{"data":{"id":"us/5-cfr-300.602","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"5 CFR 300.602","heading":"Definitions.","body":"In this subpart—\nAdvancement means a promotion (including a temporary promotion) or any type of appointment resulting in a higher grade or higher rate of basic pay.\nCompetitive appointment means an appointment based on selection from a competitive examination register of eligibles or under a direct hire authority.\nHardship to an agency involves serious difficulty in filling a position, including when:\n(a) The situation to be redressed results from circumstances beyond the organization's control and otherwise would require extensive corrective action; or\n(b) A position at the next lower grade in the normal line of promotion does not exist and the resulting action is not a career ladder promotion; or\n(c) There is a shortage of candidates for the position to be filled.\nInequity to an employee involves situations where a position is upgraded without change in the employee's duties or responsibilities, or where discrimination or administrative error prevented an employee from reaching a higher grade.\nNontemporary appointment means any appointment other than a temporary appointment pending establishment of a register (TAPER) or a temporary or excepted appointment not to exceed 1 year or less.","path":["Title 5—Administrative Personnel","CHAPTER I—OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT","SUBCHAPTER B—CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS","PART 300—EMPLOYMENT (GENERAL)","Subpart F—Time-In-Grade Restrictions"],"source_url":"https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-25/title-5.xml","current_through":"2026-08-25","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T02:23:53Z","sha256":"b2fbce8bd8da73c2bbb1439cbbfbc27f9eb54f46781eb2e250a8649f30e397a6","source_id":"us-cfr","stale":true,"prev":"us/5-cfr-300.601","next":"us/5-cfr-300.603"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}