If it looks like a duck. quacks like a duck. It’s a duck. The federal government created an Excepted employee category for temp workers. The thing after 4-years we are permanent workers, but still Excepted. We applied to the job on USAjobs.gov, took a test, and went through an interviewing process. We should be in Competitive service. But we are not. Is it because we are women? Is it because we are older? They put us in a category of Scheduled A. People with Disabilities. https://www.eeoc.gov/publications/abcs-schedule-tips-human-resource-professionals-using-schedule-appointing-authority#_Toc425081232
There are three categories of federal civil service jobs.
Senior Executive https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/senior-executive-service/
Competitive https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/competitive-hiring/
Excepted Service https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/excepted-service/
Senior Executives are the presidential appointees
Competitive Service are hired on a merit-based selection process
Excepted Service are hired on when it’s not feasible or practical to use traditional competitive hiring procedures.
FS – Excepted Service Pub Date: 05/02/2018
Link to Relevant Census
(d) Bureau of the Census—
(1) Managers, supervisors, technicians, clerks, interviewers, and enumerators in the field service, for time-limited employment to conduct a census.
(2) Current Program Interviewers employed in the field service.
Going from Non Competitive to Competitive –
Noncompetitive conversion to the competitive service.
(i) An agency may noncompetitively convert to the competitive service an employee who has completed 2 years of satisfactory service under this authority in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 12125, as amended by Executive Order 13124, and § 315.709 of this chapter, except as provided in paragraph (u)(6)(ii) of this section.
(ii) Time spent on a temporary appointment specified in paragraph (u)(5)(ii) of this section does not count towards the 2-year requirement. https://www.ecfr.gov/compare/2019-01-07/to/2019-01-06/title-5/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-213/subpart-C/subject-group-ECFR2a2db745208d125/section-213.3102
Department of Commerce Order 2017 -03-02 https://www.osec.doc.gov/opog/dmp/daos/dao202_302.html
Were you hired in Excepted Service (when it should have been Competitive Service). Schedule A. Schedule A appointments are authorized by OPM when competitive examining procedures are not practicable and when the position is not of a confidential or policy-determining character, and is not in the SES (5 CFR 213.3101). Examples of such positions are: attorneys; law clerk trainees; interviewers and enumerators in the Census Bureau field service; international trade advisors in the International Trade Administration; Wage Mariners on vessels of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; certain positions at isolated localities; and all others listed under 5 CFR 213.3102. https://www.osec.doc.gov/opog/dmp/daos/dao202_302.html
Law change – https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-213