
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 2, 2001]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-303 Section 3(a)(1)]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-303 Section 3(b)(1)]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-303 Section 4(a)(2)]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-303 Section 3(a)(2)]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-303 Section 3(a)(3)]
[Document affected by Public Law 106-303 Section 3(b)(2)]
[CITE: 31USC732]

 
                       TITLE 31--MONEY AND FINANCE
 
                           SUBTITLE I--GENERAL
 
                  CHAPTER 7--GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE
 
                        SUBCHAPTER III--PERSONNEL
 
Sec. 732. Personnel management system

    (a) The Comptroller General shall maintain a personnel management 
system. The Comptroller General may prescribe a regulation about the 
system only after notice and opportunity for public comment. A reprisal 
or threat of reprisal may not be made against an officer or employee of 
the General Accounting Office because of comments on a proposed 
regulation about the system.
    (b) The personnel management system shall--
        (1) include the principles of section 2301(b) of title 5;
        (2) prohibit personnel practices prohibited under section 
    2302(b) of title 5;
        (3) prohibit political activities prohibited under subchapter 
    III of chapter 73 of title 5;
        (4) ensure that officers and employees of the Office are 
    appointed, promoted, and assigned only on the basis of merit and 
    fitness, but without regard to those provisions of title 5 governing 
    appointments and other personnel actions in the competitive service;
        (5) give a preference to an individual eligible for a preference 
    in the executive branch of the United States Government in a way and 
    to an extent consistent with a preference given an individual in the 
    executive branch; and
        (6) provide that the Comptroller General shall fix the basic pay 
    of officers and employees of the Office not fixed by law, consistent 
    with section 5301 of title 5.

    (c) Under the personnel management system--
        (1) the Comptroller General shall publish a schedule of basic 
    pay rates for officers and employees of the Office;
        (2) except as provided in clause (4) of this subsection and 
    section 733(a)(3)(A) of this title, the highest basic pay rate under 
    the pay schedule may not be more than the highest basic rate for GS-
    15;
        (3) except as provided under section 733(a)(3)(B) of this title 
    or section 5349(a) of title 5, basic pay rates of officers and 
    employees of the Office shall be adjusted at the same time and to 
    the same extent as basic pay rates of the General Schedule are 
    adjusted;
        (4) the pay schedule for officers and employees of the Office 
    may provide that the basic pay rates for not more than 129 positions 
    (including senior-level positions under section 732a of this title) 
    may be at rates not more than the rate of basic pay payable for 
    grade GS-18 of the General Schedule, less the number of positions in 
    the General Accounting Office Senior Executive Service under section 
    733 of this title (except positions included in the Service under 
    section 733(c) of this title and senior-level positions described in 
    section 732a(b) of this title); and
        (5) officers and employees of the Office are entitled to grade 
    and basic pay retention consistent with subchapter VI of chapter 53 
    of title 5.

    (d) The personnel management system shall provide--
        (1) for a system to appraise the performance of officers and 
    employees of the General Accounting Office that meets the 
    requirements of section 4302 of title 5;
        (2) that the Comptroller General has the same responsibility for 
    performance appraisals under this subsection as the Director of the 
    Office of Personnel Management has under section 4302 of title 5;
        (3) for a reduction in grade or removal of an officer or 
    employee because of unacceptable performance consistent with section 
    4303 of title 5;
        (4) for other personnel actions consistent with chapter 75 of 
    title 5; and
        (5) a procedure for processing complaints and grievances not 
    otherwise provided for under clauses (3) and (4) of this subsection 
    or subsection (e) or (f)(1) of this section.

    (e) The personnel management system shall provide--
        (1) a procedure that ensures that each officer and employee of 
    the General Accounting Office may form, join, or assist, or not 
    form, join, or assist, an employee organization freely and without 
    fear of penalty or reprisal; and
        (2) for a labor-management relations program consistent with 
    chapter 71 of title 5.

    (f)(1) The personnel management system shall--
        (A) provide that all personnel actions affecting an officer, 
    employee, or applicant for employment be taken without regard to 
    race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, political 
    affiliation, marital status, or handicapping condition; and
        (B) include a minority recruitment program consistent with 
    section 7201 of title 5.

    (2) This subchapter and subchapter IV of this chapter do not affect 
a right or remedy of an officer, employee, or applicant for employment 
under a law prohibiting discrimination in employment in the Government 
on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, 
political affiliation, marital status, or handicapping condition. 
However, for officers, employees, or applicants in the General 
Accounting Office--
        (A) the General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board has 
    the same authority over oversight and appeals matters as an 
    executive agency has over oversight and appeals matters; and
        (B) the Comptroller General has the same authority over matters 
    (except oversight and appeals) as an executive agency has over 
    matters (except oversight and appeals).

    (3) This section does not affect a lawful effort to achieve equal 
employment opportunity through affirmative action.
    (g) An officer or employee of the General Accounting Office 
completing at least one year of continuous service under a nontemporary 
appointment under the personnel management system acquires a competitive 
status for appointment to a position in the competitive service for 
which the officer or employee is qualified.
    (h)(1)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Comptroller General shall prescribe regulations, consistent with 
regulations issued by the Office of Personnel Management under authority 
of section 3502(a) of title 5 for the separation of employees of the 
General Accounting Office during a reduction in force or other 
adjustment in force.
    (B) The regulations must give effect to the following factors in 
descending order of priority--
        (i) tenure of employment;
        (ii) military preference subject to section 3501(a)(3) of title 
    5;
        (iii) veterans' preference under sections 3502(b) and 3502(c) of 
    title 5;
        (iv) performance ratings;
        (v) length of service computed in accordance with the second 
    sentence of section 3502(a) of title 5; and
        (vi) other objective factors such as skills and knowledge that 
    the Comptroller General considers necessary and appropriate to 
    realign the agency's workforce in order to meet current and future 
    mission needs, to correct skill imbalances, or to reduce high-grade, 
    managerial, or supervisory positions.

    (C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), the regulations relating to 
removal from the General Accounting Office Senior Executive Service in a 
reduction in force or other adjustment in force shall be consistent with 
section 3595(a) of title 5.
    (2)(A) The regulations shall provide a right of appeal to the 
General Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board regarding a personnel 
action under the regulations, consistent with section 753 of this title.
    (B) The regulations shall provide that final decision by the General 
Accounting Office Personnel Appeals Board may be reviewed by the United 
States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit consistent with section 
755 of this title.
    (3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an employee may not 
be released, due to a reduction \1\ force, unless such employee is given 
written notice at least 60 days before such employee is so released. 
Such notice shall include--
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ So in original. Probably should be followed by ``in''.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        (i) the personnel action to be taken with respect to the 
    employee involved;
        (ii) the effective date of the action;
        (iii) a description of the procedures applicable in identifying 
    employees for release;
        (iv) the employee's ranking relative to other competing 
    employees, and how that ranking was determined; and
        (v) a description of any appeal or other rights which may be 
    available.

    (B) The Comptroller General may, in writing, shorten the period of 
advance notice required under subparagraph (A) with respect to a 
particular reduction in force, if necessary because of circumstances not 
reasonably foreseeable, except that such period may not be less than 30 
days.
    (i) The regulations under subsection (h) shall include provisions 
under which, at the discretion of the Comptroller General, the 
opportunity to separate voluntarily (in order to permit the retention of 
an individual occupying a similar position) shall, with respect to the 
General Accounting Office, be available to the same extent and in the 
same manner as described in subsection (f)(1)-(4) of section 3502 of 
title 5 (with respect to the Department of Defense or a military 
department).

(Pub. L. 97-258, Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 897; Pub. L. 98-326, 
Sec. 1(b), June 22, 1984, 98 Stat. 269; Pub. L. 100-426, title III, 
Secs. 302, 303, Sept. 9, 1988, 102 Stat. 1602; Pub. L. 101-509, title V, 
Sec. 529 [title I, Sec. 101(b)(2)(B)], Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1427, 
1439; Pub. L. 104-53, title II, Sec. 212(a), Nov. 19, 1995, 109 Stat. 
535; Pub. L. 106-303, Secs. 3(a)(1), (b)(1), 4(a)(2), Oct. 13, 2000, 114 
Stat. 1066, 1068, 1069.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
           Revised Section                   Source (U.S. Code)                
Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
732(a)...............................  31:52-2(a).                     Feb. 15,
 1980, Pub. L. 96-191, Secs.  3,
                                                                        6, 94 S
tat. 27, 32.
                                       31:52-5(b).
732(b)...............................  31:52-2(b)(1), (c)(1st
                                        sentence).
732(c)...............................  31:52-2(c)(last sentence).
732(d)...............................  31:52-2(d), (f), (h).
732(e)...............................  31:52-2(e).
732(f)(1), (2).......................  31:52-2(g).
732(f)(3)............................  31:52-2(b)(2).
732(g)...............................  31:52-5(a).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    In the section, the words ``officers and'' are added for consistency 
in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.
    In subsection (a), the words ``not later than October 1, 1980'' and 
31:52-5(b) are omitted as executed. The word ``maintain'' is substituted 
for ``establish by regulation'' to omit executed words. The words ``for 
the General Accounting Office (hereinafter referred to as the `personnel 
system') which shall meet the requirements of subsections (b) through 
(h)'', and ``or any amendment'' are omitted as surplus. The words 
``about the system'' are substituted for ``thereto'' for clarity.
    In subsection (b)(1), the words ``merit system'' are omitted as 
surplus. In clause (5), the words ``of the United States Government'' 
are added for consistency. In clause (6), the words ``the principles 
of'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (c)(2), the words ``payable . . . under the General 
Schedule'' are omitted as surplus. In clause (4), the words ``not more 
than 100 positions'' are substituted for ``up to one hundred employees'' 
for consistency. The words ``payable . . . grade . . . of the General 
Schedule'' are omitted as surplus. In clause (5), the words ``the 
principles of'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (d)(2), the words ``Director of'' are added for 
consistency. The text of 31:52-2(d)(last sentence) is omitted as 
executed. In clause (4), the words ``the taking of'' are omitted as 
surplus.
    In subsections (e)-(g), the word ``management'' is added for 
consistency.
    In subsection (f)(1), the words ``in the General Accounting Office'' 
are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (f)(2), before clause (A), the word ``affect'' is 
substituted for ``abolish or diminish'' to eliminate unnecessary words. 
The words ``in the General Accounting Office by section 717 of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964, by sections 12 and 15 of the Age Discrimination in 
Employment Act of 1967, by section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act 
of 1938, by sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, or . 
. . other'' are omitted as surplus. In clauses (A) and (B), the words 
``has the same authority . . . as . . . has'' are substituted for 
``authorities granted thereunder to . . . shall be exercised by'' for 
clarity. The words ``the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office 
of Personnel Management, the Merit Systems Protection Board, or . . . 
other'' are omitted as surplus. In clause (A), the words ``established 
by section 52-3'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (f)(3), the word ``affect'' is substituted for 
``prohibits or restricts'' for consistency.
    In subsection (g), the words ``Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law'' are omitted as surplus.

                       References in Text

    The General Schedule, referred to in subsec. (c)(3), (4), is set out 
under section 5332 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.


                               Amendments

    2000--Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 106-303, Sec. 4(a)(2), inserted 
``(including senior-level positions under section 732a of this title)'' 
after ``129 positions'' and substituted ``733(c) of this title and 
senior-level positions described in section 732a(b) of this title);'' 
for ``733(c) of this title);''.
    Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 106-303, Sec. 3(a)(1), amended subsec. (h) 
generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (h) read as follows: 
``Notwithstanding the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 
5, United States Code, the Comptroller General shall prescribe 
regulations for the release of officers and employees of the General 
Accounting Office in a reduction in force which give due effect to 
tenure of employment, military preference, performance and/or 
contributions to the agency's goals and objectives, and length of 
service. The regulations shall, to the extent deemed feasible by the 
Comptroller General, be designed to minimize disruption to the Office 
and to assist in promoting the efficiency of the Office.''
    Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 106-303, Sec. 3(b)(1), added subsec. (i).
    1995--Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 104-53 added subsec. (h).
    1990--Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 101-509 substituted ``5301'' for 
``5301(a)''.
    1988--Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 100-426, Sec. 303, substituted ``under 
section 733(a)(3)(B) of this title or section 5349(a) of title 5'' for 
``in section 733(a)(3)(B) of this title''.
    Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 100-426, Sec. 302, substituted ``129'' for 
``119'' and ``the rate of basic pay payable for grade GS-18 of the 
General Schedule'' for ``the highest rate for GS-18''.
    1984--Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 98-326 substituted ``119'' for 
``100''.


           Effective Date of 2000 Amendment; Savings Provision

    Pub. L. 106-303, Sec. 3(a)(2), (3), Oct. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 1067, 
1068, provided that:
    ``(2) Effective date.--Subject to paragraph (3), the amendment made 
by paragraph (1) [amending this section] shall apply with respect to all 
reduction-in-force actions taking effect on or after--
        ``(A) the 180th day following the date of the enactment of this 
    Act [Oct. 13, 2000]; or
        ``(B) if earlier, the date the Comptroller General issues the 
    regulations required under such amendment.
    ``(3) Savings provisions.--If, before the effective date determined 
under paragraph (2), specific notice of a reduction-in-force action is 
given to an individual in accordance with section 1 of chapter 5 of GAO 
Order 2351.1 (dated February 28, 1996), then, for purposes of 
determining such individual's rights in connection with such action, the 
amendment made by paragraph (1) shall be treated as if it had never been 
enacted.''
    Pub. L. 106-303, Sec. 3(b)(2), Oct. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 1068, 
provided that: ``The amendment made by paragraph (1) [amending this 
section] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act 
[Oct. 13, 2000].''


                    Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 101-509 effective on such date as the President 
shall determine, but not earlier than 90 days, and not later than 180 
days, after Nov. 5, 1990, see section 529 [title III, Sec. 305] of Pub. 
L. 101-509, set out as a note under section 5301 of Title 5, Government 
Organization and Employees.


                    Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 98-326 effective Oct. 1, 1984, see section 2 of 
Pub. L. 98-326, set out as a note under section 731 of this title.


         References in Other Laws to GS-16, 17, or 18 Pay Rates

    References in laws to the rates of pay for GS-16, 17, or 18, or to 
maximum rates of pay under the General Schedule, to be considered 
references to rates payable under specified sections of Title 5, 
Government Organization and Employees, see section 529 [title I, 
Sec. 101(c)(1)] of Pub. L. 101-509, set out in a note under section 5376 
of Title 5.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 732a, 733, 751, 752, 753, 
755 of this title.
