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- Visit CDC.gov for Coronavirus (COVID-19) Public Health Updates
As Public Health Service Officers and America’s Health Responders, we stand ready to preserve public health and national security during national or global health emergencies. Our mission is to be out the door as soon as requested, as this is an “all hands on deck” situation. All Corps officers were placed on involuntary deploy or "alert" status effective Wednesday, March 25, 2020, irrespective of the 'on-call month' status. Under Commissioned Corps Directive 121.02, "Deployment and Readiness," as directed by Assistant Secretary for Health, Commissioned Corps Headquarters will deploy Commissioned Corps officers assigned to HHS OpDivs/StaffDivs, either voluntarily or involuntarily and without supervisory approval, who are not considered mission critical, for deployments, under the current National Emergency. Mission critical requests sent to CCHQ are not final until the request is approved by the CCHQ Director as per the POM 821.76 ”Deployment Procedures”. An officer with a non-HHS organization may be deployed in accordance with the Memorandum of Agreement/Understanding between the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the non-HHS organization.
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Promotion Information
Exceptional Proficiency Promotions (EPP)
What is an Exceptional Proficiency Promotion (EPP)?
An EPP is a temporary grade promotion for officers who have not yet met all three criteria for normal temporary grade promotion eligibility—(1) Time-in-Grade (TIG),(2) Training and Experience (T&E), and (3) Time-in-Service (TIS). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Operating Divisions (OPDIVs)/Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs) and non-HHS organizations can nominate officers for an EPP if they possess unusual levels of training, professional experience, and/or unique qualifications for early promotion.
Who is eligible for an EPP?
Each year Commissioned Corps Headquarters (CCHQ) generates a list of officers who meet the following requirements for EPP eligibility:
- Meet the criteria outlined in Section 6-8 of CCI 332.01;
- Has held the current temporary grade for at least 1 year as of 1 March of the year in which the officer’s record is to be reviewed by an ATPB;
- Currently is in a billet that has a rating at or above the grade of the proposed promotion;
- Have 5 and 9 years of active duty service as an officer in the Corps for a nomination to the O-5 and O-6 grades, respectively;
- Comply with the licensure requirement(s) for his/her discipline and/or category;
- Comply with the force readiness standards. In accordance with CCD 111.03, “Conditions of Service,” an officer must continuously meet the Corps’ basic force readiness standards. POM 821.74, “Promotion Precepts and Criteria,” outlines that the Annual Temporary Promotion Board (ATPB) and the Annual Permanent Promotion Board (APPB) cannot consider for promotion any officer who has been marked as “Not Qualified” for any month, beginning on 1 September of the year preceding the Promotion Year (PY) up to and including 1 January of the PY (e.g., for PY2021, CCHQ will check 1 September 2020 and each subsequent month up to and including 1 January 2021
- Have their most recent annual Commissioned Officers’ Effectiveness Reports (COER) rated as satisfactory (e.g., for PY2021, the 2020 annual COER is rated as satisfactory);
- Have all required COERs for the past five (5) years in the officer’s electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF); and
- Have no outstanding adverse action(s).
Note: In accordance to CCD 111.03, to comply with the conditions of service, if an officer has been recommended for promotion however does not meet the administrative checks outlined above e-i, the officer will not be promoted. These checks normally occur for the time period of Feb 1 of the PY to June 1 of the PY; however, they may occur at any time up to the date that a promotion is scheduled to be effective.
Officers must meet the Time-in-Grade (TIG) requirement. Officers who meet the TIG, T&E, and TIS requirements are eligible for the regular temporary grade promotion, so no longer qualify for an EPP.
How is an officer nominated for an EPP?
Once CCHQ has created the EPP eligibility list, it sends each HHS OPDIV/STAFFDIV and non-HHS organization a list of their eligible officers, as well as their quota for nominations. CCHQ determines the quota by calculating 5 percent of the total number of officers eligible for an EPP within the organization.
Interested officers should contact their Commissioned Corps Liaisons for guidelines and organization deadlines for EPP nominations. CCHQ will only accept nominations from OPDIV/STAFFDIV Heads and Directors of non-HHS organizations to which officers are detailed. In other words, officers cannot nominate themselves for an EPP; nor will CCHQ accept nominations from lower level agency officials. Also, for more information on EPP eligibility and nomination procedures, Liaisons, OPDIV/STAFFDIV Heads, and Directors of non-HHS organizations should review CCI 332.01, “Temporary Promotions.”
How many times can an officer be nominated for an EPP?
An officer may be nominated to CCHQ only one time per temporary grade. This one time quota is regardless of the officer’s agency; it is linked to the officer. Some organizations hold an internal review board to determine who they will nominate; suggestions by this board do not count as a nomination. Only if the organization puts the officer’s name forward to CCHQ for promotion consideration and the promotion board reviews the officer, will CCHQ count the officer as having been nominated.
What should an officer do if nominated?
Each organization will notify the officers they have nominated for an EPP. These nominated officers must follow the instructions posted on the Promotion Information website, and submit all the same documents as required for regular temporary grade promotions. The ATPB will review and rank these officers using the same methods and criteria as for officers who are eligible in their own right. Board members are unaware of which officers are EPP nominees and which are eligible for the regular temporary grade promotion. They review the eOPFs of both types of nominees with the same category benchmarks in mind, and require both to meet the same administrative requirements for temporary grade promotion.
May an officer change positions while being considered for an EPP?
The Corps will require an officer who received an EPP to remain stationed at the OPDIV/STAFFDIV or non-HHS organization that nominated him/her for a period not less than one year from the effective date of promotion.
CCHQ will remove from promotion consideration officers nominated for an EPP who transfer to a position (within the agency/OPDIV or at another agency/OPDIV) whose billet grade does not meet the criteria for EPP nomination, on the effective date of the billet change.
CCHQ will remove from promotion consideration officers nominated for an EPP who transfer from the nominating agency/OPDIV, unless the receiving agency supports the EPP nomination and has not met its quota. Most agencies/OPDIVS utilize their full EPP quota.
Questions about the EPP process may be directed to your Commissioned Corps Liaisons. If you do not find the answers to your questions on this website, please send an e-mail to: PHSPromotions@hhs.gov.