint.

C.

Aftcr an EO complaint has been accepted for Investigation by the EO staff, managers in the affected organizatin are given an opportunity to respond to a preliminary inquiry about the complaint. The organization then prepares a position statement.

1.

Supervisors or managers who have been identified as "alleged discriminating officials" have the right to know what the allega tions against them are and the right to respond to those charges.

2.

Supervisors are responsible for cooperating fully with the investi gation.

D.

The EO slaff conducts formal investigations of complaints As part of the investigation the investigator may take an affadavit from the super visor and request that you provide documentary evidence. All supervi sors and employees are required to cooperate during an Investigation.

E.

At the completion of the investigation, the Investigative record is dis tributed to the complainant and the organization's vice president. The vice president may at his discretion distribute the report to others within the organization who have a "need to know."

F.

After the investigation is completed, the complainant may request a hearing before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commis,;ion (EEOC). All witnesses employed by the agency, whether requested by the agency or complainant, must attend the hearing If the complainant has an attorney, TVA managers should notify the General Counsel's office who will represent the agency in the hearing If the complainant is representing himself/herself, then the organization's managers pre sent TVA's case at the hearing. After hearing all the evidence and re viewing all the documents submitted, EEOC issues a recommended decision to the Manager, Equal Opportunity, who accepts, rejects, or modifies the recommended decision and Issues a final agency decision.

G.

TVA's Manager, Equal Opportunity, issues final agency decisions on complaints of discrimination with certain limited exceptions. The deci sion is made in accordance with analytical standards in employment discrimination case law and Is based solely on a review of the evidence included in the investigative report and hearing transcript. The Man ager, Equal Opportunity, may order that actions be taken to correct disciminatory treatment and recommend changes in procedures and practices that are discriminatory.

I.

Vice presidents are responsible for implementing corrective actions recommended by the Manager, Equal Opportunity.

I I

APPS & GRV

2.

In addition to but separate from the final agency decision, the Manager, Equal Opportunity, may Issue a memorandum recom.

mending disciplinary action against a supervisor or a conduct Investigation of his/her actions relating to a case.

H.

Complainants who disagree with the decision on their complaints may appeal the decision to EEOC or federal court. Supervisors have no similar right to appeal the decision.

ViII. Complaints About or Reports of Unsafe or Hazardous Conditions A.

Employees and their representatives have the right and are encouraged to report unsafe or unhealthful working conditions. These concerns can be brought to the supervisor or the safety coordinator. TVA Code 1!

EXPRESSION OF DIFFERING STAFF VIEWS describes TVA's policy as to how these concerns are to be addressed. The forms used to docu ment a complaint of this nature and procedures are posted on all TVA safety bulletin boards.

I.

Employees also have the right to make a confidential report to the Manager of Occupational Health and Safety or to the Designated Agency Safely and Health Official.

2.

Employees who disagree with the final TVA handling of a report or complaint may appeal to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.

3.

Employees are protected by law and TVA policy from any reprisal, interference, coercion, or discrimination against them as a result of their exercising any of these rights. Any Interference by a supervi sor is a serious violation of this policy.

IX.

Concerns About Nuclear Quality and Safety Employees are obligated to report concerns about nuclear quality and safety and the Nuclear Power Employee Concerns Program oversees these com plaints. Information about the Employee Concerns Program Is posted on TVA bulletin boards and questions about the program can be addressed to any program site representative.

A.

Under this program, the following avenues are available to report con cerns about nuclear activities:

"-n D

Contact with first line supervision.

Referral via first-line supervision to higher management levels.

D 0

Submittal to the Employee Concerns Program site representative at Z2) each nuclear plant site.

Z) 0 Complaint to the Inspector General.

Direct contact with the Nuclear Regulatory Commi-sion using l

NRC rorm 3, or direct contact with other governmental agencies with authority to receive complaints.

<.9 AM %

XI.

xII.

0 API' "VS B.

TVA policy and federal law strictly prohibit attempts to intimidate, coerce, or reprise against any employee as a result of his/her exercising any of these rights.

X.

XII.

Complaints Pursued Through Other Channels Complaints raised by writing directly to the Board of Directors, congressional represen!atives, or the President, are investigated and responded to by the appropriate TVA official. Supervisor's may be asked to explain their actions or provide additional information to staff members who are responsible for preparing these responses.

101 011.4" Appeals io the Department of Labor (DOL)

A.

Under the Energy Reorganitation Act of 1974, no employee may be terminated or di.criminated against because he/she initiated a proceed ing under that Act or under the Atomic Energy Act, or testified, partici.

pated, or assisted in such a proceeding B.

Complaints Involving this protection are filed with the Secretary of Labor within 30 days of an alleged violation. Complaints can also be filed with the Secretary of Labor in connection with employee protec tions included in the Federal Water Pollution Act and the Clean Air Act.

C.

DOL will investigate all complaints within 30 days and either party can request a hearing after the investigation. DOL will issue a decision within 20 days of the hearing. The Secretary of Labor issues a final order based on the record and the recommendation from the hearing; the final order can be appealed to federal court within 60 days.

Complaints to the TVA Inspector General A.

The Inspector General reports directly to the TVA Board of Directors and to Congress. This office accepts allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, misconduct, harassment, and reprisal. After a com plaint Is accepted, it is assigned to an investigator. Any employee who wants to report an allegation can call the following toll free numbers:

0 1-800-423-3071 (in Tennessee) 0 1-800-323-3835 (in AL, AR, GA, KY, MS, MO, NC, VA) 0 615-632-3550 (in Knoxville)

Issues Raised Under TVA Code I1 EXPRESSION OF STAFF VIEWS This code details a formal process to have professional or technical views on policy issues (or execution of policy) heard'at a high management level. Basi cally, the procedure calls for raising those concerns up through the supervi sory chain of command to the Board of Directors.

II

APPS & GRVS (IV.

Successfully Handling Appeals and Grievances A.

Avoid unnecessary complaints. Try to resolve problems at the lowest, Informal level, while you are still in control of the situation. Good com munication with your employees will go a long way toward minimizing complaints.

1.

If you've made a mistake, correct it early.

2.

Be alert to resolutions that may set a precedent that will be diffi cult to live with.

3.

Avoid actions that could be interpreted a-, discouraging or intimi dating an employee from filing a grievance or other complaint.

B.

Be prepared for complaints. Many can and should be seltled before they become formal, but thorough preparation can increase the likeli hood that the supervisor's position will be upheld on review.

I.,

Build your case. Follow progressive disciplinary procedures where appropriate and be consistent in how you treat all your employees.

2.

Make sure you have good documentation. Keep logs and diaries of events leading up to disciplinary actions and all other related documents or correspondence. Documentation is very important in any hearing.

3.

Be a good witness if you are asked to provide an affadavit or tes tify at a hearing.

a.

Refresh your memory concerning the events or Incident.

b.

Be familiar with the records related to the case.

C.

Tell the agency representatives everything you know about the case, both good and bad.

d.

Always tell the truth when testifying or giving a stalement

e.

If you don't know the answer, say so.

f.

Plan ahead as to what additional information you want to include in an affadavit when given the opportunity.

g.

Assume that the person reading or hearing your statement knows nothing about it-explain technical terms, explain work practices, etc.

C.

Get help from your supervisor and human resource officer early in the process. Your human resource officer will also be able to get guidance from corporate staffs.

1 S/I B

K)j I.

e S.

APP' XV.

Supervising After an Employee Files a Complaint.

Remember that the employee has a right to file a complaint and what you do aftei he/she files the complaint can either help or hurt the situation. The supervisor must strive to keep things as normal as possible. You must keep supervising the employee, while at the same time avoiding any appearance of reprisal.

A.

Do not treat the employee differently after he or she files a complaint either differently from other employees or differently from your past treatment of the came individual.

B.

Do not begin do~umenting or monitoring a complainant after he/she contacts a counselor or files a complaint. This is often regarded as re taliatory. It appears as if you are 'out to get' the person. If the super visor has been monitoring the employee prior to the filing of a com plaint, the filing should not be a reason to stop monitoring, if justfied.

C.

Do not keep any record that refers to an employee's grievance or com plaint in the employee's personnel record.

D.

Do not treat an employee who has exercised a protected right as a "troublemaker.'

Do not let this fact influence your future decisions about selection, transfer, or discipline.

E.

Do not discuss an employee's grievance or complaint wilh anyone who does not have an official need to know about it. If you do, you will have misused official information and can be disciplined.

F.

Do not discourage or inhibit an employee In any way from pursuing a complaint.

XVI.

Supervisor's IRights As a supervisor you have a lot of resources to draw upon to help you through any situation involving a complaint or grievance. Generally, the only thing an employee can do that you cannot do in a complaint is appeal a decision on the complaint to a higher level (although in some procedures, TVA can appeal a decision as well as the employee) Other rights you have relating to the process Include:

You have a right to hear exactly what the charges are against you, if you are accused of discrimination, reprisal, etc.

You have many opportunities to resolve the complaint yourself and thereby stay in control.

You have the same opportunity as the employee to present your side of the story.

You have the right to have a representative in complaint procedures at all levels.

You have the right to keep supervising and remain in control of the situation.

-n G)

C)

C)

C 0 01 0'1 I

V

APPS & CRVS V

VETERANS' PREFERENCE

1.

The Veterans' Preference Act requires that preference be given to eligible A

veterans (also called 'preference eligibles") in appointments to government

• 1.

[V positions and in retention during a reduction in force. In addition, prefer.

ence eligibles are given appellate rights to the Merit Systems Protection Board for adverse personnel actions. Some Information about how this Is done Is Included In the Appeals and Grievances, Discipline, and Reduction in Force chapters. A detailed description of TVA's application of the Veter ans' Preference Act Is contained In ERM Chapter 141, VETERANS and the Handbook for Veterans of Tennessee Valley Authority.

A.

Although the preference requirements give eligible veterans a head start in competing for government Jobs, final selections for Job vacancies must meet the 'merit and efficiency" standard for TVA employment.

B.

The law does not provide preference during employment for purposes of promotion, transfer, or reassignment., "However, a disabled veteran may receive employment-related assistIlce through TVA's Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Plan (DVAAP).

II.

Determination of Preference A.

In order to be considered a 'preference eligible* employee, a veteran must have been honorably separated and served on active duty in the armed forces:

1.

During any war;, or

2.

In a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge was authorized (like Lebanon or Granada Operations). If the person

• 1

• enlisted after September 7, 1980, the veteran must have been dis charged for a disability or served continuously for 24 months or the full period called or ordered for active duty;,or

3.

During the period beginning April 28, 1952, and ending July 1,

.1955; or

4.

For more than 180 consecutive days, other than for training, any part of which occurred after January 31, 1955 and twfore Octo ber 15, 1976.

5.

Most mililary retirees are not given preference eligible status dur ing RHrs. A military retiree who retired at Ihe grade of major or above (or its equivalent) generally is not considered a preference "n1 eligible for appointment or retention unless the person is a dis abled veteran.

B.

Preference is given without regard to the above conditions to a veteran D

honorably separated from active duly if the veteran:

J1

1.

Is receiving compensation, disability relirement benefits, or a pen 3")

sion under laws administered by the Veterans Administration, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps; or

2. ý-ias a servIce-connecled disability. (A veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds received in action is considered to have a service-connected disability.)

a.

For employment purposes, veterans with 1a10 percent or greater compensable service-connected disability are given preference over other veterans.

b.

For purposes of reduction in force, veterans with 30 percent or greater compensable service-connected disability are given retention preference over other lesser disabled veterans and nonvelerans. (See Reduction in Force chapter, section It, part 1.)

c.

Preference is also given to qualifying spouses of disabled veterans, to widows/widowers of veterans, and to mothers of deceased or disabled veterans.

Spouses of disabled veterans. If the veteran has been unable to qualify for any appointment in the federal seclor because of a military service-connected disabil "ity, the spouse Is entitled to derivative preference. The spouse toses the right to preference if the disabled vet eran recovers. If the disabled veteran dies, the spouse may be able to qualify for widow/widower preference.

Widows or Widowers of veterans. If the veteran served on active duty duringany war or during the period April 28 1952 throujh July 1, 1955, or in any campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge or expedi tionary medal was authorized, the unremarried widow or widower of an honorably separated veteran is enti tled to derivative preference. The widow or widower may qualify for the preference whether the veteran spouse died after or during military service, unless the circumstances surrounding death while in the military would have been cause for other than honorable sepa ration from the service.

Molhers of veterans. If the veteran (I) died under hon orable conditions while on active duly in a war or in a camp.al nor expedition for which a campaign badge or expeditionary medal was authorized or during the pe riod April 298,1952 through July 1, 1955, or who became permanently and totally disabled because of a service connected disability; AND (2) the mother is widowed, divorced or separaled from the veteran's father, or the father Is permanently and totally disabled, then the veteran's'mother Is entitled to preference. A remarried mother may be entitled to retain her preference in only limited circumstances.

O S

In, 10 K)j 0

0 VETERANS IV.

V.

Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) Appeals The law grants most veterans the right to appeal to the Merit System, Protec lion Board regarding adverse actions. More information about these appeal rights are contained in the Appeals and Grievances chapter. Veteran,; must have one year or more of continuous federal service to have appeal rights.

Restoration Employees who leave TVA to participate in military service may be eligible to be restored to their former position. This is addressed in more delail in the Restoration chapter.

o,,I (o

1._

Ill.

Credit for Military Service Military service time usually counts as federal service for the purpose of ac cruing annual leave and for retention in reduction in force.

A.

Annual leave accrual rate. All active military service lime Is counted for (I) a non-retired veteran and (2) a military retiree whose retirement was based on a disability received in the line of duty as a result of armed conflict or caused by an instrumentality of war in the line of duty during a period of war. If the veteran is a nondisabled military retiree, he/she gets credit only for the service during a war or actual time in an authorized campaign or expedition.

B.

Preference in reduction in force. Generally, veterans who are eligible for preference in appointments also receive preference for retention in RIF.

1. 1lIowever, a military retiree does NOT get preference during a RIF unlem his/her retirement was based on disability OR on less than 20 years of full-time active service. If a retiree's retirement was bawed on either of these two reasons, the retiree receives federal service credit for all military time. If the veteran received credit for 20 years for retirement purposes but actually served les., than 20 years the veteran does not receive preference eligible status.

2 If the retiree does not meet one of these conditions (for example, retired following 'twenty and out' service commitment), he/she gets to count only the military service time during a war and authorized campaign/expedilion periods.

107 ine~

I-

VETERANS Ks'.

VI.

TVA's Veterans' Affairs Office This office Is part of the Equal Opportunity staff In Human Resources. Veter ans Affairs mediates the relationship between the veteran and TVA manage ment for the purposes of ensuring agency compliance with federal laws and educating the workforce about the area of veterans' affairs. Violation of fed eral laws involving veterans rights will result in disciplinary action. The Vet erans' Affairs office is In Knoxville (ET 5B 30H-K) and the Manager, Veterans' Affairs, can be contacted at 632-6848.

O

-n C) 0 0 C) 00 01 RESI 1O K.)

I,!-

IL.

1*

.J RESTORATION RIGHTS Generally, restoration rights provide that an employee is entitled to return (or be 'restored') to his/her former position and be treated as if he/she had not been absent from work. TVA observes federal law and regulations on restoration following military service, certain nonmilitary service, and re covery from a compensabfe TVA job-related injury or disability. A de tailed description of TVA policy on restoration is contained in ERM Chap.

ter 261, RESTORATION, Employee Compensation, and TVA Instruction PM 7 RESTORATION, Military Duty. The employee's human resource officer is primarily responsible for restoring Individuals to TVA employ ment, however, supervisors are responsible for cooperating fully with these efforts (even if the individual's prior position was not under your supervi sion.) The Rehabilitation Service department in Medical Services answers questions about the dates of compensation or extent of an employee's recov ery.

Military Duty The kind of post-military restoration rights for which an employee is eligible is determined by the type of military service that interrupts his/her TVA service. Other factors that effect restoration include requirements for the employee to satisfactorily complete military duty and make timely application to TVA for restoration.

A.

TVA has 30 days after an eligible employee makes proper application in which to restore that employee.

B.

The eligible employee is restored regardless of whether he/she can be rctained. If the restoration results in a reduction In force (RIF), the re stored employee might be eligible for a special retention preference in his/her RIF subgroup.

C.

The employee's human resource officer, Policy and Evaluation staff, and Employment Services staff are responsible for assessing the circum stances of each case in applying restoration provisions to any individ ual.

it.

Nonmilitary Service Restoration rights may be provided by law, regulation, or Executive Order to encourage individuals to serve temporarily in certain nonmilitary organiza lions such as the Peace Corps. These restoration requirements are unique to each organization. If one of your employees considers service in an organiza lioR to which he/she thinks restoralion rights might be altachcd, you and the employee should check with your human resource officer for more informa lion.

109 4l, I

0110

• ,%I[*

RESTORATIO IV.

Compensable TVA Job-Related Injury Restoration of a compensably injured worker must comply with statutory, regulatory, and negotiated entitlements. These entitlements do not apply If the employee was separated because of reduction in force, for cause, or for other reasons unrelated to the injury. An employee may be entitled to reslo ration regardless of whether he/she has remained on the TVA payroll. If a suitable vacant salary policy position Is found, It may be filled through a le gally required restoration without the position having been announced. (See Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-7:13-5.)

A.

If the employee is fully recovered from the injury or disability within one year after the date compensation began, he/she is entitled to re sume his/her former position (or an equivalent one) Immediately when compensation stops.

B.

If the employee Is fully recovered from the injury or disability after one year of the date compensation began, he/she is entitled to priority con sideration for reemployment to the position he/she left (or an equiva lent one) provided he/she applies for reappointment within 30 days after compensation stops. This is the reemployment consideration ac corded to someone who has been Involuntarily reduced in force under Articles of Agreement, Supplementary Agreement S-7:E.

C.

If during the year following the date compensation begins the employee is physically disqualified from the position to which he/she has restora lion rights (or an equivalent position), then he/she Is entitled to another position for which he/she is qualified and can perform consistent with any medically required work restrictions. Hoever, the other position must provide seniority, status, and pay as nearly equal to the former position as possible.

6

• 1

'I D.

If the employee is partially recovered and is able to return to limited duty, then TVA must make every reasonable effort to place him/her In a position, including one with medical work restrictions. A 'partially recovered' employee is expected to recover fully eventually. In this situation, placement is to a vacant position.

(.

0O 0.10

• ,J,I(*

ill EMPLOYEE RECORDS AND THE PRIVACY ACT I. How you collect or access, maintain, handle, use, and dispose of Informa tion you normally have access to may be controlled by law, regulation or other legil authority. Most of these requirements apply regardless of the form of the Information, i.e., whether it is In paper copy, microform, auto mated/magnetic storage, or other forms. Of particular day-to-day impor tance to you as a supervisorare the requirements of the Privacy Act, the Equal Opportunity Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and related TVA procedures about maintaining and using employees' PHRs. You can refer to the following documents fora detailed description of TVA policies and procedures related to employee records and privacy:

TVA Code I1 PRIVACY TVA Instruction I1 PRIVACY PROCEDURES (ERM Chapter 131)

TVA Instruction RECORDS, Automated Human Resource Data System (ERM Chapter 133)

TVA Instruction RECORDS, Employee and Contractor (ERM Chapter 135)

II.

The Privacy Act A.

This law is intended to protect an Individual's privacy. As a supervisor you should be aware of these key provisions of the act:

1.

Any information you collect about individuals must be limited to information which is necessary for proper performance of TVA's functions.

2.

Any information you maintain must be relevant, timely (not out dated), accurate, and complete to assure fairness to the individual in making determinations about that individual.

3.

You generally must permit an individual to access (review) and copy information about him/herself In a system of records and "provide an opportunity to correct errors in that information. A "system of records' is a set of records from which personal infor mation about an individual can be retrieved by use of the indi vidual's name or other personal identifier, like a social security number.

4.

You may not disclose personal Information about an individual except 1) to TVA employees who need that information in the performance of their duties, 2) as authorized in writing by the individual to whom the record pertains, or 3) as established in a routine use statement for the system of records in which the infor mation is maintained.

I

RECORDS B.

Supervlsor/AdmInistratlve (S/A) files containing personnel Informa tion that is required for quick reference in carrying out your supervi sory responsibilities are permitted under the Privacy Act. However, this practice is not encouraged. It is better to rely on the official Per sonal History Record (PHR).

I.

An S/A file normally contains the most recent copy of your subor dinate's job description, form IVA 9880, and service report. You should destroy Individual documents in the file when they are superseded or earlier if they are no longer needed. Destroy the entire file when the employee leaves your Immediate organization.

2.

Personal notes may be made and retained to serve as memory refreshers. However, If you use these notes to make a determina.

tlion abodt ithe individual's work situation (e.g., promotion, formal performance appraisal, warning letter), the notes become subject to the Privacy Act requirements, including the right of the individual to access the notes.

C.

The Privacy Act does not cover infdrmalion which, if released, would not constitute an Invasion of personal privacy. Such 'public' Informa tion includes: name, Job title, type of appointment, grade, pay rate or pay range, dates of employment, and duty station. This kind of public information can be disclosed without the Individual's consent.

D.

Outside inquiries about former or present employees should be referred to your human resource officer if they require an official TVA response:

As a supervisor you may respond to other inquiries if you make clear that your response is based on personal knowledge and is not based on the TVA record. You may not u-e TVA letterhead for your personal response.

E.

The penalty for failure to comply with the Privacy Act k $5000 If you are found guilty of willfully maintaining a secret system of records. A system of records Is considered secret* if it is not publicized and ap proved as required by the Privacy Act. You may also be exposed to a D

civil suit for refusal to grant an employee access to his/her record; fail

3) ure to maintain records with sufficient accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness; failure to amend an Individual's record in accordance with a request; and failure to comply with other provisions of the Pri vacy Act.

111. Equal Employment Opportunity Act This Act places additional security protection on EEO..-related information such as race/ethnic, disability, and sex data about Individuals. Your only access to this Information Is through your human resource officer. Such infor mation is transmitted to you in a sealed envelope to which the following is attached: 'NOTICE OF RESTRICTION: Conditions and Restrictions on the Use of Individually Identifiable EEO/AA Related Data.' Supervisors are responsible for complying with all instructions in that notice.

IV.

0)

This act protects the public's right of access to certain government (including TVA) records. It also identifies the types of information that may be ex empted from disclosure to the public. All FOIA requests for information are handled by the Communications staff.

V.

TVA Personal History Record (PHR)

I, WI ii?

il-i (o

The TVA Personal I listory Record on employees i, maintained as part of the Personnel Files system of records under the Privacy Act. It contains informa tion officially recognized and pertinent to personnel action, and record re quirements.

A.

All information proposed for filing in the PI IR is submitted in the hu man resource officer who will forward it to Hluman Resources' Peron nel Microfilm Department in Knoxville if it meets all guidelines for inclusion In the PIIR. These requirements are discussed in detail in ERM Chapter 135, RECORDS, Employee and Contractor.

B.

The original (microfilm) PI iR is maintained in the Personnel Microrecords Department, I luman Resources, in Knoxville. A micro fiche copy serves as the field file for reference purpowes and as a backup copy of the original.

C.

Supervisor's may access an employee's PIIR only through the human resource officer. No employee may have access to the PIiIR of a person who is administratively over him/her.

D.

Each supervisor is responsible for following security and control meas ures for any PI IR accessed.

t.

Ensure that the PI IR is used for TVA-authori7ed purposes only This Includes taking all precautionary measures necess;ary to pre

-vent unauthorized disclosure of its contents. If routing i-neces sary, place the PI iR in a sealed envelope and label it "Administra.

lively Confidential.'

2.

Comply with all conditions of diclosure establi.hed in ERM Chapter 135, RECORDS, Employee and Contractor.

3.

Protect the PIIR from damage.

4.

Keep the PI iR on I1VA properly or in your custody.

5.

Return the III IR promptly to the personnel specialist who charged the record to you.

6.

Notify the personnel office before a I'IlIR is turned over to another person. This procedure is e.,sential to maintaining control and accountability for PliRs charged out.

7.

Make certain that anyone to whom you makea PIiR available i.s aulhorized Io have it and i%. aware of thee re-ilonibilitie.,

'S Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

C.

re 117 Ill!

RECORDS An employee may have access to information In his/her PI IR. A re quest for access is submitted In person or by mail to the employee's human resource officer. The employee can also obtain a copy of the materials In the record. An employee may request an amendment or correction to his/her PHR to the extent permitted by the Privacy Act.

The request should be submitted to the human resource officer. Formal requests must comply with the requirements Identified in TVA Instruc tion 11 PRIVACY PROCEDURES (ERM Chapter 131) and ERM Chapter 135, RECORDS, Employee and Contractor.

Index 401(k) plan, 59

• i.)

ii Ii f.

Credit for performance, 74, 89, 90 D

A Absent without leave (AWOL), 54, 57 Accident insurance, 43 Accommodation, 12, 76 Administrative leave, 53 Advance annual leave, 56 Advance sick leave, 56 Adverse action, 77, 96 Affirmative employment, I I ALARA, 3 Alleged dicriminating official, 97, 99 Annual and Sick Leave Act, 53, 55 Annual leave, 53, 54 Annuity, 59 Apprenticeship, 63, 64 19p B

Before-Tax Payment Plan, 44, 45,47 Building emergencies, 70 (0

c Clta-ification %.tandardt, 34 Compen;a lion Planning and Analy..M.

Staff, 32, 33, 35 Compen'atorv time, 66, 70 Competitive area, 87, 91, 92 Competitive level, 88, 90, 92 Conflict of interest, 13, 14 Continuation-of-pay, 6 Counw1ling, 73, 77, 98 Death benefit, 60 Dental plan, 44 Department of Labor (DOL), 6, 4 1, 100, 101 Disability, It, 90, 106, 109, 110 Disability retirement, 60 Discrimination, 1I, 26, 76, 97, 98, 99 Dog-off, 84, 85 E

Early retirement, 60, 61 Education, 63 Employee Assktance Program, 8, 76 Employee Concerns Program, 100 Entertainment, 17 Equal Employment Opportunity,oom mission (EEOC), 99 Equal Opportunity Act, Ill1 Equal Opportunity complaint, 91, 97, 98 Equal Pay Act, 37 Exces,;ive work, 66 Exempt, 65 External selection, 22 F

rair Labor Standards Act (ri-SA), 37, 65 ranmilv leave, 53, 56 ITGl.I, 48 linancial interest, 13, 19 Flexible schedule, 66, 69 I lexilime, 67 114 11 I

1. 

6 0

114 115

Food and refreshment, 17 Forfeited annual leave, 54, 60 Form TVA 13008,94 rorm TVA 13050,74 Form TVA 3031, 74 rorm TVA.77, 74 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),

111, 113 Furlough, 84 G

Gambling, 19 Gifts, 17 Grievance procedures, 93, 94, 95 H

Handicap, 12, 26, 97 I larasmenl, 98, 101 Hatch Act, 14, 15, 16 Hiring, 22, 29 Holiday closing. 54, 71 I lolidays, 68 Individual Increaw P rogram, 38 Inflexible schedule, 40, 67 In'pcclor General, 14, 79, 100, 101 Interchangeability, 88 Internal selections, 21 Inte'ricw form, 27 Interviewing, 25, 27 Inve..ligalion, 1I, 99, 100, 101 j

Job description, 21, 24, 31, 34, 35, 83,88 Job evalualion, 32 Job factors, 34 L

Layoff, 85 Leave Transfer Program, 53,5A4,57 Leave without pay (LWOP), 54, 56 LINA, 43 Life insurance, 48 Light duty,?7 Live Well, 8 M

Medical constraints, 4, 7 Medical examination-, 4 Medical plan, 46 Merit and efficiency, 11, 21, 24, 10S Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPDI), 15, 77, 91, 96, 105, 107 Military duly, 105, 109 Misconduct, 75, 76, 77, 79 L I WI S S

• JS Nonexempt, 65 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 100 o00 Occupational I lealth & Safety, 1, 2,A3,9 Occupational radiation, 1, 3 Occupational Safely ahd I Icallh Ad.

ministralion ((*I IA), 100 Reassignment right% 87, 90 Reduction in force, 87, 1t0, 1(06 Reemployment, 87 Relatives, 13, 19 Relocation Incentive, 50 Relocation Services Program, 50 Reprinmand, 78 Reprisal, 97, 10, 101, 103 Restoration, 1017, 1(19 Restored leave, 54 Retention group, 90 Office of Pernonnel Management (O'M), 87 Office of Workerm' Compensation Pro grains (OWCI'), 6 Operator training, 64 Organi7ational development, 61 Overtime, 39, 40, 66, 69 P

Pay group, 38 Pension, 48, 49,59 Performance appraisal, 73, 74, 89 Performance Increase Program, 38 Personal I listory Record (PIll R), 77, t1, 112, 113 l'olilical aclivily, 13, 14, 15 Post-employment restrictions, IS Preference eligible, 77, 80, 10.5, 107 Premium pay, 40, 68, 69 Privacy Act, 111, 112 Progressive discipline, 76,77 Proleclcd Clas%, 98

.sychological Svervices, 8 116 III Retention register, 89, 90, 92 Retention subgroup, 90 S

Safety committee, 2, 3, It)

Saving-, plan, 59 Severance pay, 49, 87 Social Stcurity, 49 Supervinor/adminktrative file%., 112 Supervisory differential, 40 Supension, 75, 78, 8(1, 81 S,'stem of records, I ItI T

Training, 2, 8,63 Transfer of function, 91 Travel, 50 TVA property, 14, 16 U

Unapproved ab.t.ence, 57 Underrepresenled, I I Unemrployment compew-.ition, 5t, 92 V

Veterans' Affairs Office, 1t08 Veterans' Preference Act, 105 Vetcrans' preference, 90,96, 105 See also Preference eligible Volunlary reduction in force, 92 w

Weather, 70 Woiker%' compenll lion. 6,051 i0 I I r

Food and refreshment, 17 Forfeited annual leave, 54, 60 Form IVA 13008, 94 Form TVA 13050,74 Form TVA 3031, 74 rorm TVA.77,74 Freedom of Information Act (rOTA),

III, 113 rurlough, 84 G

Gambling. 19 Girls, 17 Grievance procedures, 93, 94, 95 i

Job description, 21, 24, 31, 34, 35, 83, 88 Job evaluation, 32 Job factors, 34 L

Layoff, 85 Leave Transtfer Program, 53, 54, 57 Leave without pay (LWOP), 54,56 LINA, 43 Life insurance, 48 Light duty, 7 Live Well, 8 II M

H Handicap, 12, 26, 97 Hlarassment, 98, 101 Hiatch Acl, 14, 15, 16 1 iring. 22,29 Holiday closing 54,71 1 lolidays, 68 Individual Increase Program, 38 Inflexible schedule, 40, 67 Inspeclor General, 14, 79, 100, 101 Interchangeability, 88 Internal selections, 21 Interview form, 27 Interviewing, 25, 27 Investigation, II, 99, 100, 101 Medical constraints, 4, 7 Medical examinations, 4 Medical plan, 46 Merit and efficiency, 11, 21, 24, 105 Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), 15, 77, 91, 96, 105, 107 Military duty, 105, 109 Misconduct, 75, 76, 77, 79 N

Nonexempt, 65 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), 100 0

Occupational Ileallh & Safety, 1, 2, 3, 9 Occupational radiation, 1, 3 Occupational Safely ahd Ilealth Ad.

minislration (0SI IA), 100 I

Office of Personnel Management (OP'M), 87 g)Office of Workers' Compensation Pro gramis (C)WCP), 6 Olperalor training, 64 Organilational development, 64 Overtime, 39, 40, 66, 69 Pay group, 38 Pension, 48, 49, 59 Performance appraisal, 73, 74, 89 l'erformance Increase Program, 38 Personal I listory Record (PI iR), 77, 81, 11), 113 Political activity, 13, 14, 15 Post-employment restrictions, 18 S Preference eligible, 77, 80, 105, 107 Premium pay, 40, 68, 69 Privacy Act, 111, 112 Progressive discipline, 76, 77 Protected class, 98 I'.sychological Services, 8 R

Reassignment rights, 87, 90 Reduction in force, 87, 105, 106 Reemployment, 87 Relatives, 13, 19 Relocatlion Incentive, 50 Relocation Services Program, 50 Reprimand, 78 Reprisal, 97, 100, 10, 103 Re.%toralion, 107, 109 Restorcd leave, 5t Retenlion group, 90 Retention register, 89, 90, 92 Retention subgroup, 90 S

Safety committee, 2, 3, 10 Savings plan, 59 Severance pay, 49, 87 Social Security, 49 Supervisor/adminitralive files, 112 Supervisory differential, 40 Suspension, 75, 78, 80, 81 System of records, Itll T

Training, 2, 8, 63 Transfer or function, 91 Travel, 50 TVA property, 14, 16 U

Unapproved absence, 57 Underrepresented, II Unemployn~ent conmpenation. 5, 92 V

Veterans' Affairs Office, 108 Veterans' Preference Act, 105 Veterans' preference, 90, 96, 105 See alsno Preference eligible Voluntary reduction in force, 92 w

Weather, 70 Womkers' coni penalion, 6, 51 1 le~III

)

I

]

II A