Are you a career or vocational rehabilitation professional? Are you an employment navigator? Do you work in any capacity to assist individuals with disabilities obtain meaningful employment? If so, the USPTO would like your help in recruiting highly skilled and talented individuals to help carry out its mission to protect and promote intellectual property in the United States. Service providers like you can help the USPTO build its resources and pool of Schedule A eligible candidates.
If you have questions, please contact the USPTO Special Placement Program Coordinator (SPPC) at disabilityhiring@uspto.gov to discuss employment opportunities for your candidate(s).
What is Schedule A?
The Schedule A hiring authority for people with disabilities (Schedule A) is an exception to the traditional hiring process.
Schedule A is a noncompetitive hiring authority that allows federal agencies to forgo the typical application process and hire individuals with disabilities directly into the workforce. People hired under Schedule A receive an excepted service appointment to a position that is otherwise in the competitive service. For more information on excepted service appointments, visit the Office of Personnel Management’s website.
Who is eligible for Schedule A?
Individuals with certain disabilities, especially targeted disabilities, are eligible for noncompetitive appointments under the Schedule A hiring authority. Targeted disabilities are those that are listed in part 1 of the Standard Form 256.
Individuals may apply using the Schedule A hiring authority if they have an intellectual disability, a severe physical disability, or a psychiatric disability (with or without the need of reasonable accommodations). It is required for candidates to provide proof of disability documentation from their doctor; a licensed medical professional; a licensed rehabilitation professional; or any federal, state, District of Columbia, or U.S. territory agency that issues or provides disability benefits.
Why do you need to know about Schedule A?
The USPTO has a wide variety of available jobs and is actively seeking qualified applicants with disabilities to fill those jobs. We hire talented people for careers in a variety of fields, including:
- STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
- Information Technology
- Clerical
- Legal
- And more!
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s ABC’s of Schedule A has a detailed frequently asked questions section for service providers.