Laboring

Laboring

Federal Wage System Position

Work Performed

This standard covers nonsupervisory work that primarily requires physical effort and ability to perform laboring duties that involve little or no specialized skill or prior work experience. The work typically involves duties such as loading and unloading trucks; moving office furniture, equipment, and supplies by hand or with various moving devices (e.g., dollies and/or hand trucks); mowing lawns and trimming shrubs; washing vehicles; and clearing and digging ditches. These duties are commonly found in a variety of work situations such as roads and grounds maintenance, industrial operations, warehouses, office buildings, printing facilities, supply centers, and production areas. This standard cancels and supersedes the Job Grading Standards for Laborer, 3502, issued in September 1968.

Skill and Knowledge Requirements

required to operate a motor vehicle exceeds the grade level determined by applying this job grading standard, and such ancillary duties are performed on a regular and recurring basis, the grade level of the work should be evaluated using the Job Grading Standard for Motor Vehicle Operators, 5703, and titled according to the primary purpose of the work. When incidental or ancillary duties performed on a regular and U.S. Office of Personnel Management 3 Laboring, 3502 HRCD-2 December 1996 recurring basis support a grade level higher than that of the primary purpose of the work, a parenthetical title may be used to reflect the basis for such grade determination and to clearly indicate the nature of the work. For example, laboring work that requires the operation of a motor vehicle at the grade 5 level in support of the laboring duties should be titled and coded as Laborer, 3502, grade 5 (Motor Vehicle Operating). In shops and industrial work situations, there may be questions regarding jobs that are in direct support of journey level workers as to whether such work should be evaluated as a "helper" or laborer. The following outlines the criteria to be considered in making classification decisions on such jobs. If the job serves as a trainee level, where the worker is given on-the-job instruction and is expected to acquire skills and knowledge regarding basic work processes, specific tools and materials, and terminology of the occupation, it should be titled, coded, and graded using the standard for the occupation (e.g.,

Physical Effort

and may involve a number of successive steps or processes. The work involves the use of common hand tools and simple power equipment such as hatchets, hand saws, clippers, buffers, grinders, screwdrivers, weed trimmers, low-pressure sprayers, powered push lawn mowers, powered pavement vacuums, and wet vacuums or steam cleaners. This level differs from the

Working Conditions

at this level are similar to those described at the