5 C.F.R. § 351.506

Records

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(a) The agency is responsible for maintaining correct personnel records that are used to determine the retention standing of its employees competing for retention under this part.

(b) The agency must allow its retention registers and related records to be inspected by:

(1) An employee of the agency who has received a specific reduction in force notice, and/or the employee's representative if the representative is acting on behalf of the individual employee; and

(2) An authorized representative of OPM.

(c) An employee who has received a specific notice of reduction in force under the authority of subpart H of this part has the right to review any completed records used by the agency in a reduction in force action that was taken, or will be taken, against the employee, including:

(1) The complete retention register, if applicable, with the released employee's name and other relevant retention information (including the names of all other employees listed on that register, the employee's performance credit calculated under § 351.503 as augmented by veterans' preference under § 351.504, and the employee's service computation date under § 351.505), so that the employee may consider how the agency constructed the competitive level, and how the agency determined the relative retention standing of the competing employees; and

(2) The complete retention registers, if applicable, for other positions that could affect the composition of the employee's competitive level, and/or the determination of the employee's assignment rights (e.g., registers to which the released employee may have potential assignment rights under § 351.701(b)).

(d) An employee who has not received a specific reduction in force notice has no right under this section to review the agency's retention registers and related records. This paragraph does not limit any right of access available under another statute or regulation.

(e) The agency is responsible for ensuring that each employee's access to retention records is consistent with both the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a).

(f) The agency must preserve all registers and records relating to a reduction in force for at least 2 years after the date it issues a specific reduction in force notice.

[91 FR 49220, Aug. 3, 2026; 91 FR 54795, Aug. 25, 2026]