What are the foundations of the federal civil service?
- The basic principles of the federal civil service—such as merit hiring, nonpartisanship and fair treatment of employees—were established by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 and are reflected in Title 5 of U.S. Code through nine Merit System Principles and 14 Prohibited Personnel Practices.
- These foundational principles are complemented by laws that help define the conditions of federal employment, such as the Hatch Act, which restricts political activity by civil servants, and the Whistleblower Protection Act, which protects employees who report misconduct or illegal activity.
How are civil service rules enforced?
- Civil service rules are enforced by several agencies: the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Office of Special Counsel, the Office of Personnel Management, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
What are the core responsibilities of federal civil servants?
- According to the standards of ethical conduct for federal employees, “each employee has a responsibility to the United States Government and its citizens to place loyalty to the Constitution, laws, and ethical principles above private gain.”
- Civil servants must adhere to the federal government’s Fourteen General Principles of Ethical Conduct, which elaborate on the standards for ethical conduct and set parameters for public servants’ behavior around impartiality, serving the public interest and avoiding conflicts of interest, among other topics.
- These laws and regulations complement the Merit System Principles and Prohibited Personnel Practices.
- Civilian career employees must also follow numerous ethics laws to ensure they carry out the lawful policies of an administration and uphold merit system principles while doing so. These ethics laws include the Hatch Act, which limits the political activities of federal employees. Career employees are bound by strict ethics and political interference laws, including potential criminal penalties for violating conflict of interest statutes.
What are the basic rights of federal civil servants?
- The basic rights of federal civil servants are codified in the Merit System Principles and enforced through 14 Prohibited Personnel Practices. These rights include:
- Being hired based solely on merit
- Receiving fair and equitable treatment as an employee
- Receiving equal pay for work of equal value
- Being protected from arbitrary action, personal favoritism, discrimination, coercion for partisan political purposes and reprisal for whistleblowing.
- Additionally, career members of the Senior Executive Service, employees of intelligence and law enforcement agencies, as well as agencies involved in elections and the enforcement of civil service protections, are prohibited from taking an active part in partisan political management or partisan political campaigns.