(a) Employee coverage. An employee who was serving in a position when his or her name was within reach for career or career-conditional appointment on a register appropriate for that position may be converted to career or career-conditional employment when:

(1) The employee's name was included on an appropriate certificate issued while the employee was serving in the position, or reconstruction of the appropriate register verifies that the employee would have been within reach;

(2) The register was being used for career and career-conditional appointments when he or she was reached;

(3) He or she has been continuously employed since being reached;

(4) Conversion is initiated either before the expiration of the register or during a period of continuous service since the employee was reached; and

(5) When the employee is a nonpreference eligible who was first reached after February 1, 1955, the Office, or the agency, in accordance with an agreement with the Office, determines that satisfactory reasons existed for passing over any preference eligible who preceded the employee on the register when he or she was reached and who is still within reach and available for appointment.

(b) Tenure on conversion. An employee whose appointment is converted under paragraph (a) of this section becomes:

(1) A career-conditional employee except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section;

(2) A career employee when he or she has completed the service requirement for career tenure or is excepted from it by § 315.201(c).

(c) Acquisition of competitive status. An employee whose employment is converted to career or career-conditional employment under this section acquires a competitive status automatically on completion of probation.