Understand the purpose and structure of the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) four primary classification references used to ensure consistency in classifying federal positions. Learn how to navigate key sections of the Introduction to Position Classification Standards to effectively apply classification principles and terminology.
Key Insights
- OPM provides four primary classification references, organized to support consistent position classification across federal agencies, with authority delegated from OPM to agency heads and further down to individual classifiers.
- Section 2 of the Introduction to Position Classification Standards defines essential classification terms such as "difficulty" and "responsibility," which are critical for interpreting standards accurately.
- The classification guidance explains the PATCO categories, Professional, Administrative, Technical, Clerical, and Other, and emphasizes focusing on major duties when writing position descriptions, as only those impact classification decisions.
This lesson is a preview from our Intermediate Position Classification Course. Enroll in a course for detailed lessons, live instructor support, and project-based training.
Module 1 is a review of the primary references that you use in classification. And so, in this module, we're going to describe the purpose and the use of the four OPM primary classification references. You're going to identify sections of these references that may be helpful in classification.
And we're going to discuss the classification situations that may be covered in those references. All right, we're going to start with the introduction to the position classification standards. This handbook can be found on OPM's website, so I want you to go to OPM's website to classify general schedule positions to locate this handbook.
You may click the link in your material to access this handbook. And so, we're going to look at, we're not going to look at the entire handbook. We're going to look at specific sections in this handbook.
And so, we want you to be able to know where the information is when you need it. And so, we want you to be able to access it quickly to use it as your reference. And so, you know that the Classification Act was passed in 1949, and the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance and procedures with information to ensure that there is consistency in classifying positions across the federal government.
And so, OPM has organized this guidance into four primary references. And so, these primary references are on OPM's website. And so, we're going to look at the introduction to the position classification standards again.
And so, we're only going to look at, we're going to start with Section 2. Section 2 is the Structure and the Use of Classification Standards. We're going to look at Section 2A, Explanation of Terms. And so, you want to make sure that you know the definition of these eight terms, and that will be very helpful for you as classifiers and managers to be able to understand the terminology that OPM uses.
And so, the section also begins with introducing such terms as difficulty and responsibility, and other critical concepts that you need for understanding how to classify positions. Section 3, Principles and Policies of Position Classification, talks about the authorities and responsibilities for classification. And so, I want you to know that OPM has the exclusive right to the establishment of accurate position descriptions.
And so, they have the exclusive right to classification. And what they have done is they have re-delegated that classification authority to the heads of each agency. The agencies have then re-delegated that authority down to the lowest level.
And so, you want to be able to understand that you must have been given classification authority to classify those jobs that you classify within your agency. And again, OPM has full classification authority. They delegate that authority to the heads of the agencies, and the agency heads re-delegate that authority down to the lowest level, which is you and me, so that we have the authority to classify positions based on OPM's guidance.
And so, that's Section A in Section 3. C, Work Covered by the General Schedule. It gives you a definition of the work covered by the general schedule. It talks about the PATCO categories: Professional, Administrative, Technical, Clerical, and Other.
These are work categories in relation to two-grade and one-grade interval jobs. And so, Appendix 1 also lists the jobs that are in a two-grade interval pattern. All right.
But I want you to be clear that it is important that you understand the PATCO categories, P-A-T-C-O categories. Professional for P, and Administrative for A, they are two-grade interval positions. Technical for the T, and the C for Clerical are one-grade interval positions.
Now, the O at the end stands for Other. And so, in the other category, it could be one-grade interval positions or two-grade interval positions. The positions that fit into the other categories are Firefighters and Police Officers.
And so, they can be either one-grade interval positions or two-grade interval positions. Also, we're going to look at F, Section F, Determinant of Duties to be Classified. And so, managers often want to include every task in the PD to ensure that they can get the highest grade possible.
Well, we know that only the major duties affect the classification and should only be included in the PD. Not every little thing that a position requires is a major duty. And when you list the major duties in a position description, you want to identify the most important ones and list those first.
And so, the major duties affect the classification. And so, you also want to include the minor duties. And so, this section clearly defines the criteria for major duties and what is not a major duty, and it lists some of the criteria for minor duties.
And so, you want to make sure that you look at Section F under Section 3. Also, in the Introduction to Position Classification Standards, it talks about mixed-grade, mixed-series positions, the impact of the person on the job positions, interdisciplinary professional positions, borderline positions, and position management. And so, you want to be able to understand those areas, and we're going to discuss those areas in this training.
