Administrative State
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TheUnited States Civil Service Commission was a government commission tasked with overseeing the merit-based selection system for federalcivil service employees established under the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883. The commission was later decentralized and replaced by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Federal Labor Relations Authority under theCivil Service Reform Act of 1978.^[1][2]

Background

Advisory Board of the Civil Service

The predecessor to the U.S. Civil Service Commission, the Advisory Board of the Civil Service, was established in 1871 under President Ulysses S. Grant, whose campaign platform included the elimination of patronage appointments in the federalcivil service. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Grant's advisory board recommended the following actions to reform thecivil service system:^[1]

The Advisory Board of the Civil Service was defunded by Congress in 1873 as a result of what the OPM describes as "the still strong forces favoring patronage" at the time.^[1]

U.S. Civil Service Commission

The U.S. Civil Service Commission was established under the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883. The commission was created to provide oversight for the newly-implemented merit selection system for federalcivil service employees.^[1][4]

TheCivil Service Reform Act of 1978 later decentralized and replaced the U.S. Civil Service Commission with three separate agencies: the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to implement rules and oversee the management of the federal executive workforce, the Merit Systems Protection Board to process employment-related hearings and appeals, and the Federal Labor Relations Authority to establish guidelines and resolve issues related to collective bargaining.^[5][2][6]

Structure

The U.S. Civil Service Commission was made up of three members, each appointed by the president with theadvice and consent of theUnited States Senate. No more than two commissioners could be members of the same political party.^[1]

The Pendleton Act also included the following structural provisions for the commission:^[7]

Duties

According to the Pendleton Act, the U.S. Civil Service Commission was authorized to perform the following duties:^[7]

• Promulgate rules for the management of thecivil service
• Oversee the development and administration of the competitive examinations for the merit-based selection ofcivil servants
• Maintain examination records and minutes of commission meetings
• Investigate matters related to the enforcement of the rules promulgated by the commission
• Provide an annual report to the president and Congress regarding the commission's activities^[7]

See also

• Civil service
• Civil Service Reform Act

External links

• U.S. Office of Personnel Management homepage
• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

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United States Terms Adjudication (administrative state) •Administrative judge •Administrative law •Administrative law judge •Administrative state •Arbitrary-or-capricious test •Auer deference •Barrier to entry •Bootleggers and Baptists •Chevron deference (doctrine) •Civil servant •Civil service •Code of Federal Regulations •Codify (administrative state) •Comment period •Compliance costs •Congressional Record •Coordination (administrative state) •Deference (administrative state) •Direct and indirect costs (administrative state) •Enabling statute •Ex parte communication (administrative state) •Executive agency •Federal law •Federal Register •Federalism •Final rule •Formal rulemaking •Formalism (law) •Functionalism (law) •Guidance (administrative state) •Hybrid rulemaking •Incorporation by reference •Independent federal agency •Informal rulemaking •Joint resolution of disapproval (administrative state) •Major rule •Negotiated rulemaking •Nondelegation doctrine •OIRA prompt letter •Organic statute •Pragmatism (law) •Precautionary principle •Promulgate •Proposed rule •Publication rulemaking •Regulatory budget •Regulatory capture •Regulatory dark matter •Regulatory impact analysis •Regulatory policy officer •Regulatory reform officer •Regulatory review •Rent seeking •Retrospective regulatory review •Risk assessment (administrative state) •Rulemaking •Separation of powers •Significant regulatory action •Skidmore deference •Statutory authority •Substantive law and procedural law •Sue and settle •Sunset provision •Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions •United States Code •United States Statutes at Large Bibliography "Administrative Law - The 20th Century Bequeaths an 'Illegitimate Exotic' in Full and Terrifying Flower" by Stephen P. Dresch (2000) "Confronting the Administrative Threat" by Philip Hamburger and Tony Mills (2017) "Constitutionalism after the New Deal" by Cass R. Sunstein (1987) Federalist No. 23 by Alexander Hamilton (1787) "From Administrative State to Constitutional Government" by Joseph Postell (2012) "Interring the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2002) "Rulemaking as Legislating" by Kathryn Watts (2015) "The Checks & Balances of the Regulatory State" by Paul R. Verkuil (2016) "The Myth of the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Keith E. Whittington and Jason Iuliano (2017) "The Progressive Origins of the Administrative State: Wilson, Goodnow, and Landis" by Ronald J. Pestritto (2007) "The Rise and Rise of the Administrative State" by Gary Lawson (1994) "The Study of Administration" by Woodrow Wilson (1887) "The Threat to Liberty" by Steven F. Hayward (2017) "Why the Modern Administrative State Is Inconsistent with the Rule of Law" by Richard A. Epstein (2008) Agencies Administrative Conference of the United States •United States Civil Service Commission •U.S. Government Accountability Office •U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs •U.S. Office of Management and Budget