Civil Service
• How did the civil service develop?
• What are the characteristics of the current civil service?
• What restrictions are placed on the political activity of members of the civil service?
Development of the Civil Service
The civil service is that group of public employees who perform the administrative work of government, excluding the armed forces.
• The use of patronage—the practice of giving
government jobs to supporters and friends—was in use throughout most of the nineteenth century.
• The Pendleton Act, also known as the Civil Service Act of 1883, laid the foundation of the present federal civil service system, and set merit as the basis for hiring in most civil service positions.
The Civil Service Today
• The Office of Personnel Management is the central clearinghouse in the federal recruiting, examining, and hiring process.
• The Merit Systems Protection Board enforces the merit principle in the federal bureaucracy.
• Congress sets the pay and other job conditions for everyone who works for the
Federal Government, except for postal employees.
Political Activities
Several laws and a number of OPM regulations place
restrictions on the political activities of federal civil
servants:
• The Hatch Act of 1939 allows federal workers to vote in elections, but forbids them from taking part in partisan political activities.
• The Federal Employees Political Activities Act of 1993 relaxes many of the restrictions of the Hatch Act. It still forbids federal workers from:
(1) running in partisan elections;
(2) engaging in party work on government property or while on the job;
(3) collecting political contributions from subordinates or the general public; or
(4) using a government position to influence an election.
Section 5 Review
1. The Pendleton Act established
(a) that the Supreme Court would regulate personnel decisions.
(b) that any U.S. citizen was guaranteed a civil service job.
(c) merit as the basis for hiring and other personnel actions in the civil service.
(d) the basis of the spoils system.
2. The function of the Office of Personnel Management is to
(a) aid in the staffing of civil service positions through civil service tests and
other means.
(b) establish workplace safety standards.
(c) regulate the hiring practices of private American companies.
(d) ensure that political