Merit Systems
Oversight &
Effectiveness
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Privacy Statement
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§ 2302. Prohibited personnel practices
(a)(1) For the purpose of this title, “prohibited personnel practice” means any action described in subsection (b) of this
section.
(2) For the purpose of this section--
(A) “personnel action” means--
(i) an appointment;
(ii) a promotion;
(iii) an action under chapter 75 of this title or other disciplinary or corrective action;
(iv) a detail, transfer, or reassignment;
(v) a reinstatement;
(vi) a restoration;
(vii) a reemployment;
(viii) a performance evaluation under chapter 43 of this title;
(ix) a decision concerning pay, benefits, or awards concerning education or training if the education or training may reasonably be expected to lead to an appointment, promotion, performance evaluation, or other action described in this subparagraph;
(x) a decision to order psychiatric testing or examination; and
(xi) any other significant change in duties, responsibilities, or working conditions;
with respect to an employee in, or applicant for, a
covered position in an agency, and in the case of an
alleged prohibited personnel practice described in
subsection (b)(8), an employee or applicant for
employment in a Government corporation as defined in
section 9101 of title 31; (B) “covered position” means, with respect to
any personnel action, any position in the
competitive service, a career appointee position in
the Senior Executive Service, or a position in the
excepted service, but does not include any position
(i) excepted from the competitive
service because of its confidential,
policy-determining, policy-making, or
policy-advocating character; or
(ii) excluded from the coverage of
this section by the President based on a
determination by the President that it is
necessary and warranted by conditions of
good administration; and
(C) “agency” means an Executive agency and the
Government Printing Office, but does not include--
(i) a Government corporation, except
in the case of an alleged prohibited ersonnel practice described under
subsection (b)(8);
(ii) the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, the Central Intelligence
Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency,
the Central Imagery Office, the National
Security Agency, and, as determined by the
President, any Executive agency or unit
thereof the principal function of which is
the conduct of foreign intelligence or
counterintelligence activities; or
(iii) the General Accounting Office.
(b) Any employee who has authority to take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action, shall not, with respect to such authority--
(1) discriminate for or against any employee or applicant for employment--
(A) on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, as prohibited under section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16);
(B) on the basis of age, as prohibited under
sections 12 and 15 of the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 631, 633a);
(C) on the basis of sex, as prohibited under
section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(d));
(D) on the basis of handicapping condition, as
prohibited under section 501 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 791); or
(E) on the basis of marital status or
political affiliation, as prohibited under any law,
rule, or regulation;
(2) solicit or consider any recommendation or
statement, oral or written, with respect to any individual
who requests or is under consideration for any personnel
action except as provided under section 3303(f);
(3) coerce the political activity of any person
(including the providing of any political contribution or
service), or take any action against any employee of
applicant for employment as a reprisal for the refusal of
any person to engage in such political activity;
(4) deceive or willfully obstruct any person with
respect to such person’s right to compete for employment;
(5) influence any person to withdraw from competition
for any position for the purpose of improving or injuring
the prospects of any other person for employment;
(6) grant any preference or advantage not authorized
by law, rule, or regulation to any employee or applicant
for employment (including defining the scope or manner of
competition or the requirements for any position) for the
purpose of improving or injuring the prospects of any
particular person for employment;
(7) appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate
for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement, in
or to a civilian position any individual who is a relative
(as defined in section 3110(a)(3) of this title) of such
employee if such position is in the agency in which such
employee is serving as a public official (as defined in
section 3110(a)(2) of this title) or over which such
employee exercises jurisdiction or control as such an
official;
(8) take or fail to take, or threaten to take or fail
to take, a personnel action with respect to any employee or
applicant for employment because of--
(A) any disclosure of information by an
employee or applicant which the employee or
applicant reasonably believes evidences--
(i) a violation of any law, rule or
regulation, or
(ii) gross mismanagement, a gross
waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a
substantial and specific danger to public
health or safety, if such disclosure is not
specifically prohibited by law and if such
information is not specifically required by
Executive order to be kept secret in the
interest of national defense or the conduct
of foreign affairs; or
(B) any disclosure to the Special Counsel, or
to the Inspector General of an agency or another
employee designated by the head of the agency to
receive such disclosures, of information which the
employee or applicant reasonably believes
evidences--
(i) a violation of any law, rule, or
regulation, or
(ii) gross mismanagement, a gross
waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a
substantial and specific danger to public
health or safety;
(9) take or fail to take, or threaten to take or fail
to take, any personnel action against any employee or
applicant for employment because of--
(A) the exercise of any appeal, complaint, or
grievance right granted by any law, rule, or
regulation;
(B) testifying for or otherwise lawfully
assisting any individual in the exercise of any
right referred to in subparagraph (A);
(C) cooperating with or disclosing information
to the Inspector General of an agency, or the
Special Counsel, in accordance with applicable
provisions of law; or
(D) for refusing to obey an order that would
require the individual to violate a law.
(10) discriminate for or against any employee or
applicant for employment on the basis of conduct which does
not adversely affect the performance of the employee or
applicant or the performance of others; except that
nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit an agency from
taking into account in determining suitability or fitness
any conviction of the employee or applicant for any crime
under the laws of any State, of the District of Columbia, or of the United States;
(11)
(A) knowingly take, recommend, or approve any personnel action if the taking of such action would violate a veterans' preference requirement; or
(B) knowingly fail to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action if the failure to take such action would violate a veterans' preference requirement; or
(12) take or fail to take any other personnel action
if the taking of or failure to take such action violates
any law, rule, or regulation implementing, or directly
concerning, the merit system principles contained in
section 2301 of this title. This subsection shall not be
construed to authorize the withholding of information from
the Congress or the taking of any personnel action against
an employee who discloses information to the Congress.
(c) The head of each agency shall be responsible for the
prevention of prohibited personnel practices, for the compliance
with and enforcement of applicable civil service laws, rules, and
regulations, and other aspects of personnel management, and for
ensuring (in consultation with the Office of Special Counsel) that
agency employees are informed of the rights and remedies available
to them under this chapter and chapter 12 of this title. Any
individual to whom the head of an agency delegates authority for
personnel management, or for any aspect thereof, shall be similarly
responsible within the limits of the delegation.
(d) This section shall not be construed to extinguish or
lessen any effort to achieve equal employment opportunity through
affirmative action or any right or remedy available to any employee
or applicant for employment in the civil service under--
(1) section 717 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
(42 U.S.C. 2000e-16), prohibiting discrimination on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;
(2) sections 12 and 15 of the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 631, 633a), prohibiting
discrimination on the basis of age;
(3) under section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act
of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206 (d)), prohibiting discrimination on
the basis of sex;
(4) section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C. 791), prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
handicapping condition; or
(5) the provisions of any law, rule, or regulation
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of marital status
or political affiliation.
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