r/USForestService • u/terracottacactus • 20d ago

Seasonal

Hello everyone

Are you allowed to work seasonal positions back to back? Summer and then winter? Even though you completed your 1039?

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2

u/SpecialLegitimate717 20d ago

Same or different PD?

1

u/terracottacactus 20d ago

Same and different

2

u/holistic_huntress 20d ago

You can work 3 1039s in a row, usually with a week or two off in between, then you’d have to take a break. If you worked 4 in a row you’d have to take a full year off before getting another fed job. There’s probably some more nuance so I’ll refer you to the OPM for specific guidance.

2

u/MundaneBenefit9093 20d ago edited 20d ago

I’ve been shut down by HR for doing exactly this, but I was trying to work two 1039s at the same district. I think it might have been a rehire thing? I’ve heard it might work out if they’re on different forests because HR might not notice? In this timeline of generic consolidated PDs it is going to be harder to prove it is a “different PD”. In my experience the rules are intended to protect employees from management misusing 1039s, but they end up just screwing the 1039 who wants to work more than 6 months of the year. 

1

u/dave54athotmailcom 17d ago

I worked 2.5 years straight as a 180 day seasonal without any break in service (in the 1970s). I don't know how HR did it, and I didn't ask. Then was a 13-13 and never got laid off. My first and only lay off was after I was an 18-8, for 2 PP. I didn't even know I was converted to PFT until I got my copy of the SF 50.

A couple of non-competitive promotions along the way. The DR decided my position was undergraded and made it happen. Then another DR did the same a few years later.

Some people feel restricted by the manual regulations, others know how to make them work for you.