5 CFR 531.504
§ 531.504 Level of performance required for quality step increase.
United States · 5 CFR — Administrative Personnel · Status: effective
Cite this
- Citation
- 5 CFR 531.504, § 531.504 Level of performance required for quality step increase, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/6524
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Full text
A quality step increase shall not be required but may be granted only to—
(a) An employee who receives a rating of record at Level 5 (“Outstanding” or equivalent), as defined in part 430, subpart B, of this chapter; or
(b) An employee who, when covered by a performance appraisal program that does not use a Level 5 summary—
(1) Receives a rating of record at the highest summary level used by the program; and
(2) Demonstrates sustained performance of high quality significantly above that expected at the “Fully Successful” level in the type of position concerned, as determined under performance-related criteria established by the agency.
Legislative history
This is a federal regulation, adopted through agency rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act — not enacted by a recorded vote of Congress.