View all text of Subchapter III [§ 3941 - § 3952]
§ 3949. Limited appointments
(a) A limited appointment in the Service, including an appointment of an individual who is an employee of an agency, may not exceed 5 years in duration and, except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), may not be extended or renewed. A limited appointment in the Service which is limited by its terms to a period of one year or less is a temporary appointment.
(b) A limited appointment may be extended for continued service—
(1) as a consular agent;
(2) in accordance with
(3) as a career candidate, if—
(A) continued service is determined appropriate to remedy a matter that would be cognizable as a grievance under subchapter XI; or
(B) the individual is serving in the uniformed services (as defined in section 4303 of title 38) and the limited appointment expires in the course of such service;
(4) as a career employee in another Federal personnel system serving in a Foreign Service position on detail from another agency;
(5) as a foreign national employee;
(6) in exceptional circumstances if the Secretary determines the needs of the Service require the extension of—
(A) a limited noncareer appointment for a period not to exceed 1 year; or
(B) a limited appointment of a career candidate for the minimum time needed to resolve a grievance, claim, investigation, or complaint not otherwise provided for in this section.
(c)
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) noncareer employees who have served for 5 consecutive years under a limited appointment under this section may be reappointed to a subsequent noncareer limited appointment if there is at least a 1-year break in service before such new appointment.
(2) The Secretary may waive the 1-year break requirement under paragraph (1) in cases of special need.
(Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 309, Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2086; Pub. L. 100–204, title I, § 176, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1361; Pub. L. 103–236, title I, § 180(a)(1), Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 415; Pub. L. 103–415, § 1(hh), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4303; Pub. L. 114–323, title IV, § 409, Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1930.)