
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 2, 2001 and January 28, 2002]
[CITE: 5USC5362]

 
             TITLE 5--GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES
 
                           PART III--EMPLOYEES
 
                      Subpart D--Pay and Allowances
 
                    CHAPTER 53--PAY RATES AND SYSTEMS
 
                 SUBCHAPTER VI--GRADE AND PAY RETENTION
 
Sec. 5362. Grade retention following a change of positions or 
        reclassification
        
    (a) Any employee--
        (1) who is placed as a result of reduction-in-force procedures 
    from a position subject to this subchapter to another position which 
    is subject to this subchapter and which is in a lower grade than the 
    previous position, and
        (2) who has served for 52 consecutive weeks or more in one or 
    more positions subject to this subchapter at a grade or grades 
    higher than that of the new position,

is entitled, to the extent provided in subsection (c) of this section, 
to have the grade of the position held immediately before such placement 
be considered to be the retained grade of the employee in any position 
he holds for the 2-year period beginning on the date of such placement.
    (b)(1) Any employee who is in a position subject to this subchapter 
and whose position has been reduced in grade is entitled, to the extent 
provided in subsection (c) of this section, to have the grade of such 
position before reduction be treated as the retained grade of such 
employee for the 2-year period beginning on the date of the reduction in 
grade.
    (2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not 
apply with respect to any reduction in the grade of a position which had 
not been classified at the higher grade for a continuous period of at 
least one year immediately before such reduction.
    (c) For the 2-year period referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of 
this section, the retained grade of an employee under such subsection 
(a) or (b) shall be treated as the grade of the employee's position for 
all purposes (including pay and pay administration under this chapter 
and chapter 55 of this title, retirement and life insurance under 
chapters 83, 84, and 87 of this title, and eligibility for training and 
promotion under this title) except--
        (1) for purposes of subsection (a) of this section,
        (2) for purposes of applying any reduction-in-force procedures, 
    or
        (3) for such other purposes as the Office of Personnel 
    Management may provide by regulation.

    (d) The foregoing provisions of this section shall cease to apply to 
an employee who--
        (1) has a break in service of one workday or more;
        (2) is demoted (determined without regard to this section) for 
    personal cause or at the employee's request;
        (3) is placed in, or declines a reasonable offer of, a position 
    the grade of which is equal to or higher than the retained grade; or
        (4) elects in writing to have the benefits of this section 
    terminate.

(Added Pub. L. 95-454, title VIII, Sec. 801(a)(1), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 
Stat. 1219; amended Pub. L. 98-615, title II, Sec. 204(a)(1), Nov. 8, 
1984, 98 Stat. 3216; Pub. L. 103-89, Sec. 3(b)(1)(K), Sept. 30, 1993, 
107 Stat. 982.)


                            Prior Provisions

    A prior section 5362, Pub. L. 89-554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 473, 
Pub. L. 95-251, Sec. 2(a)(1), (b)(1), Mar. 27, 1978, 92 Stat. 183, which 
related to hearing examiners, was renumbered section 5372 of this title 
by Pub. L. 95-454, title VIII, Sec. 801(a)(3)(A)(ii), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 
Stat. 1221.


                               Amendments

    1993--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-89 substituted ``chapter 55 of this 
title, retirement and life insurance under chapters 83, 84, and 87'' for 
``chapters 54 and 55 of this title, retirement and life insurance under 
chapters 83 and 87'' in introductory provisions, redesignated par. (4) 
as (3), and struck out former par. (3) which read as follows: ``for 
purposes of determining whether the employee is covered by the 
performance management and recognition system established under chapter 
54 of this title, or''.
    1984--Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 98-615 substituted ``performance 
management and recognition system established under chapter 54'' for 
``merit pay system established under section 5402''.


                    Effective Date of 1993 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 103-89 effective Nov. 1, 1993, see section 3(c) 
of Pub. L. 103-89, set out as a note under section 3372 of this title.


                    Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

    Section 205 of Pub. L. 98-615 provided that amendment by Pub. L. 98-
615 was effective Oct. 1, 1984, and applicable with respect to pay 
periods commencing on or after that date, with certain exceptions and 
qualifications.


 Additional Pay and Benefits for Employees Reduced in Grade On or After 
                          January 1, 1977, Etc.

    Section 801(b) of Pub. L. 95-454 provided that:
    ``(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel 
Management, any employee--
        ``(A) whose grade was reduced on or after January 1, 1977, and 
    before the effective date of the amendments made by subsection (a) 
    of this section [see Effective Date note set out under section 5361 
    of this title] under circumstances which would have entitled the 
    employee to coverage under the provisions of section 5362 of title 
    5, United States Code (as amended by subsection (a) of this section) 
    if such amendments had been in effect at the time of the reduction; 
    and
        ``(B) who has remained employed by the Federal Government from 
    the date of the reduction in grade to the effective date of the 
    amendments made by subsection (a) of this section without a break in 
    service of one workday or more;
shall be entitled--
        ``(i) to receive the additional pay and benefits which such 
    employee would have been entitled to receive if the amendments made 
    by subsection (a) of this section had been in effect during the 
    period beginning on the effective date of such reduction in grade 
    and ending on the day before the effective date of such amendments, 
    and
        ``(ii) to have the amendments made by subsection (a), of this 
    section apply to such employee as if the reduction in grade had 
    occurred on the effective date of such amendments.
    ``(2) No employee covered by this subsection whose reduction in 
grade resulted in an increase in pay shall have such pay reduced by 
reason of the amendments made by subsection (a) of this section.
    ``(3)(A) For purposes of this subsection, the requirements under 
paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection, relating to continuous employment 
following reduction in grade, shall be considered to be met in the case 
of any employee--
        ``(i) who separated from service with a right to an immediate 
    annuity under chapter 83 of title 5, United States Code, or under 
    another retirement system for Federal employees; or
        ``(ii) who died.
    ``(B) Amounts payable by reason of subparagraph (A) of this 
paragraph in the case of the death of an employee shall be paid in 
accordance with the provisions of subchapter VIII of chapter 55 of title 
5, United States Code, relating to settlement of accounts in the case of 
deceased employees.
    ``(4) The Office of Personnel Management shall have the same 
authority to prescribe regulations under this subsection as it has under 
section 5365 of title 5, United States Code, with respect to subchapter 
VI of chapter 53 of such title, as added by subsection (a) of this 
section.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 5361, 5363, 5364 of this 
title.
