- United States Office of Personnel Management
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United States Office of Personnel Management 
Official seal Agency overview Formed January 1, 1979 Preceding agency Civil Service Commission Jurisdiction Federal government of the United States Headquarters 1900 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. Employees 4,189 (2006) Agency executive John Berry, Director Website opm.gov The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the United States government that manages the civil service of the federal government. The current Director is John Berry.
Contents
History
OPM was originally founded as the United States Civil Service Commission by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883. The commission was abolished and replaced by OPM on January 1, 1979 following the passage of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 and Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1978 (43 F.R. 36037, 92 Stat. 3783).[1]
Function
According to their website, the mission of the OPM is "recruiting, retaining and honoring a world-class force to serve the American people."[2] OPM is partially responsible for maintaining the appearance of independence and neutrality in the Administrative Law System. While technically the employees of the agencies they work for, Administrative Law Judges (or ALJs) are hired exclusively by the Office of Personnel Management, effectively removing any discretional employment procedures from the other agencies. The Office of Personnel Management uses a rigorous selection process which ranks the top three candidates for each ALJ vacancy, and then makes a selection from those candidates, generally awarding an extreme preference toward any United States veteran who is a candidate.
The OPM is also responsible for a large part of the management of security clearances (Federal Investigative Services a/k/a FIS conducts these investigations) for the United States Government. With the exception of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which maintains its own system, separate programs for each executive department have gradually been merged into a single, Government-wide clearance system. The OPM is responsible for investigating individuals to give them Secret and Top Secret clearances. SCI compartments, however, are still managed by the particular agency that uses that compartment.
Past directors
- (Acting) Kathie Ann Whipple 2009[3]
- (Acting) Michael Hager 2008–2009[4]
- Linda M. Springer 2005–2008[4][5]
- Kay Coles James 2001–2005
- Constance Newman 1989–1993
- Constance Horner 1985–1989
- (Acting) Loretta Cornelius 1985
- Don Devine 1981–1985
- Alan Campbell 1979–1981
See also
- Civil service
- Federal Labor Relations Authority
- Hatch Act
- Presidential Management Fellows Program
- SHPS
References
- ^ http://www.opm.gov/glossary/
- ^ http://www.opm.gov/BiographyofAnIdeal/SubMain1979-present.asp
- ^ "White House Names Acting Director of OPM" (Press release). United States Office of Personnel Management. 2009-01-23. http://opm.gov/news/white-house-names-acting-director-of-opm,1449.aspx. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ^ a b Rosenberg, Alyssa (2008-08-01). "Bush taps new OPM director". National Journal. http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=40644. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ^ "Linda M. Springer Sworn In as New OPM Director" (Press release). United States Office of Personnel Management. 2005-06-29. http://www.opm.gov/news/linda-m-springer-sworn-in-as-new-opm-director,921.aspx. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
External links
- Office of Personnel Management
- Office Of Personnel Management Meeting Notices and Rule Changes from The Federal Register *RSS Feed
Categories:- Independent agencies of the United States government
- Civil service in the United States
- Government agencies established in 1979
- National civil service commissions
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