Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act

The Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA), 5 U.S. Code § 9602 , allows qualified individuals serving under time-limited appointments in a land management agency to compete for permanent positions in the competitive service.  Land management agencies include the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service.

Current and former temporary and term employees in the competitive service of land management agencies may be eligible to apply to government-wide Merit Promotion (i.e., accepting applications from individuals outside its own workforce) announcements.

You may be eligible, if:

1. You are applying to an announcement accepting applications from outside of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS);
2. You were appointed using competitive procedures;
3. You have served under one or more time-limited appointments in a land management agency for a period or periods totaling more than 24 months without a break of two or more years; and
4. Your performance was at an acceptable level throughout the service periods and your most recent separation was for reasons other than misconduct or performance.

Required Documentation

To verify your eligibility, you must submit

• Copies of your Notification of Personnel Actions(s) (SF-50) showing you have served in the appropriate appointment(s) for a period/periods totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of two (2) or more years. You must also submit the initial hire action, extensions, conversion, and termination/separation SF-50s for each service period.
• Appropriate documentation to verify your acceptable level of performance, which is supported by one or more of the following:
  • Performance rating(s) showing an acceptable level of performance for period(s) of employment signed by your supervisor;
  • A statement from your supervisor(s) or other individual in the supervisory chain indicating an acceptable level of performance for the period(s) of employment; or
  • A stated reason as to the reason the appraisal/documentation is not available and a statement that your performance for all periods was at an acceptable level, your most recent separation was for reasons other than misconduct or performance, and you were never notified that you were not eligible for rehire based on performance.

You must submit all required documents by the closing date of the announcement with your application package.