Subpart F-Leave

AUTHORITY: Sec. 215, 58 Stat. 690, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 216; sec. 219, 64 Stat. 426; 42 U.S.C. 210–1.

DEFINITIONS

§ 21.81 Meaning of terms.

For the purpose of computing and granting leave pursuant to this subpart:

(a) A "year" or "leave year" means the period beginning July 1 of any calendar year and ending June 30 at the succeeding calendar year, except commencing January 1, 1958, such terms shall mean a calendar year.

(b) "Annual leave" means any period of one work day or more during which an officer is relieved from his scheduled working hours, other than for sick leave, and all non-work days within such period.

(c) A "work day" means a day on which an officer is scheduled to perform more than brief periods of work, including a day when an officer is scheduled to serve as officer of the day, to be on call, or to perform official travel.

(d) A "non-work day" means a day designated by an officer in charge on which an officer has no scheduled working hours, including a day on which an officer is ordinarily scheduled to perform only brief periods of work, such as ward rounds in a hospital.

(e) "Off-work hours" means the period between the normal completion and commencement of scheduled working hours on two consecutive work days.

(f) "Station leave" means authorized absence from duty and station on nonwork days, off-work hours, or for a period of less than one work day.

(g) "Sick leave" means any period of one day or more with respect to which an officer is excused from duty because of sickness, disability, or need of medical services.

An officer shall accrue annual leave at the rate of 30 days for each full year of active service with the Service, and for any portion of a year at the rate of 2 1/2 days for each month of such service. Annual leave accrued during a leave year, but unused at the end of such year, shall be carried forward as accumulated leave for use in succeeding leave years, except that accumulated leave credited to an officer at the beginning of a new leave year in excess of 60 days shall be canceled. Annual leave taken during a leave year shall be charged first against the leave accrued or to accrue during that year. No annual leave shall accrue (a) during any period of such leave immediately preceding the termination or inactivation of a commission, or retirement, (b) during any period in which an officer is placed on leave without pay while detailed pursuant to section 214(b) or 214(c) of the act, or (c) during any period of absence without leave.

[21 FR 9806, Dec. 12, 1956, as amended at 34 FR 20273, Dec. 25, 1969]

§ 21.85 [Reserved]

§ 21.86 Granting of annual leave.

Within the limitations prescribed in § 21.84, annual leave with pay may be granted, upon applicat on, by the Surgeon General at such time or times and for such periods as are approved by him. Annual leave not exceeding 30 days may be granted as provided herein as an advance of leave not yet accrued or accumulated. A period of absence from duty shall be considered as annual leave only if authorized in advance or if the absence and the reasons therefor are reported as promptly as circumstances permit and the absence is excused by the Surgeon General.

§ 21.87 Computation of annual leave.

The number of days of annual leave taken shall be computed by counting each work day during the period of leave and all non-work days within such period, but excluding any period

of station leave immediately preceding or immediately following such leave, except that in the case of annual leave taken immediately preceding the expiration, termination, or inactivation of a commission, or retirement, each day, following the day on which an officer is released from his assigned station, shall be counted as a day of leave.

§ 21.88 Station leave.

During off-work hours and on nonwork days, during which an officer has no scheduled working hours he shall be entitled to station leave unless the officer in charge otherwise directs. If an officer desires to take station leave for a period of less than one work day or on a non-work day during which he is scheduled to perform only a brief period of work, he must obtain the oral permission of the officer in charge. Station leave shall not be charged as annual leave.

§ 21.89 Granting of sick leave.

Sick leave may be granted when the officer is in need of medical services or is incapacitated for the performance of duties by sickness, injury, or pregnancy and confinement. The leave granting authority or other responsible official may require a medical certificate for every period of sick leave in excess of 3 days, or for a lesser period when determined necessary. A medical certificate shall also be furnished promptly to the Surgeon General, or his designee, at the end of each period of 30 days of continuous absence from duty because of sickness or injury.

[36 FR 20159, Oct. 16, 1971]

§ 21.90 Prolonged or frequent absence due to sickness or disability; review of status.

An officer's absence from duty because of sickness or disability for a period of more than 90 consecutive days or for an aggregate of more than 120 days in a consecutive 12-month period shall be reported to the Surgeon General, or his designee, who shall appoint a board to consider whether such officer should be retired.

[36 FR 20159, Oct. 16, 1971]

§ 21.91 Reporting of whereabouts during annual, sick, or station leave.

During a period of annual, sick, or station leave an officer shall be considered to be in an active duty status and shall be subject to all regulations governing commissioned officers, including those relating to discipline. During all such periods of leave, an officer shall keep the officer in charge informed as to the place or places at which he may be located and shall be subject to recall to duty at any time.

LEAVE WITHOUT PAY WHILE ON DETAIL

§ 21.95 Leave without pay while on detail.

The Surgeon General, with the approval of the Secretary, may place an officer on leave without pay while detailed pursuant to section 214(b) or 214(c) of the act for such period as may be agreed upon by the Surgeon General and the officer.

(Sec. 214(d), 58 Stat. 690, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 215(d))

Subpart G-Promotion

AUTHORITY: Sec. 215, 58 Stat. 690, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 216; sec. 210, 58 Stat. 687, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 211, unless otherwise noted.

DEFINITIONS

§ 21.101 Meaning of terms.

For purposes of this subpart:

such

(a) A "service prom ›tion" means a permanent promotion, other than to a restricted grade, (1) to the assistant grade upon meeting the requirements for original appointment to grade, (2) to the senior assistant, full, or senior grade upon completion of 3, 10, or 17 years of service, respectively, in and above the assistant grade, or (3) to such grades because of having seniority over an officer who receives such a promotion.

(b) An "accelerated promotion" means a permanent promotion to the senior assistant, full, or senior grade, other than to a restricted grade, prior to the date on which an officer would be entitled to a service promotion.

(c) A "selected promotion" means a permanent promotion to a restricted grade or to the director grade.

(d) A "temporary promotion" means a promotion which may be terminated at any time, as may be directed by the President.

(e) A “graded position” means a position which the Surgeon General has designated as requiring the services of an officer of a certain grade.

(f) A "restricted grade" means the senior grade or both the full and senior grade in a professional category to which promotions shall be made only if vacancies exist in such grade or grades.

(g) A “seniority list" means a list for each grade of each category in the Regular Corps which shall include the names of all officers of that grade and category in the order of their seniority in grade and relative standing for purposes of examination for promotion.

(h) A "promotion register" means a list for each grade of each category in the Regular Corps which shall include the names of all officers of that grade and category who have passed examinations for permanent promotion to the next higher grade.

(i) A "category" or "professional category" means one of the categories into which the Regular Corps is divided for the purpose of establishing eligibility for promotion pursuant to section 209(a) of the act.

(j) [Reserved]

(k) The health services category is that category to which are assigned all officers (1) who are appointed to the Regular Corps in one of the "related scientific specialties in the field of public health” within the meaning of section 207(a)(1) of the Act or to the Reserve Corps pursuant to section 207(a)(2) and (2) who are not otherwise qualified for assignment to any other category.

[21 FR 9806, Dec. 12, 1956, as amended at 24 FR 1790, Mar. 12, 1959]

PROVISIONS APPLICABLE ONLY TO REGULAR CORPS

821.110 Division of Regular Corps into

professional categories.

The Regular Corps shall be divided into the following professional categories for the purpose of establishing eligibility of officers of such corps for promotion: Medical, dental, sanitary

§ 21.113 Seniority in grade, junior assistant grade.

The order of seniority of officers of the Regular Corps on each seniority list for the junior assistant grade shall be established in accordance with the length of time each officer must serve before becoming eligible for promotion to the assistant grade. An officer having a shorter period of time to serve before becoming eligible for promotion shall assume seniority over an officer having a longer period of time to serve before becoming eligible for promotion.

821.114 Officers of the Regular Corps entitled to the same seniority in grade.

If two or more officers of the Regular Corps on the same seniority list are

entitled to the same seniority, their relative standing on such list shall be determined as follows:

(a) An officer already in a grade shall have relative standing over an officer originally appointed to the grade.

(b) If two or more officers are originally appointed to the same grade on the same day, they shall have relative standing in accordance with their numerical scores on the examinations for appointment. If their numerical scores are the same, the elder officer shall have relative standing over the younger officer.

(c) If an officer is originally appointed on the same day that another officer is promoted to the same grade, the officer promoted to the grade shall have relative standing over the officer appointed to the grade.

§ 21.115 Restricted grades.

Officers of the Regular Corps in the nurse, dietitian, therapist, pharmacist, health services and sanitarian categories shall be permanently promoted to the senior grade only if vacancies exist in such grade.

[24 FR 1790, Mar. 12, 1959]

§ 21.116 Promotion to assistant grade.

Each officer of the Regular Corps in the junior assistant grade, who is examined and found qualified for promotion, shall be eligible for a service promotion to the assistant grade on the first day of the month following the date on which he meets the qualifications prescribed for original appointment to the assistant grade, regardless of length of service in the junior assistant grade.

§ 21.117 Annual promotion boards; appointment of; powers and duties.

At least once each calendar year on a date to be selected by him, the Surgeon General shall appoint one or more annual promotion boards for each professional category into which the Regular Corps is divided for purposes of promotion to consider the qualifications of officers of the Regular Corps for permanent promotions, and may appoint such subboards as are necessary to assist the boards. Such boards and subboards shall con

sist of three or more officers, the majority of whom, so far as practicable, shall be of the same profession as the officers to be considered for promotion. The Surgeon General shall prescribe the duties and procedures of boards and subboards in relation to the examination process not otherwise prescribed in this subpart.

§ 21.118 Officers to be considered for promotion.

The Surgeon General shall submit to the appropriate annual promotion board for consideration for promotion the names of those officers of the Regular Corps who will become eligible for service promotions during such ensuing period of one year or less as he may prescribe and the names of a sufficient number of officers of the Regular Corps to meet the estimated needs of the Service for accelerated or selected promotions during the same period. The number of names referred to a board for consideration for accelerated or selected promotions shall be based (a) upon the number of vacancies in each particular grade existing or anticipated within such period, (b) the number of such vacancies which the Surgeon General determines to fill by means of such promotions, and (c) a determination as to whether the examination for promotion to the full grade or above shall be competitive or noncompetitive.

§ 21.119 Disqualification of a member of a promotion board.

No member of a promotion board shall participate in the second of the first two consecutive considerations of an officer for promotion to the same grade when the member served as a member of a promotion board which failed to select such officer for promotion on the first of such two consecutive considerations.

§ 21.120 Physical examination.

Every officer of the Regular Corps being considered for a permanent promotion shall undergo such physical examination as the Surgeon General may direct. An officer shall be recommended for promotion unless he is found to have a physical disability which is determined to render him

physically unfit to perform the duties of his office under section 402 of the Career Compensation Act of 1949, as amended. If an officer is not available to be physically examined because of circumstances which would make it impracticable for the Service to require such examination, he may be recommended for promotion without taking such examination, but shall be examined as soon thereafter as practicable.

§ 21.121 Examination; promotion to the assistant and senior assistant grades. The examination for permanent promotion to the assistant and senior assistant grades in the Regular Corps shall consist of (a) a written professional examination in such subjects as are prescribed by the Surgeon General relating to the officer's profession, the various activities of the Service, and the Service laws and regulations, and (b) a review and evaluation of the officer's record with the Service, and (c), in the discretion of the Surgeon General, an oral interview to determine the officer's fitness for promotion. If, however, an officer who is to be considered for promotion to the assistant or senior assistant grade is not available to take the written professional examination because of circumstances which make it impracticable for the Service to administer such examination, his examination may, in the discretion of the Surgeon General, consist of a review and evaluation of his record with the Service.

§ 21.122 Examination for promotion to the full grade and above.

The examination for permanent promotion to the full, senior, or director grade in the Regular Corps shall consist of a review and evaluation of an officer's record with the Service, and may, in the discretion of the Surgeon General, include an oral interview, a written or oral professional examination, or both.

§ 21.123 Rating values.

The examination of every officer for permanent promotion to any grade in the Regular Corps shall be rated, except as provided in § 21.124, by a promotion board in accordance with

relative values prescribed by the Surgeon General for each part of the examination.

§ 21.124 Competitive examination for selected promotions.

If the Surgeon General prescribes that an examination for selected promotions shall be competitive, he may require that the board considering officers for such promotions shall recommend for promotion, out of the number of officers examined, only those officers who possess such special qualifications as he may prescribe, in which event the board shall rate only those officers who possess such qualifications.

§ 21.125 Use of ratings in determining eligibility for promotion.

Every officer who receives a rating of 80 or above on a non-competitive examination shall be considered as having passed the examination. Every officer who receives a rating of 80 or above on a competitive examination and who, on the basis of his rating, falls within the number of officers to be selected for promotion, as prescribed by the Surgeon General pursuant to section 210(c) of the act, shall be considered as having passed the examination.

§ 21.126 Establishment of promotion registers.

There shall be established for each grade of each category in the Regular Corps a promotion register which shall include the names of those officers of the Regular Corps who have passed examinations for permanent promotion to the next higher grade in the category to which assigned. The names of officers when originally entered on a promotion register shall be arranged in the order of their relative standing on their seniority list but next below the names of all officers already on such register. If an officer is not promoted within two years from the date his name is placed on a promotion register, he shall be reexamined for promotion. If he passes the examination, he shall retain his standing on the register, and if he fails to pass the examination, his name shall be removed from the register.