118 STAT. 467 PUBLIC LAW 108–201—FEB. 24, 2004 appointment in the competitive service within the Administration without further competition if— ‘‘(1) such individual was appointed under open, competitive examination under subchapter I of chapter 33 to the term position; ‘‘(2) the announcement for the term appointment from which the conversion is made stated that there was potential for subsequent conversion to a career conditional or career appointment; ‘‘(3) the employee has completed at least 2 years of current continuous service under a term appointment in the competitive service; ‘‘(4) the employee’s performance under such term appoint ment was at least fully successful or equivalent; and ‘‘(5) the position to which such employee is being converted under this section is in the same occupational series, is in the same geographic location, and provides no greater pro motion potential than the term position for which the competi tive examination was conducted. ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding chapter 33 or any other provision of law relating to the examination, certification, and appointment of individuals in the competitive service, the Administrator may con vert an employee serving under a term appointment to a permanent appointment in the competitive service within the Administration through internal competitive promotion procedures if the conditions under paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (b) are met. ‘‘(d) An employee converted under this section becomes a career conditional employee, unless the employee has otherwise completed the service requirements for career tenure. ‘‘(e) An employee converted to career or career conditional employment under this section acquires competitive status upon conversion. ‘‘§ 9807. Pay authority for critical positions ‘‘(a) In this section, the term ‘position’ means— ‘‘(1) a position to which chapter 51 applies, including a position in the Senior Executive Service; ‘‘(2) a position under the Executive Schedule under sections 5312 through 5317; ‘‘(3) a position established under section 3104; or ‘‘(4) a senior level position to which section 5376(a)(1) applies. ‘‘(b) Authority under this section— ‘‘(1) may be exercised only with respect to a position that— ‘‘(A) is described as addressing a critical need in the workforce plan under section 9802(b)(2)(A); and ‘‘(B) requires expertise of an extremely high level in a scientific, technical, professional, or administrative field; ‘‘(2) may be exercised only to the extent necessary to recruit or retain an individual exceptionally well qualified for the posi tion; and ‘‘(3) may be exercised only in retaining employees of the Administration or in appointing individuals who were not employees of another Federal agency as defined under section 5102(a)(1). ‘‘(c)(1) Notwithstanding section 5377, the Administrator may fix the rate of basic pay for a position in the Administration in
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