The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) established a concise set of expectations for the fair, effective and efficient management of the Federal workforce. Known as the Merit System Principles (MSPs), and supported by the complementary Prohibited Personnel Practices (PPPs), these guidelines specify actions that should (or should not) be taken to produce the desired outcomes of treating employees and applicants fairly in all aspects of their careers, protecting the rights of employees, and promoting the effective and efficient use of Federal resources. The CSRA established several agencies with specific responsibility for protecting MSPs or preventing PPPs, including the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which initially included the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). However, the CSRA also provides that personnel authority would be exercised by individual agencies, rather than any central agency. Therefore, the primary responsibility for avoiding PPPs—and attaining the ideals described in the MSPs—lies with the employing agencies.
The Merit System Principles i
The Prohibited Personnel Practices iii
Executive Summary vii
Recommendations ix
Introduction 1
Purpose 1
Method 1
Maintaining the Merit System Principles 3
Background 3
Roles of Federal Agencies Responsible for Supporting the MSPs 4
Frequently Alleged Violations 9
Federal Employee Perceptions of Adherence to Merit System Principles10
Educating Employees Regarding the Merit System Principles 13
Current Levels of Employee Awareness of the MSPs and PPPs13
Agency-Specific Training 14
Overview of the Merit System Principles 25
MSP 1: Recruitment, Selection and Advancement 25
MSP 2: Equity 33
MSP 3: Compensation 38
MSP 4: Conduct 41
MSP 5: Utilization 46
MSP 6: Retention 50
MSP 7: Employee Training and Development 55
MSP 8: Neutrality 58
MSP 9: Public Interest 63
Conclusions and Recommendations 67
Appendix A. The Merit System Principles–5 U.S.C. § 2301(b) 71
Appendix B. The Prohibited Personnel Practices–5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)73
Appendix C. Method for the MSP Education Agency Questionnaire 77
Appendix D. Relationship between the MSPs and the PPPs 83
Appendix E. MSPB Reports by Merit System Principle 87
Appendix F. Basic Obligations of Public Service 93
All supervisors and workforce of federal organizations.
