ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF SELECTED PARTS OF THE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES TRAINING ACT AND REGULATIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-06365A001200030037-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 23, 2000
• Sequence Number: 37
• Publication Date: April 22, 1959
• Content Type: REPORT

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DRAFT -- 4/22/59
Analysis and Interpretation of Selected
Parts of the Government Employees Training Act and Regulations
This information is provided to help in better understanding the Govern-
ment Employees Training Act and the regulations contained in Chapter T-1 of
the Federal Personnel Manual.
Subpart B Establishing Training Programs
Through Government and Non-Government Facilities
This part of the regulations permits agencies wide latitude for exercising
administrative judgment needed for effective training. The requirements are
primarily guides or standards. The details as to how most of the requirements
will be met are left to agency discretion.
Section 39.201 Review of Training Needs
This section requires that agencies consider information available through
existing records in determining training needs. It also requires that the
training needs of all employees be considered (not just professional personnel)
in these determinations.
Section 39.202 Statement of Training Policy; Scope of Training Programs
Agencies must state training policies in writing. This section includes
broad standards for training programs. It emphasizes the need for agencies to
give thought to the purposes of training,, training needs, and assignment of
responsibilities for seeing that the purposes of training are achieved.
Section 39.203 Selection and Assignment of Trainees
Agencies are required to establish procedures that will insure reasonable
equality of opportunity among employees for training that will result in pro-
motions. This section also requires agencies to use the Merit Promotion when
selecting career or career-conditional employees for training that is given to
prepare them for promotion and that is required for promotion.
Examples:
1. Training is given to prepare employees for Purchasing Agent
positions. Persons can qualify for these positions in ways
other than this specific training. Therefore, you are not
required to use the Merit Promotion Program when selecting
employees for this training. If the training will improve
the employees chances for promotion, you are only required
to establish reasonable equality of opportunity for this
training. You are encouraged to use the Merit Promotion
Program in such instances.
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2. To qualify for a position as Internal Revenue Agent GS-11,
candidates must complete a specific course given only by
the Internal Revenue Service. In this situation, use of
the Merit Promotion Program is required when selecting
employees for this training.
This section of the regulations also places two restrictions on agency
authority to approve out-service training. These are:
1. Authority to approve out-service training of more than 40
hours duration must be held at a sufficiently high adminis-
trative level to insure that the policies and viewpoints
of the agency head are reflected in each decision; and
2. Each assignment of an employee who is stationed within
any of the several states of the union to training outside
of these states must be approved by a specifically desig-
nated official at the headquarters level of the. agency.
Section 39.204 Utilization of Trainees
Agencies are required to consider significant training and self-development
of their employees when position changes are effected. The Civil Service Com-
mission does not expect documentation of such consideration and will not question
agency determinations in individual cases.
Section 39.205 Evaluation of Training
The regulations require agencies to provide for evaluation of training.
Agency heads are permitted to determine the manner and frequency of evaluation
that is most appropriate in light of agency circumstances.
Section 39.206 Interchange of Training Information
Agencies are directed to share new, different? or particularly successful
training practices with the Civil Service Commission and other agencies. Each
agency is responsible for determining what should be shared (in terms of
probable interest of other agencies and its own ability to share) and how
sharing will be accomplished.
Section 39.207 Reports
This section prescribes that certain reports will be submitted by agencies
to the Civil Service Commission. Each agency will establish procedures for
gathering the required information.
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Section 39.208 Utilization of Other Government Facilities
The regulations reflect the principle that agencies are in the best po-
sition to determine whether they can make their training facilities available
to other agencies (in terms of capacity and effect on training operations and
other missions) and to determine whether training programs and facilities of
other agencies are suitable, timely, and reasonably available to meet their
training needs.
Subpart C Training By, In, or Through
Non-Government Facilities
This subpart covers regulations which relates exclusively to out-service
training.
Section 39.301 General Prohibitions, Training Through Non-Government Facilities
The regulations contain two general prohibitions on out-service training.
These are:
1. Training for promotion is prohibited if fully qualified
employees are available in the agency. If taken literally,
this prohibition would require an installation to have more
knowledge of personnel in other parts of an agency than is
generally available. Because of this, agency heads are
directed to establish procedures that are "reasonable and
necessary to assure adherence to this prohibition."
2. Agencies are prohibited against use of out-service train-
ing if Government facilities or fully trained employees
are reasonably available. An agency may find that Govern-
ment facilities are not reasonably available if using
them would be more expensive.
Section 39.302 Selection of Non-Government Facilities for Training
Selection of out-service facilities for training shall be based primarily
on the ability of such facilities to meet training needs effectively, economically,
and in a timely fashion.
Section 39.303 Computing Time in Training Through Non-Government Facilities
The basic principles of this section are:
1. Count "classroom" time for part-time training;
2. Count time in pay or leave status for full-time training (up to a
maximum of 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week)
3. Do not count travel, study and correspondence course time,
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There will be relatively few problems when a training program is exclusively
Government or non-Government. However, a particular course may include both.
If so, each type should be governed by its own regulations.
Example: An agency conducts a 24 hour course in one of its buildings.
Twenty hours are taught by Government employees and four by
non-Federal employees. The four hour segment is considered
"training by, in, or through non-Government facilities."
Section 39.304 Continuous Civilian Service
Under the Act, no employee having less than one year of current, continuous
civilian service in the Government is eligible for out-service training unless
the agency determines, in accordance with Commission regulations, that such
training is in the public interest.
The term "continuous civilian service" is interpreted to permit crediting
of all time on the rolls in a non-pay status.
Section 39.305 Waiver of Limitations on Training of Employees Through Non-
Government Facilities
The Act limits the total amount of out-service training an agency can give
a year. It prohibits out-service training during the first year of employment
unless the agency head determines such training to be in the public interest.
Finally, it prohibits more than one year of out-service training during any
decade of an employee's service.
The Act permits the Commission to waive these limitations upon recommen-
dation of the head of an agency.
This regulation:
1. authorizes the waiver of all three prohibitions for periods
of out-Service training of 40 hours or less, correspondence
courses, and training conducted by manufacturers as a part
of the normal service incident to initial purchase or lease
of their products under procurement contracts;
2, authorizes the waiver of the prohibition against out-service
training during the first year of employment and the
prohibition against more than one year of out-service train-
ing in a decade for career or career-conditional employees
in work-study programs if three conditions are met: agency
does not pay employees' salary while in college; programs
cannot operate successfully unless the agency pays some
training expenses; and employees are in fields of natural
or mathematical sciences or engineering;
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3. permits agency head3 to waive the prohibition against out-
sorvice training during the first year of service for
employees whose training is essential to protection of :Life,
safety, or property, or to intelligence or law enforcement
activities; for employees in positions for which higher
minimum rates o:' pay are approved under section 803 of the
Classification Act; and for employees who can participate
at little or no added cost in programs conducted for others.
Section 39.306 Agreement to Continue in Service
The Act requires employees who are given out-service training at Govern-
ment expense to agree to stay in the service for a period equal to at least
3 times the length of such training or pay the Government for the additional
expensed
This regulation excepts from the requirement
1. training that involves only salary expense;
2. training provided by manufacturers as a normal service
incident to initial procurement or lease of their product;
3. training of 40 hours or less
it. training through correspondence courses,
This section also permits a shorter period of obligated service for employ-
ees taking training on their own time at Government expense. In such situations,
the obligated service must be at least one month or equal to the length of the
training whichever period is longer.
Section 39.307 Failure to Fulfill Agreements to Continue in Service
The Act has two special provisions which permit relief when employees fail
to fulfill. obligated service agreements. One of these says, when an employee
moves to another agency, recovery of training expenses may be made only if his
agency notifies him before he moves that it will require recovery. Employees
must give the agency 10 days notice of their intention to transfer. The other
special provision offering relief says that agency heads may waive the right of
recovery, under Commission regulations, in the interests of equity and good
conscience or in the public interest. Under this latter provision agencies may
also pro-rate the amount of the remaining obligation. (Example: An employee
completes 3 months of a 6 month obligation. The added cost of the out-service
training was $500.00. The agency may require the employee to pay $250.00 for
the 3 months of incomplete obligated service.)
This section of the regulations requires agencies to give timely notice of
their intention to recover expenses from employees moving to other agencies.
It also gives agencies the authority they need to waive the right of recovery.
At the same time it directs that delegations of authority to waive the right of
recovery be held to high administrative levels in the agency.
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Su part D Expenses of Training,
Section 39.tG01 Determination of Necessary Expenses of. Training
This section gives agency heads (subject to delegation as they see fit)
responsibility for determining which expenses of training are appropriately paid
under the provisions of this Act.
Section 39.402 Exceptions from Prohibitions on Payment of Premium Pay
The Act prohibits payment of overtime, holiday, and night differential pay
during training. The Commission has given relief from this prohibition through
its delegated authority to make exceptions. Excepted by this section are:
1. employees given training (but not full time training in
colleges or universities) during periods for which they
are already receiving premium pay;
2. employees given training at night in situations occurring
only at night;
3. employees given training on overtime because it is cheaper
to do it this way;
4, employees given training during periods of temporary assign-
ment covered by a savings provision in the pay regulations.
Section 39.403 Protection of Government's Interest, Incomplete Training
This section requires agencies to consider the need for procedures that will
protect the Government's interests when employees don't complete training. The
primary effect would probably be on correspondence training. Agencies may wish
for example, to pay for certain types of training (e.g., correspondence courses
only upon completion of the training, or to require employees to share the costs
of training under certain circumstances*
Section 39.40 Records of Training Expenses
Records of payment connected with out-service training must be maintained.
The form of these records is not set by the Commission.
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Subpart E Contributions, Awards, and Payments
This subpart covers payments from outside sources (certain tax-exempt
organizations) in connection with training and attendance at meetings. The
tone of this subpart is set by the sensitive nature of the matter and. potential
conflict-of-interest problems.
Section 39.501 Scope
This subpart covers only training and meetings that employees attend while
on duty or that agencies pay for in whole or in part. This subpart doesn't
relieve agency heads of their responsibility for regulating payments by outside
organizations under other circumstances.
Section 39.502 Acceptance of Contributions, Awards, and Payments
The regulations require written authorization from a person in the agency
with the power to approve such acceptance.
Section 39.503 Authority of Departments to Authorize Acceptance
This section sets two broad conditions on acceptance of contributions,
awards, or payments from outside sources. First, it must not be a reward for
past services to the organization. Second, it must be proper and ethical for
the employee concerned, and not inimical to the integrity of the employee in
his official. capacity, to other employees, or to Government programs.
Section 39.504 Identification of Organizations When More Than One Participates
This section clarifies a technical point that sometimes arises. It provides
that "organization" in the regulations is one selecting recipients and adminis-
tering funds.
Section 39.505 Delegation of Authority to Authorize Acceptance
Delegations must be kept to high administrative levels. This reflects
sensitivity of area and keen Congressional interest.
Section 39.506 Records
This section requires maintenance of basic records on authorizations.
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