United States Civil Service Commission

Eighth and F Streets NW.
REpublic 5711, Branch 531

COMMISSIONERS
President Harry B. Mitchell
     Lucille Foster McMillin      Arthur S. Flemming
OFFICIALS
Executive Director and Chief Examiner Lawson A. Moyer
Assistant Chief Examiner Kenneth C. Vipond
Chief of Field Operations Jacob H. Weiss
Assistant Chief of Field Operations Henry W. Rempe

--559--

Chief of Administrative Services Francis P. Brassor
Assistant Chief, Administrative Services Warren B. Irons
Director of Personnel David F. Lawton
Assistant Director of Personnel David F. Williams
Assistant to Chief Examiner Farrar Smith
Chief Law Officer Alfred Klein, Acting
Executive Assistant to the Commissioners William C. Hull
Congressional Contact Representative Robert L. Bailey
Associate Congressional Contact Representative James B. Baugh, Jr.
Chairman, Loyalty Rating Board Lawrence V. Meloy
Board of Appeals and Review:  
  Chairman John F. Edwards
  Member James G. Yaden
  Member E. Newton Steely
  Member Seldon G. Hopkins
Budget and Finance Division:  
  Chief Cecil E. Custer
Examining and Personnel Utilization Division:  
  Chief W. Arthur McCoy
  Assistant Chief (Administrative) Coleman F. Cook
  Assistant Chief (Physical Science and Clerical Placement) Ernest J. Stocking
  Assistant Chief (Social Science Placement) C.V. Taylor
  Assistant Chief (Administrative and Management Placement) Samuel S. Board, Acting
  Assistant Chief (Services) Mary Mathis
  Assistant Chief (Personnel Utilization Program) John McDiarmid
  Director, Federal Work Improvement Program Ross Pollock
  Assistant Chief (Chief, Veterans' Service Section) Charles R. Anderson
  Associate Chief, Veterans' Service Section Bruce Stubblefield
  Head Liaison Officer Henry L. Buckhardt
Information Division:  
  Chief Carson C. Hathaway
Investigations Division:  
  Chief Fordyce W. Luikart
  Assistant Chief Walter E. Elder
Medical Division:  
  Medical Director Dr. Verne K. Harvey
  Assistant to the Medical Director Dr. E. Parker Luongo
  Medical Officer (Consultant) Dr. Arthur R. Butler
Office Services Division:  
  Chief Henry G. Porter
  Assistant Chief Charles R. Brill
  Assistant Chief John J. Coughlin
Personnel Classification Division:  
  Chief Ismar Baruch
  Associate Chief Joseph L. Spilman
  Chief, Efficiency Ratings Administration Section John A. Overholt
Retirement Division:  
  Chief Lewis H. Fisher
  Assistant Chief Maude V. Carter
Service Record Division:  
  Chief Vivian Carlson
  Assistant Chief William E. Byram
Librarian Mary Virginia Wenzel


Creation and Authority.--The United States Civil Service Commission was created by an act of Congress approved January 16, 1883 (22 Stat. 403; 5 U.S.C. 632-33, 635). An act of March 3, 1971 (16 Stat. 514; 5 U.S.C. 631), had previously authorized the President to

--560--

prescribe regulations for the admission of persons into the civil service.

Purpose.--The fundamental purpose of the law was to establish, in the parts o the service covered by its provisions, a merit system whereby selection for appointment should be made upon the basis of demonstrated relative fitness without regard to religious or political considerations, but the protection afforded by the principle of political nondiscrimination does not extent to membership in political parties or organizations which advocate the overthrow of our constitutional form of government; membership in such political parties or organizations constitutes by law a disqualification for Government employment.

Organization.--The Commission is composed of three members, not more than two of whom may be adherents of the same political party. One member is designated by the President of the United States to be President of the Commission. The Commissioners are assisted by the Executive Director and Chief Examiner, who is the chief executive and technical officer of the organization. The divisions of the Commission are outlined in subsequent paragraphs.

Each of the Commission's 13 regional offices, which are located in principal cities, has jurisdiction over field civil-service activities in the geographic area within the region, and acts as an integral part of the Commission's decentralized field organization for serving effectively, economically, and expeditiously the various field branches of Federal agencies. Under the jurisdiction of these regional offices are 12 branch offices and more than 5,000 boards of examiners throughout the country, including rating boards at Federal establishments such as navy yards and arsenals. Each regional office, under the supervision of a regional director, supervises these offices and boards of examiners, disseminates civil-service information, arranges and holds examinations under its jurisdiction, receives and rates applications and examination papers, furnishes eligibles to appointing officers or conducts positive or direct recruitment to fill vacancies by the time required, conducts necessary investigations, maintains liaison and conducts negotiations with regional, area, and local War Manpower Commission officials and officials of other agencies on various matters, and performs other work essential to the proper administration of Federal field civil-service activities under its jurisdiction.

Activities

The principal activities of the Civil Service Commission are to--

  1. Provide for examinations to test the fitness of applicants for positions subject to the Civil Service Act, and to establish qualifications standards as a basis for reinstatement, promotion, and transfer of Federal employees.

  2. Provide, in response to requests from appointing officers in the various Federal agencies, the best qualified available personnel to fill positions in those agencies.

  3. Provide, through a system of transfer and through stimulation of supervision-improvement and work-improvement programs, for the most effective utilization of employees already in the service.

--561--

  1. Administer the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944, which provides for the granting of preference to certain classes of persons because of military service.

  2. Conduct investigations relative to the enforcement of civil-service law, the suitability of applicants (as regards character, trustworthiness, loyalty, etc.) for certain types of positions, and the qualifications of applicants for top administrative positions.

  3. Administer the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, which provides for the classification of positions according to duties and responsibilities.

  4. Administer an efficiency-rating system for Federal employees.

  5. Maintain service records and qualifications records of Federal employees.

  6. Administer statutory provisions of civil-service regulations restricting political activity by Federal employees in positions subject to the Civil Service Act and by certain State and local employees participating in federally financed activities.

  7. Administer the Civil Service Retirement Act, the Canal Zone Retirement Act, and the Alaska Railroad Retirement Act.

Executive Staff.--The Staff is responsible for planning, directing, and controlling the technical and administrative work of the Commission, its field offices, and local boards of examiners. It is charged with formulating and developing matters of policy, interpretation, and procedure. It coordinates enforcement work and conducts formal hearings on alleged violations of the Hatch Act, which restricts political activities of Federal and certain other governmental employees.

Administrative Services.--

Office of the Chief.--Responsible for general direction, coordination, and control of all administrative, business management, and planning activities, including the work of the Organization and Methods Staff, the Program Planning Staff, the Instructions and Manuals Staff, the Federal Employment Statistics Staff, the Budget and Finance Division, the Office Services Division, and the Library.

Organization and Methods Staff.--Initiates and conducts surveys of organizational structure, functions, and procedures of central-office divisions and regional offices.

Program Planning Staff.--Prepares long-range programs for the improvement of the administration of the Commission's activities, and prepares programs to meet new conditions or legislation.

Instructions and Manuals Staff.--Prepares or clears policy, procedural, and instructional issuances for the Executive Director and Chief Examiner and the Commission, and reviews agency personnel instructions.

Federal Employment Statistics Staff.--Plans and coordinates the collection, summarization, analysis, and use of Federal employment statistics.

Budget and Finance Division.--Prepares the annual, deficiency, and supplemental estimates of appropriations and the justifications for the estimates, together with supporting statements and statistics; prepares notices of funds and allotments to divisions and offices; maintains all appropriation accounting records; audits all vouchers covering appropriation expenditures to ascertain whether they are in

--562--

accordance with appropriation acts, administrative limitations, and fiscal regulations; performs statistical services, as requested, for the staff and operating divisions of the Commission, including the assembling and compilation of statistical data by means of card-punch sorting and tabulating machines; reviews and analyzes work reports and appraises and checks work load distributions and backlogs for preparing periodic reports, summaries, and recommendations to staff officers for their information, advice, or action; develops criteria for the measurement of work loads and, whenever possible, establishes standards for the measurement of work accomplishments.

Office Services Division.--Supervises procurement and maintenance of supplies and equipment, provision and assignment of space, and provision of mail, files, telephone, messenger, and processing services.

Library.--Maintains for use of officials and employees a collection of books, periodicals, pamphlets, bulletins, reports, and decisions on civil service, public administration, and related subjects; makes available, for use by examiners in setting up and rating examinations, basic literature in agriculture, education, engineering, law, and other professional and technical fields.

Board of Appeals and Review.--For the duration of the national emergency, reviews the record and passes upon the merit of appeals only in the following types of cases: ineligible ratings involving suitability, including loyalty; appeals on any matter relating to postmaster examinations of all classes; appeals from original action taken under the provisions of the Retirement Act; appeals relating to residence; reviews the record, hold hearings when deemed necessary, and makes recommendations in special cases involving questions of experience and/or other qualifications.

Examining and Personnel Utilization Division.--Recruits qualified persons to fill position sin the Federal service through the preparation and public announcement of examinations and through contact with individuals and with appropriate business, professional, trade, educational, and other organizations; receives and records applications, and reviews them for legal requirements; passes on qualifications of applicants and on veteran-preference claims; arranges for and supervises the holding of examinations; issues to appointing officers lits of eligibles to fill vacancies; determines examination requirements and qualifications necessary for person proposed for promotion, transfer, reappointment, reinstatement, and status classficiation; supervises the promotion system in the classified service. Formulates policies and procedures, and issues instructions to agencies regarding application of War Manpower Commission directives and employment-stabilization programs to the Federal service. Supervises the transfer of Federal employees form one agency to another with a view to securing their maximum utilization in the war effort; initiates and develops programs for making better use of the skills of Federal personnel, and assists agencies in carrying out such programs; studies and recommends solutions to manpower problems in the Federal service in various subject-matter fields; assists in developing activities designed to provide an adequate supply of qualified personnel. Encourages the agencies to fill positions which can be performed by disabled veterans and the physically impaired form these sources of manpower; stimulates and assists in the development of training

--563--

programs designed to improve the performance of Federal supervisors and employees; develops training programs and materials; provides means for interagency cooperation on training problems; as a staff service to Federal agencies, conducts specific training programs; assembles materials on training techniques and programs and makes them available for general reference; upon request, determines standards for training and evaluates training programs. Formulates policies and procedures for the maximum utilization of veterans, acting as the representative of the President in issuing instructions as to what procedure Federal agencies shall follow, under specific sets of circumstances, in granting reemployment rights to veterans in accordance with the provisions of the Selective Training and Service Act; coordinates veteran activities of operating divisions, regional offices, and branch offices of the Commission, maintaining close contact with operating officials, Federal agencies, veterans' organizations, and other groups interested in rehabilitation and reemployment of veterans.

Office of Executive Assistant to the Commissioners.--Presents to the Commission for action cases handled in the divisions; advises Members of Congress, Government officials, and others on civil-service matters; performs special assignments at the direction of the Commission and handles other administrative functions; reviews and signs correspondence, except that on technical and policy-making matters; prepares the minutes of the Commission.

Information Division.--Disseminates information regarding the Commission and the Federal classified civil service; furnishes information to the press; prepares informational booklets; furnishes public speakers; prepares radio scripts and other public-address material compiles the Official Register of the United States; answers correspondence concerning civil-service procedures and opportunities for employment in the Federal service.

Investigation Division.--Studies and analyzes, with a view to its development and improvement, the Commission's investigative program, under which investigations are conducted, through personal interview and otherwise, relative to the qualifications of applicants for top administrative positions, the enforcement of civil-service law, and the fitness and suitability (as regards character, loyalty, etc.) of applicants for certain key positions in the Federal service; prepares training materials (such as manuals of instruction) and otherwise assists in the training of investigators; inspects the work of investigators in the Commission's regional and branch offices; reviews and analyzes work reports with a view to maintaining a balance of work requirements with investigative resources, recommending, when necessary, inter-regional transfer of investigators; and serves in an advisory capacity to the Executive Director and Chief Examiner and the Commissioners in all matters relative to the conduct of investigations.

Medical Division.--Renders medical advisory service to appointing officers concerning the physical and mental fitness of prospective appointees to the Federal civil service; passes on physical and mental policy matters; engages in activity connected with the placement of persons--especially veterans--who are physically impaired, conducting, as a part of this activity, job studies to determine placement

--546--

potentialities of the impaired; recruits and examines personnel in medical and related fields; conducts studies pertaining to disability retirement and sick leave, with particular reference to their bearing on the adequacy of (a) physical requirements for entering the Government service and (b) measures for promoting the health of Government employees; provides for physical examinations of applicants for disability retirement and annuitants retired after disability; determines whether applicants or annuitants are disabled for useful and efficient service.

Personnel Division.--Supervises position-classification work in the Commission; administers a promotion-from-within system; administers a performance standards program; conducts induction interviews, follow-up interviews, and exit interviews; provides centralized in-service training; maintains employee-counseling service and handles employee grievances; supervises the preparation of efficiency ratings in the Commission; conducts inquiries regarding the character and suitability of certain classes of Commission employees; conducts a personnel-utilization program; provides for health and safety inspections; disseminates information concerning personnel programs for Commission employees; makes estimates and recommendations to the Budget Officer regarding expenditures for personal services; performs clerical processing involved in personnel actions. in general fosters, and participates in, a well-rounded program of personnel administration. The Director is a member of the Council of Personnel Administration.

Personnel Classification Division.--Administers the Classification Act of 1923 (42 Stat. 1488; 5 U.S.C. 661-74), as amended, and related Executive orders and regulations; prepares class specifications setting forth classification standards; investigates the duties and responsibilities of position in the departmental service and allocates them to services, classes, and grades; investigates the duties and responsibilities of position in the field services of the Office of Price Administration and the constituent agencies of the Office for Emergency Management, and allocates them to services, classes, and grades; under Executive orders and War Manpower Commission directives, conducts surveys, prepares allocation standards, and audits their application; cooperates with departments and independent agencies in the investigation and solution of problems relating to the allocation of field positions under Classification Act schedules and related pay plans; establishes new minimum rates of pay for classes of positions subject to the schedules of the Classification Act under the conditions prescribed in sections 8 and 9 of the War Overtime Pay Act of 1943; reviews and revises uniform efficiency rating plans and cooperates with departments and independent agencies in their efficiency rating programs; administers the board of review program for deciding efficiency rating appeals, and provides chairmen for such boards; investigates cases of proposed salary reductions, demotions, dismissals, or furloughs based on low efficiency ratings; administers laws relating to retention preference in reductions in force; reviews and ap proves proposed grievance procedures for conformance with established policies; receives, tabulates, and transmits to COngress reports of especially meritorious salary increases; and initiates regulations relating to all of these functions.

--565--

Retirement Division.--Administers the Civil Service Retirement Act of May 22, 1920 (41 Stat. 614), as amended (5 U.S.C. 691-738), the Canal Zone Retirement Act of March 2, 1931 (46 Stat. 1471), as amended (48 U.S.C. 1371), and the Alaska Railroad Retirement Act of June 29, 1936 (49 Stat. 2017), as amended (5 U.S.C. 745). These laws provide for (1) retirement with annuity after the required service and after reaching the specified age, (2) retirement with annuity in case of total disability for useful and efficient service in the grade or class of position held after at least 5 years of service, and (3) separation annuity benefits under certain specified conditions where the separated employees are not entitled to age or disability annuities. Provision is made for refunds to employees who are separated, under certain specified conditions, prior to becoming eligible for retirement with annuities. In the case of deceased annuitants or of employees who die in active service, payment may be made of equities in the retirement funds to the appropriate claimants. The Retirement Division maintains (1) the files of beneficiaries designated by annuitants and employees (2) the retirement funds control accounts, and (3) the individual accounts for any additional voluntary deposits, and promulgates regulations under which employing agencies establish and maintain individual retirement accounts for members of the retirement fund in active service. A percentage of basic salary of employees subject to the provisions of these acts is placed in the retirement funds to the individual credit of the employees. The division also administers the act of May 29, 1944 (58 Stat. 257), which provides for the payment of annuities to former employees who served in the Isthmus of Panama during the construction period.

Service Record Division.--Enforces civil-service rules governing appointments and personnel changes; initiates or reviews proposals to amend civil-service provisions of personnel regulations issued by various departments and agencies, as related to the work of this Division; maintains a centralized system of service records of employees in the executive civil service; determines eligibility and takes final action in certain classes of reinstatements, transfers, and changes in status; acts on recommendations for the according of a classified status of employees under various provisions of law, Executive order, or civil-service rules; maintains statistics on the apportionment of positions in the departmental service among the States and Territories, and prepares quarterly report showing condition of the apportionment; passes on proof of date of birth of personnel in the Federal service;l handles correspondence relating to matters affecting employees of the Federal Government, such as status, hours of labor, suspensions, furlough, leave, removal, employment, and in-service rights of veterans under the Selective Training and Service Act, and other legislation.

Regional Offices--Civil Service Commission
Region Director Address
No. 1. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut William A. Foley Post Office and Courthouse Building, Boston 9, Mass.
No. 2. New York, New Jersey James E. Rossell Federal Building, Christopher Street, New York 14, N.Y.

--566--

Regional Offices--Civil Service Commission--Continued
Region Director Address
No. 3. Pennsylvania, Delaware Charles D. Hertzog U.S. Customhouse, Second and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia 6, Pa.
No. 4. District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia Maurice J. McAuliffe Nissen Building, Winston-Salem 3, N.C.
No. 5. South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands Orle E. Myers New Post Office Building, Atlanta 3, Ga.
No. 6. Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky D.C. Whelan Post Office and Courthouse Building, Cincinnati 2, Ohio
No. 7. Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois Joseph A. Connor New Post Office Building, Chicago 7, Ill.
No. 8. Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa Rena B. Smith Post Office and Customhouse Building, St. Paul 1, Minn.
No. 9. Kansas,Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas Bobbie M. Snoddy New Federal Building, Twelfth and Market Streets, St. Louis 1, Mo.
No. 10. Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas Aloysius J. Leach 210 S. Harwood Street, Dallas 1, Tex.
No. 11. Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Alaska James P. Cooley 437 Central Building, 810 Third Avenue, Seattle 4, Wash.
No. 12. California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii Harry T. Kranz 129 Nw Appraisers BUilding, 630 Sansome Street, San Francisco 11, Calif.
No. 13. Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming Clarence L. Edwards New Customhouse Building, Denver 2, Colo.
Hawaii (see region No. 12) W.T. Atkinson, Manager, Branch Regional Office, Twelfth U.S. Civil Service Region Federal Building, Honolulu 2, T.H.
Canal Zone Secretary, Board of U.S. Civil Service Examiners Balboa Heights, C.Z.
Puerto Rico (see region No. 5) Chairman, Puerto Rican Civil Service Commission San Juan, P.R.

Council of Personnel Administration

Normandy Building, 1626 K Street NW.
REpublic 1205

MEMEBERS
Chairman Frederick M. Davenport
Staff Assistants R.R. Zimmerman
Henry F. Hubbard
Mary Cushing H. Niles
[Directors of personnel ex officio and other designated officials are members of the Council.]


Creation and Authority.--The Council of Personnel Administration was established February 1, 1939, pursuant to Executive Order 7916 of June 24, 1938, By Executive Order 8467 of July 1, 1940, the Council became a unit within the Civil Service Commission.

Purpose.--The Council of Personnel Administration is an interdepartmental committee created to improve Federal personnel administration

--567--

through common understanding and effort, to meet the personnel needs of the service by developing standards and practices sufficiently uniform for the Government as a single employer and yet flexible enough to provide for the great differences in the character and conditions of work. The Council serves as a clearing house where directors of personnel develop plans and disseminate throughout the service information about practices, and where representatives of the Commission and of the Bureau of the Budget meet regularly with the personnel directors in consultation, to discuss and interpret the policies, programs, and procedures which are in course of development.

The Council's work is performed by the members through weekly meetings of the entire council and by standing and special committees covering the various aspects of personnel management. These committees are assisted in their work by the Council staff and also by consultants from the staffs of the various personnel offices, from the Commission, or elsewhere. Problems which affect a number of agencies are studied jointly, thus conserving time and manpower and eliminating duplication of effort.

Recommendations are made to the President and to the Civil Service Commission, the Bureau of the Budget, and to other appropriate agencies.

Field personnel councils have been established in 26 centers where there are large concentrations of personnel.

Approved.

Harry B. Mitchell
President, United States Civil Service Commission

--568--

Table of Contents

Transcribed and formatted for HTML by Patrick Clancey, HyperWar Foundation