Civil Service Commission

The United States Civil Service Commission (CSC) was created by act of Congress on January 16, 1883. Authority is codified under 5 U.S.C.A. No. 1101. The Civil Service Act was designed to establish a merit system under which appointments to Federal jobs are made on the basis of fitness-as determined by open and competitive examination-rather than personal preference or political considerations. Over the years, additional legislation and Executive orders have broadened the Commission's role to include such Federal personnel management activities as job classification, status and tenure, pay comparability, awards, training, labor-management relations, equal employment opportunity, health and life insurance programs, and retirement. The Commission was reorganized and restructured under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Among the features of the Reform Act were the establishment of an independent and equitable appeals process, protections against abuses of the merit system, and incentives for good work and skilled management. Additionally, the functions of the former Commission were divided between two new agencies-Office of Personnel Management and an independent Merit Systems Protection Board (q.v.). Similar commissions exist in most states covering state and local public employment