Office of Personnel Management in the United States
See:
- Office of Personnel Management 2
The Office of Personnel Management administers a merit system to ensure compliance
with personnel laws and regulations and assists agencies in recruiting, examining, and
promoting people on the basis of their knowledge and skills, regardless of their race,
religion, sex, political in?uence, or other nonmerit factors.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was created as an independent
establishment by Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. app.), pursuant to Executive Order 12107 of December 28, 1978. Many of the functions of
the former United States Civil Service Commission were transferred to OPM.
Activities
Employee Bene?ts
OPM manages numerous activities that directly affect the well-being of the Federal employee and indirectly enhance employee effectiveness. These include health bene?ts, life insurance, and retirement bene?ts.
Examining and Staf?ng
The Office of Personnel Management is responsible for providing departments and agencies with technical assistance and guidance
in examining competitive positions in the Federal civil service for General Schedule
grades 1 through 15 and Federal Wage system positions. In addition, OPM is
responsible for the following duties: providing testing and examination
services, at the request of an agency, on a reimbursable basis; establishing
basic quali?cation standards for all occupations; certifying agency delegated
examining units to conduct examining; providing employment information
for competitive service positions; and providing policy direction and
guidance on promotions, reassignments, appointments in the excepted and
competitive services, reinstatements, temporary and term employment,
veterans preference, workforce planning and reshaping, organizational design,
career transition, and other staf?ng provisions.
Executive Resources
OPM leads in the selection, management, and development of Federal executives. OPM
provides policy guidance, consulting services, and technical support on Senior
Executive Service (SES) recruitment, selection, succession planning, mobility
performance, awards, and removals. It reviews agency nominations for SES
career appointments and administers the Quali?cations Review Boards that certify
candidates’ executive quali?cations. It manages SES, senior-level, and
scienti?c and professional space allocations to agencies, administers the
Presidential Rank Awards program, and conducts orientation sessions for newly appointed executives. In addition, OPM manages three interagency residential development and training centers for executives and managers.
Investigations
The Office of the Inspector General conducts comprehensive and independent audits,
investigations, and evaluations relating to OPM programs and operations.
It is responsible for administrative actions against health care providers
who commit sanctionable offenses with respect to the Federal Employees’
Health Bene?ts Program or other Federal programs.
For further information, contact the Office of the Inspector General. Phone, 202–606–1200.
Personnel Systems
OPM provides leadership and guidance to agencies on systems to support the manager’s
personnel management responsibilities.
These include the following: white- and blue-collar pay systems, including SES
and special occupational pay systems; geographical adjustments and locality
payments; special rates to address recruitment and retention problems;
allowances and differentials, including recruitment and relocation bonuses,
retention allowances, and hazardous duty/environmental pay; and premium
pay; annual and sick leave, court leave, military leave, leave transfer and leave
bank programs, family and medical leave, excused absence, holidays, and
scheduling of work, including ?exible and compressed work schedules;
performance management, covering appraisal systems, performance pay
and awards, and incentive awards for suggestions, inventions, and special
acts; classi?cation policy and standards for agencies to determine the series
and grades for Federal jobs; labormanagement relations, including
collective bargaining, negotiability, unfair labor practices, labor-management
cooperation, and consulting with unions on Governmentwide issues; systems and
techniques for resolving disputes with employees; quality of worklife initiatives,
such as employee health and ?tness, work and family, AIDS in the workplace, and employee assistance programs; human resources development, including
leadership and administration of the Human Resources Development
Council and the Government Performance and Results Act interest
group; the Training and Management Assistance program, to help agencies
develop training and human resources management solutions, including
workforce planning and succession management strategies, e-learning
applications, traditional classroom training materials, compensation and
performance management systems, and other customized products; information
systems to support and improve Federal personnel management decisionmaking;
and Governmentwide instructions for personnel processing and recordkeeping
and for release of personnel data under the Freedom of Information Act and the
Privacy Act.
OPM also provides administrative support to special advisory bodies,
including the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the Federal Salary
Council, and the Presidential Advisory Committee on Expanding Training
Opportunities.
Office of Personnel Management
Introduction to Office of Personnel Management
Office of Personnel Management (OPM), independent agency of the United States government, which administers a nationwide merit system for federal employment, including recruitment, examination, and training programs. It was established by executive order in 1979. The agency carries out many of the functions of the former U.S. Civil Service Commission.
The OPM operates out of eight regional offices as well as various federal job information and testing centers. Its activities involve administering examinations for positions in the competitive service and establishing qualifications for promotion of federal employees; classifying federal positions according to duties and responsibilities; conducting investigations as to the loyalty, character, and background of applicants for positions; handling insurance, leave, retirement, and incentive-award benefits; coordinating and promoting training activities; carrying out a program for equal opportunity employment in the federal government without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or age; and operating the Senior Executive Service for classification, qualification, and appointment determinations of persons in the three highest civil service levels.” (1)
Office of Personnel Management
In Legislation
Office of Personnel Management in the U.S. Code: Title 5, Part II, Chapter 11
The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating office of personnel management are compiled in the United States Code under Title 5, Part II, Chapter 11. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Government Organization (including office of personnel management) of the United States. The reader can further narrow his/her legal research of the general topic (in this case, Civil Service Functions and Responsibilities of the US Code, including office of personnel management) by chapter and subchapter.
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Office of Personnel Management in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
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