Civil Service Reform Act of 1978

Summary

Civil Service Reform Act - Title I: Merit System Principles - Enumerates the principles of the merit system in the Federal work force. Prohibits the taking of personnel actions to discriminate against a Federal employee on such bases as race, religion, sex, age, or handicapping condition. Prohibits, generally, taking or influencing personnel actions for political or other nonmerit reasons. Title II: Civil Service Functions; Performance Appraisal; Adverse Actions - Abolishes the Civil Service Commission. Establishes within the Executive Branch the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to which the President is authorized to delegate authority for personnel management functions, and which, in turn, is authorized to delegate such authority to the heads of Federal agencies. Establishes the Merit Systems Protection Board made up of members appointed to seven-year terms who may be removed only for cause (as contrasted with the present Civil Service Commissioners who serve at the will of the President). Grants to the Board the power to subpena witnesses and evidence. Authorizes the Special Counsel of the Board to investigate complaints concerning personnel practices which violate this Act. Authorizes the Board to discipline violators by requiring removal, demotion, suspension, a fine up to $1,000, or by issuing a reprimand or barring the violator from Federal employment for up to five years. Authorizes the Special Counsel to investigate incidents of reprisal against employees who have lawfully disclosed agency violations of laws. Establishes new procedures for the appraisal of the performance of employees covered by this Act. Entitles any employee to 30 days' notice, a hearing attended by counsel, and a written decision if he is to be removed, or have his grade reduced, or pay a specified amount. Permits specified adverse personnel actions to be appealed to the Board. Requires appeals from Board decisions to be taken to the Court of Claims or a United States court of appeals. Requires such courts to sustain the Board's decision if supported by substantial evidence. Title III: Staffing - Authorizes agencies to accept voluntary uncompensated service by a student who does not displace a Federal employee. Authorizes agencies to make noncompetitive appointments of any disabled veteran with a 50 percent or more disability or who is enrolled in or has completed a course of job related training prescribed by the Veterans' Administration. Limits the veterans' preference for employment to a maximum of ten years following military separation for nonretirees and to a maximum of three years for persons who retired from the military below the rank of major or lieutenant commander. Provides for no such preference for persons retiring at or above such rank. Changes the nature of the preference in connection with a Federal reduction-in-force. Authorizes specified employees to retire before they are affected by a major reorganization. Authorizes agencies to retrain for positions in other agencies those employees whose positions are eliminated by a reduction-in-force. Title IV: Senior Executive Service - Establishes a Senior Executive Service which includes government managers classified above GS-15 and below Executive Level III who are not Presidential appointees and Foreign Service Officers of equivalent rank, provided such managers supervise employees or are responsible for the success of programs. Permits the transfer of a career Senior Executive to any Government agency. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to encourage Senior Executives to improve their skills by serving in a variety of agencies and by accepting placements in State or local governments or in the private sector. Authorizes agencies to grant such persons a sabbatical period of up to 11 months to be taken not more than once in any ten-year period to study or engage in uncompensated work experience. Provides for the periodic appraisal of Senior Executives. Authorizes the removal of career Executives for any reason during the first year of appointment as a Senior Executive and for less than fully successful managerial performance or misconduct anytime thereafter. Grants persons removed for reasons other than misconduct to be appointed to a Federal position outside the Service. Requires a Senior Executive to serve at the pleasure of the appointing agency and states that removal from the Senior Executive Service for less than fully successful performance does not constitute a disciplinary action and is, therefore, not appealable. Authorizes the Office of Personnel Management to name no more than 15 percent of active duty members of the Service to the rank of Meritorious Executive and not more than one percent of such persons to the rank of Distinguished Executive. Entitles persons receiving the Meritorious rank to a five-year stipend of $2,500 per year and persons receiving the Distinguished rank to a five-year stipend of $5,000 per year in addition to their normal salary. Authorizes the appointing agency to establish the pay rate for each member of the Service in such agency at a rate not to exceed a specified maximum. Authorizes each agency to pay a lump-sum performance award to not more than half of all Senior Executives employed by such agency of an amount not exceeding 20 percent of such Executive's annual salary. Entitles persons serving presently in positions to be designated as Senior Executive Service positions when this Act becomes effective to choose to convert to a Senior Executive Service appointment or remain in such position under the current pay system. Title V: Merit Pay - Requires the OPM to establish a merit pay system applicable to all managerial or supervisory persons related at grades GS-13 through GS-15. Limits the pay for such grades to the minimum and maximum rates for each such grade. Requires the OPM to determine the extent to which the annual pay adjustments for other civil service employees shall be permitted for employees in the merit pay system. Makes sums attributable to the difference between such allotted adjustments and the increases in pay which would have been allowed had such employees been entitled to the entire adjustment permitted other civil servants to be made available to the agencies for merit pay raises. States that the award of such merit pay raises may be made on the basis of individual as well as organizational performance. Authorizes agency heads and the President to make cash awards to such employees of up to $25,000 for contributions to the efficiency of Government Operations. Title VI: Research, Demonstration, and Other Programs - Requires the OPM to establish and maintain research and development projects concerning Federal personnel management. Authorizes the OPM to conduct and evaluate demonstration projects relating to personnel management issues such as recruitment, promotion, and employee discipline pursuant to a plan which is agreeable to the agency involved in such project. Requires such plan to be published in the Federal Register and submitted to a public hearing. Limits the size of such demonstration project to the involvement of not more than 5,000 employees. Limits the life of such a project to not more than five years. Title VII: Miscellaneous - Makes technical and conforming amendments. States that the powers of the President not expressly limited by this Act shall remain unaffected by the Act.

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Documents

3 official files

• Public Law (PDF)

  Public Law · EN · 14 October 1978

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• Conference report filed in House

  summary · EN · 5 October 1978

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• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 3 March 1978

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