253.76—Eligibility.
A temporary employee may be converted to a Canal Area Career or Career-Conditional Appointment provided:
(a)
He rendered at least one year of satisfactory continuous service with the agency in which he is to be converted and the service immediately preceded the conversion;
(b)
The conversion is to a position in the same wage category as that held by the employee prior to the conversion;
(1)
A manual category position at any grade from MG-1 to MG-9 and the employee to be converted ranks among the top 50% of the register of eligibles or;
(2)
A non-manual category position filled from a pre-rated inventory at any grade from NM-1 to NM-5 provided the employee to be converted ranks among the top 25% of the register of eligibles;
(d)
There is no United States citizen within reach in accordance with the rule of three, and no preference eligible would be passed over; and