(a) In order to be eligible for special selection priority, an eligible displaced employee of the former Panama Canal Zone must:   (1) Have received a specific notice of separation by reduction in force;   (2) Have not been appointed to another appropriate position in the Government of the United States in Panama;   (3) Apply for a vacancy within the time frames established by the hiring agency; and   (4) Be found by the hiring agency as well-qualified for that specific vacancy.

(b) Eligibility for special selection priority as an eligible displaced employee of the former Panama Canal Zone begins on the date that the employee received a specific notice of separation by reduction in force.

(c) Eligibility for special selection priority as an eligible displaced employee of the former Panama Canal Zone expires on the earliest of:   (1) One year after the effective date of the reduction in force;   (2) The date that the employee receives a career, career-conditional, or excepted appointment without time limit in any agency at any grade level; or   (3) The date that the employee is separated involuntarily for cause prior to the effective date of the reduction in force action.