GAO
United States Government Accountability Office
Report to Congressional Requesters
PERSONNELPRACTICESConversions of Employees fromPolitical to CareerPositions May 2005 -May 2009
June 2010GAO-10-688
What GAO Found
United States Government Accountability Office
Why GAO Did This Study
H
ighlights
AccountabilityIntegrityReliability
June 2010
PERSONNEL PRACTICES
Conver
s
ion
s
of Employee
s
from Political to CareerPo
s
ition
s
, May 2005 - May 2009
Political appointees in the federalgovernment sometimes seekappointments to career competitiveand other positions which, unlike political appointments, do notterminate at the end of anadministration. Federal agenciesmust use appropriate authoritiesand follow proper procedures inmaking these conversions. GAOwas asked to determine fordepartments and selected agencies(1) the number and characteristicsof all political to careerconversions occurring during the period from May 1, 2005, throughMay 30, 2009, and (2) whetherappropriate authorities were usedand proper procedures werefollowed in making theseconversions at the GS-12 level andabove.
What GAO Recommend
s
GAO recommends that OPM reviewfive of the seven conversions GAOidentified where it appears thatcertain agencies did not adhere tomerit system principles, did notfollow proper procedures, or mayhave engaged in prohibited personnel practices, and determinewhether additional actions areneeded. OPM agreed with thisrecommendation.Regarding the remaining twoconversions that raised questions,one is currently being reviewed bythe Ethics Officer for the agencythat made the conversion and theother does not warrant furtheraction in our view as the officialsolely responsible for theconversion and the convertee areboth no longer with the agency.
Twenty-six of the 42 departments and agencies selected for review reportedconverting 139 individuals from political to career positions from May 1, 2005,through May 30, 2009. The other 16 departments and agencies reportedmaking no conversions during this period. Five agencies accounted for 79, or57 percent, of the 139 reported conversions: the Departments of Justice (32),Homeland Security (17), Defense (13), Energy (9), and Commerce (8). Agencies appeared to have used appropriate authorities and followed proper procedures in making the majority (92) of the 117 conversions reported at theGS-12 level or higher. However, for seven of these conversionsdocumentation indicates that agencies may not have adhered to merit system principles, followed proper procedures, or may have engaged in prohibited personnel practices or other improprieties. Some of the improper proceduresincluded pre-selecting particular individuals for career positions and selectingformer political appointees who appeared to have limited qualifications and/orexperience relevant to the career positions. Of the seven conversions, fivewill be reviewed by OPM; one involves an issue most appropriately reviewedby the agency’s ethics officer, and one does not warrant further action as boththe official solely responsible for the conversion and the convertee are nolonger with the agency. For 18 conversions there was insufficient informationto make a determination as to whether appropriate authorities and proper procedures were followed. In some cases this was because the documentretention period had passed by the time of our review and agencies no longermaintained the files. In other cases, agencies did not provide enoughdocumentation for us to fully assess the process they used to make theconversion.Political appointees can bring valuable skills and experience to the federalworkforce, and the merit-based conversion of political appointees to career positions can be a useful means to achieving a highly qualified workforce.OPM’s newly implemented pre-appointment review of these conversionscould help better ensure they are done appropriately.
Type of Political Po
s
ition
s
Converted from and Career Po
s
ition
s
Converted to, from May 1,2005, throu
g
h May 30, 2009
962
88
43
S
ched
u
le CNon-c
a
reer
S
E
S
Pre
s
identi
a
l
a
ppointee
s
Legi
s
l
a
tive br
a
nchLimited term
S
E
S
Political positionsbefore conversion
90 Competitive
s
ervice24 C
a
reer
S
E
S
25 C
a
reer excepted
s
ervice
Career positionsafter conversion
S
o
u
rce: GAO’
s
a
n
a
ly
s
i
s
of d
a
t
a
reported by dep
a
rtment
s
a
nd
s
elected
a
gencie
s
.
View GAO-10-688 or key components. For more information, contact Laurie E.Ekstrand, (202) 512-6806,ekstrandl@gao.gov.
Page i GAO-10-688
Contents
Letter
1
Background 4 Agencies Appeared to Have Used Appropriate Authorities andProper Procedures in Making the Majority of These Conversions 9Conclusions 11 Recommendation(s) for Executive Action 12 Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 12
Appendix I Executive Branch Departments and Select AgenciesCovered in This Review and Their Number of Conversions
Appendix III Political Appointees Converted to Career Positionsby Departments and Selected Agencies fromMay 1, 2005, through April 30, 2009
Appendix IV Conversions Where Appropriate Authorities andProper Procedures May Not Have Been Followed
Appendix V 18 Conversions Where It Could Not Be Determined Whether Appropriate Authorities and ProperProcedures Were Followed
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