Alternative Employment Program

The Alternative Employment Program was established by law to assist in finding alternative employment opportunities for certified employees who are on an approved leave of absence due to a work related or non-work related disability which precludes the performance of their current job duties.

The employee must be determined by a physician to be permanently and totally disabled from performing his/her current job duties but not duties of any other position.

Interested certified employees who meet the program criteria may inquire about the program through their agency and receive an alternative employment package.

Participation in the program is voluntary and will not affect disability benefits if participation is declined.

The agency must explore all reasonable accommodations available to the employee and reemployment opportunities within their agency before forwarding the package to CMS.

Upon approval of the application, alternative position titles are recommended for the employee to establish eligibility. Titles recommended may only represent lateral or downward appointments.

Applicants who meet the requirements for the selected position titles are issued an AE letter, which they should upload to their profile when applying for positions.

AE letters are valid for a two-year period and participation in the program is a maximum of two years.

An alternative employment candidate who declines to be interviewed or refuses an offer of employment will be disqualified from continued participation in the program.

A candidate who accepts a position through the program must resign from his/her leave of absence position in order to complete a six-month probationary period or an approved training period for trainee titles.

Acceptance of a position via alternative employment terminates the candidate participation in the program and all existing AE letters are no longer valid.