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When agencies downsize, they classify employees in groups called "competitive areas" and forbid employees from competing for jobs in other areas. A decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit [Case 97-3249; John J. Markland v. Office of Personnel Management, April 2, 1998] said agency managers may establish these competitive areas in small units, thereby limiting the number of jobs for which employees may compete.
A competitive area is a grouping within an agency in which employees must compete when the agency is undergoing a reduction in force (RIF). For example, if "Office A" is a competitive area, employees within the office can compete with each other for existing jobs. But employees in "Office A" cannot compete for a job in "Office B," even if they have better qualifications and more experience than any employee in "Office B."
John Markland was fired in OPM's RIF initiative. Following the agency's redesign in January 1995, OPM established 15 departmental service competitive areas, each of which corresponded to a subdivision of the agency's central office. Markland had been transferred to OPM's Office of Contracts...