§1216 Other matters within the jurisdiction of the Office of Special Counsel

Summary

The Special Counsel must investigate certain complaints. They must look into five kinds of matters: (1) forbidden political activity by Federal employees (subchapter III of chapter 73); (2) forbidden political activity by certain State and local officers and employees (chapter 15); (3) unreasonable withholding of information under section 552, except when the withheld material is foreign intelligence or counterintelligence that the law or an Executive order specifically forbids releasing; (4) violations of civil service laws, rules, or regulations, including political interference in hiring or personnel decisions; and (5) an employee’s involvement in discrimination that a court or the right administrative agency has already found occurred in a personnel action. The Special Counsel must not investigate a complaint under item (5) if it can be handled better through an administrative appeals process. For matters in items (1), (3), (4), or (5), the Special Counsel may investigate and seek corrective action under section 1214 and disciplinary action under section 1215, treating the case like a prohibited personnel practice.