What a Not Medically Qualified Determination Actually Means: The Process Officers Need to Know

The Annual Medical Certification program is now active across the TSA workforce. This article addresses what the primary source documents establish about what happens after OCMO renders a determination, specifically when that determination is Not Medically Qualified for Full and Unrestricted Duty.

The Three Possible Outcomes

When OCMO completes its review of a covered employee's medical questionnaire or additional documentation, it renders one of three determinations. Medically Qualified means no change to duty status. Temporarily Not Medically Qualified means a condition has been identified that temporarily restricts essential function performance, with an expectation of resolution. The officer cannot return to full unrestricted duty until OCMO reevaluates and finds them medically qualified.

Not Medically Qualified for Full and Unrestricted Duty means a condition has been identified that restricts essential function performance for longer than a reasonable time period, or the officer failed to comply with AMC program requirements. That determination initiates a specific administrative process that officers need to understand before it begins.

The Disability Eligibility Gate

Upon a Not Medically Qualified determination, TSA issues the officer a Job Search Options Letter advising them of their right to use the TSO Job Search Process. Participation is the officer's choice. The Job Search Program is the mechanism through which reassignment to a vacant funded position is sought.

HCM Policy 339-2 conditions reassignment on a determination that the officer is an individual with a disability as defined in that policy, which tracks the ADA and Rehabilitation Act framework requiring a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. An officer who does not meet that disability definition may participate in the job search but reassignment is not available to them. If the search does not produce an eligible reassignment, or if the officer declines to participate or declines a job offer, TSA proceeds with removal.

What the Job Search Program Actually Provides

For officers who are both found Not Medically Qualified and determined to be individuals with disabilities, HCM Policy 339-2 establishes a structured reassignment search process. TSA will search for vacant funded positions for which the officer is qualified. The search runs for up to 45 calendar days and proceeds sequentially, first within TSA and then DHS-wide if no TSA vacancy is identified.

The search defaults to the officer's local commuting area and current pay band unless the officer requests otherwise. Reassignment cannot be made to a position with greater promotion potential than the officer's current position. TSA is not obligated to provide training to help an officer qualify for a new position. The officer must already be qualified for any position offered.

The Disability Retirement Option

At any point during the Job Search Program process and before a removal decision is made, an officer may elect to apply for disability retirement. The removal decision must be held while the application is pending and the employee may request and use leave without pay during that period. TSA policy allows up to twelve months of leave without pay for non-bargaining unit employees and up to six months for bargaining unit employees while the application is processed. If OPM denies the application, the removal decision is then issued effective upon receipt.

This option exists in the policy record and officers should be aware of it. Whether an individual officer qualifies for disability retirement is a determination made by OPM, not TSA, and Against Giants cannot assess eligibility.

The Excessive Absence Threshold

Separate from the AMC determination process, TSA's Medically-Based Actions policy updated May 1, 2026 establishes that when an employee fails to report for more than 20 to 25 percent of scheduled work over an extended period due to their own medical condition, management must ascertain whether the employee intends to return. A percentage below 20 percent may still be considered depending on the circumstances and whether there is a foreseeable end to the absence.

For positions with medical requirements, a fitness-for-duty review must be conducted before TSA initiates an excessive absence case. Excessive absence cases may only be based on absences beyond the employee's control related to their own personal medical condition.

The OWCP Intersection

Officers with accepted Department of Labor workers' compensation claims occupy a different position in this framework. MD 1100.33-2 Section 6.B prohibits TSA from initiating a management-initiated fitness-for-duty evaluation on the same condition as an accepted OWCP claim while that claim remains open and before the officer returns to full unrestricted duty.

For officers who have reached maximum medical improvement and remain unable to perform essential functions after 12 months of limited duty or leave without pay under workers' compensation, TSA must obtain HQ OWCP concurrence before initiating any removal action. Any conditional job offer made to an officer with an accepted workers' compensation claim must be coordinated with the Workers' Compensation Program Office.

What Officers Should Do Now