Criteria for meeting the requirement for 12 months of continuous employment.
5 C.F.R. § 550.705
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) The requirement for 12 months of continuous employment is met if, on the date of separation, an employee has held one or more civilian Federal positions over a period of 12 months without a single break in service of more than 3 calendar days. The positions held must have been under:
(1) One or more qualifying appointments;
(2) One or more nonqualifying temporary appointments that precede the current qualifying appointment; or
(3) An appointment to a position in a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard that precedes the current qualifying appointment in the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard, respectively.
(b) When a break in service that is covered by severance pay interrupts otherwise continuous Federal employment, the entire period is considered continuous service.
(c) The period during which an employee receives continuation of pay or compensation for an injury on the job under chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, is considered continuous Federal service.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-5.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026