Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) at NIH

Overview

NIH, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of Personnel Management, has implemented an E-Gov initiative to provide employees with easier and faster access to their Official Personnel Folder (OPF), the file containing the employment history of civilian Federal Government employees.
HHS has converted each employee’s OPF from a paper file to an electronic file or electronic OPF (eOPF). The eOPF system, which was developed by the Integic Corporation, is an automated solution to manage the OPF process and allows each employee to have access to their individual OPF forms and information through the Internet.
Some of the benefits of having your OPF converted to electronic format include:

You can view and/or print documents from your eOPF at any time (24 hours a day) using the Internet, from an HHS networked computer. You won’t have to request your file and wait several days for it to become available for review in your HR office.
You can monitor your own records, which ensures greater accuracy and integrity.

• You may elect to receive an e-mail notification each time a document is added to your eOPF by adding your email address to the system.
• There are pre-defined access roles to prevent unauthorized access to your folder. (There is no change in policy regarding who has the authority to access your OPF.)
• eOPFs are more secure than paper, have a longer “shelf life,” and provide easy backup and recovery capability.
• Costs associated with storage, maintenance and retrieval of records are reduced.

eOPF was fully implemented at NIH and all other HHS offices during the Summer of 2005.

News & Updates

eOPF Version E1.3 is here!

On February 19 2013, the Office of Personnel Management EHRI Office released a new version of the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF)! This new version (E1.3) includes the following features:

1. Compatibility with Internet Explorer 9 (IE9)
2. A fix to the batch printing issue when an empty folder is involved. - The system currently doesn’t display a view link when printing in batch making users think the process has stalled. Now the “View” link will be visible and there will be a one page file indicating there were no document found. 
3. Several Transfer Enhancements

• User will no longer be disconnected from eOPF when clicking on the transfer menu and a transfer is unavailable. System will now display a friendly message when transfer is unavailable.
• The “Transfer out” purge process currently named “Select” will be renamed “Purge” to clearly indicate its function
• Only one transfer Pick –up request (SF-127) will be allowed, multiple pick-ups will no longer be allowed
• Agencies can now initially configure (within the Transfer Service) a Form ID other than the SF 50 that can be used as a “pick-up” document within a Transfer.  Before agencies were required to select an SF 50 document as a pick-up in order to request a transfer

eOPF Article in NIH Record - See page 3 of this issue.

My Profile

eOPF "My Profile" feature allows you to better organize your information.

The General Preferences, Change Email Address, Emergency Data, Change Password, and the Change Security Questions tabs, can be found by selecting the "My Profile" button.

eOPF System Maintenance

Below is the published 2013 Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) weekly maintenance schedule. The following weekend schedule will repeat monthly:

• Week 1: Sunday 12:01 am ET thru Sunday 4pm ET.
• Week 2: Sunday 12:01 am ET thru Sunday 4pm ET.
• Week 3: Sunday 12:01 am ET thru Sunday noon ET.
• Week 4: Sunday 12:01 am ET thru Sunday noon ET.
• Week 5 (when applicable): Sunday 12:01 am ET thru Sunday noon ET.

Please note that the first and second weekends have a longer maintenance window which may extend to 6pm.

Windows patching will be done on the first Friday following the second Tuesday of every month – 8 pm ET Friday thru 2:00 am ET Saturday.

Security Questions

The first time you log into the improved eOPF system you will be guided to the Security Profile page, where you will be asked to choose six security questions and provide the answers to those questions for future identity verification. You will select 3 Personal Questions which will be used to verify your identify when you request a new password or request your eOPF ID and 3 Help Desk Verification Questions, which will be used to verify your identity when you contact the help desk for assistance. All six of the questions you choose must be unique, and if you do not answer these questions, you will be unable to access your eOPF.

Request Your eOPF ID

If you forgot your eOPF ID, from the eOPF Web Login page, click the ‘Request your eOPF ID?’ link.

• You will need the last 5 digits of your SSN, the first 4 letters of your last name and your full date of birth.
• If you answer all the previous questions correctly,
  • If you are a new user who never logged in to eOPF, your eOPF id will be displayed on the screen
  • If you are a returning user who have set up all security questions in your profile, one of your previously selected security questions will be displayed. If you answer the security question correctly, your eOPF ID will be displayed on the screen.
• If no security questions are on file and/ or the information you enter is invalid, you will be contacted by the eOPF Help Desk or instructed to contact the eOPF Help Desk.

Request a New Password

If you forgot your eOPF Password you no longer have to wait for an email from the eOPF Help Desk.
From the eOPF Web Logon page, click the ‘Request A New Password?’ link.
You will need your eOPF ID, last 5 digits of your SSN and the first 4 letters of your last name.

• One of your previously selected security questions will be displayed. If no security questions and/or all of the information you provide is verified to be correct, you will be instructed to immediately change your password.
• If the information you enter is invalid, you will be contacted by, or instructed to contact, the eOPF Help Desk.