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1 [1] (January 12, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govebrp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inforrming the legislative debate since 1914 0 Updated January 12, 2021 Defense Primer: Department of Defense Civilian Employees Background Congress established the current federal civil service with the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-454). Its primary features are merit-based hiring and merit system principles. Federal employment evolved into a civil service system in the late 1800s. It replaced a spoils system that allowed each presidential administration to appoint its political supporters as federal employees. Civil Service The civil service consists of three categories: competitive service, excepted service, and senior executive service (SES). The competitive service is the primary and largest civil service category. The other categories are excluded from it by statute, the President, or the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The excepted service is the next largest category and its selection procedures differ from the ones used in the competitive service. The smallest category is the SES-less than one percent of the civil service. Selection for the SES is based on an OPM-regulated merit staffing procedure and qualifications review board (QRB). The stated purpose of the QRB is to verify and certify an SES aspirant's executive core qualifications (ECQs). OPM is responsible for civil service oversight, generally, but the following entities have specific responsibilities: * Office of Special Counsel (OSC) * Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB); and * Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); Just under a third of all federal civil servants are in, or are represented by, a bargaining unit (union). Managers, supervisors, and servicemembers are specifically excluded from unions, as are certain workforce sectors. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) oversees labor relations between union members and the federal government. Civil Service Data There are two common methods for enumerating civil servants: full-time equivalent (FTE) and on-board personnel (OBP). The executive branch typically uses FTE in budget documents and OBP in data reports. A FTE unit equals one work year (2,080 hours) and an OBP unit equals one employee. The FTE method quantifies employment as the number of hours worked at the end of a fiscal year, irrespective of the number of employees. The OBP method quantifies employment as the number of actual employees working on the last day of any quarter in a fiscal year, regardless of their part or full-time status. An OBP count can be greater than FTE because one or more OBP units could equal one FTE unit. Defense Civilians The Department of Defense (DOD) may employ civil servants (defense civilians) in the three civil service categories consistent with its yearly appropriation for direct hire employees. They fill positions that do not require military personnel. The majority of defense civilians are in the competitive service (82%). Most civil service appointments in DOD are made under Title 5 of the U.S. Code. The remaining appointments typically are made for specialized workforces under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, such as cyber, acquisition, and intelligence. Defense civilians perform federal functions under the supervision of a servicemember or another defense civilian. Defense civilians may exercise management or supervisory authority over servicemembers when authorized, but they do not have command or military justice authority over them. Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel The Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) is the human resource system for defense civilians who are employed in DOD intelligence positions. Precise numbers for DCIPS positions are not disclosed, but a DOD intelligence official testifying before Congress in 2019 stated that there were over 56,000 DCIPS employees. The Secretary of Defense establishes all DCIPS positions in the excepted service, to include defense intelligence senior level (DISL) and defense intelligence senior executive service (DISES) positions, also known as intelligence community (IC) senior officers. The number of DISES employees is limited to 594; there is no limit on DISL positions. Although DISES positions are part of the excepted service, within DCIPS they are considered equivalent to SES positions, and DISES compensation is based on the OPM SES federal pay tables. Certain DCIPS features, such as pay-setting and pay- retention, diverge from established civil service rules and are available for discretionary implementation by DOD intelligence organizations. DCIPS pay-banding allows qualification for a pay level that is supposed to match performance and responsibilities, without having to satisfy such level's typical time-in-service requirements. DCIPS rank-in-person permits retention of pay level for any role or position to which one is assigned, regardless of an increase, or a decrease, in one's level of responsibility. Defense Civilian Cyber Personnel The DOD Cyber Excepted Service (CES) is the human resource system for defense civilians who are employed in CES-designated cyber positions. The stated purpose of CES is to employ defense civilians who can perform U.S. Cyber Command responsibilities. CES authority also includes pay-banding and rank-in-person provisions. Defense Civilian Personnel Administration The DOD principal staff official with responsibility for defense civilian policy and programs is the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)). The Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security (USD(I&S)) is responsible for DCIPS policy and programs, subject to coordination with the USD(P&R). The Director ittps://crsreports.congress.gt

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