OSC Seal

Prohibited
Personnel Practices

By law, Federal employees may not:

  • Discriminate
  • Solicit or consider employment
    recommendations based on 
    factors other than personal
    knowledge or records of job
    related abilities or characteristics
  • Coerce the political activity of any person
  • Deceive or willfully obstruct any
    person from competing for
    employment
  • Influence any person to withdraw
    from job competition
  • Give an unauthorized preference 
    or advantage to improve or injure
    the prospects of any particular
    person for employment
  • Engage in nepotism
  • Take or threaten to take a
    personnel action because of
    whistleblowing
  • Take or threaten to take a
    personnel action because of the
    exercise of a lawful appeal,
    complaint, or grievance right
  • Discriminate based on personal
    conduct which does not
    adversely affect the performance
    of the employee or other
    employees
  • Knowingly take or fail to take a
    personnel action in the violation
    of veteran's preference laws
  • Violate any law, rule or
    regulation implementing or
    directly concerning merit system
    principles
More information may be obtained from:

U.S. OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL
1730 M STREET, N.W., SUITE 218
WASHINGTON, DC 20036-4505

WWW.OSC.GOV

PHONE: (202) 254-3600*

TOLL FREE: 1-800-872-9855*
*Hearing and Speech Disabled: Federal Relay Service 1-800-877-8339
Rev. 12/05