Title 5 — Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-73
§3102 Employment of personal assistants for handicapped employees, including blind and deaf employees
Title 5 › Part PART III— - EMPLOYEES › Subpart Subpart B— - Employment and Retention › Chapter CHAPTER 31— - AUTHORITY FOR EMPLOYMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - EMPLOYMENT AUTHORITIES › § 3102
Summary
Agency heads can hire or assign personal assistants to help employees with disabilities do their official work. Assistants can work without pay from the agency and do not have to follow the usual federal hiring rules. An assistant may be paid by the disabled employee or by a nonprofit. Agencies can provide reading assistants for blind employees and interpreters for deaf employees. If an employee with a disability travels for work, the agency can pay someone to accompany or assist them. The Office of Personnel Management sets limits so the payment won’t be higher than what an employee escort could get. A paid helper is treated like an employee only for injury compensation and certain legal claims. This rule does not stop agencies from giving regular clerical or secretarial help paid by the agency under current rules. Definitions: agency = Executive agencies, the Library of Congress, or judicial branch offices; handicapped employee = an agency worker who is blind, deaf, or qualifies under section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); nonprofit organization = an entity the Treasury Secretary recognizes under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 501(c)).
Full Legal Text
Title 5, §3102
Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)For the purpose of this section—
(1)“agency” means—
(A)an Executive agency;
(B)the Library of Congress; and
(C)an office, agency, or other establishment in the judicial branch;
(2)“handicapped employee” means an individual employed by an agency who is blind or deaf or who otherwise qualifies as a handicapped individual within the meaning of section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); 11 So in original. Probably should be “(29 U.S.C. 791);”. and
(3)“nonprofit organization” means an organization determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be an organization described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)) which is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code.
(b)(1)The head of each agency may employ one or more personal assistants who the head of the agency determines are necessary to enable a handicapped employee of that agency to perform the employee’s official duties and who shall serve without pay from the agency, without regard to—
(A)the provisions of this title governing appointment in the competitive service;
(B)chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of this title; and
(2)A personal assistant, including a reading or interpreting assistant, employed under this subsection may receive pay for services performed by the assistant from the handicapped employee or a nonprofit organization, without regard to section 209 of title 18.
(c)The head of each agency may also employ or assign one or more personal assistants who the head of the agency determines are necessary to enable a handicapped employee of that agency to perform the employee’s official duties. Such employment may include the employing of a reading assistant or assistants for a blind employee or an interpreting assistant or assistants for a deaf employee.
(d)(1)In the case of any handicapped employee (including a blind or deaf employee) traveling on official business, the head of the agency may authorize the payment to an individual to accompany or assist (or both) the handicapped employee for all or a portion of the travel period involved. Any payment under this subsection to such an individual may be made either directly to that individual or by advancement or reimbursement to the handicapped employee.
(2)With respect to any individual paid to accompany or assist a handicapped employee under paragraph (1) of this subsection—
(A)the amount paid to that individual shall not exceed the limit or limits which the Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe by regulation to ensure that the payment does not exceed amounts (including pay and, if appropriate, travel expenses and per diem allowances) which could be paid to an employee assigned to accompany or assist the handicapped employee; and
(e)This section may not be held or considered to prevent or limit in any way the assignment to a handicapped employee (including a blind or deaf employee) by an agency of clerical or secretarial assistance, at the expense of the agency under statutes and regulations currently applicable at the time, if that assistance normally is provided, or authorized to be provided, in that manner under currently applicable statutes and regulations.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 43a.Aug. 29, 1962, Pub. L. 87–614, 76 Stat. 408. In subsection (a)(1), the word “agency” is substituted for “department”. The words “Executive agency” are coextensive with and substituted for “each executive department of the Federal Government, each agency or independent establishment in the executive branch of such Government, each corporation wholly owned or controlled by such Government, and the General Accounting Office” in view of the definition of “Executive agency” in section 105. In subsection (a)(3), the words “individual employed” are substituted for “employee” so as to include individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia who are not employees as defined by section 2105. In subsection (b), the word “may” is substituted for “is authorized” and the words “in his discretion” are omitted as unnecessary in view of the permissive nature of the authority. The words “in the provisions of this title governing appointment in the competitive service” are substituted for “the civil service rules”. The words “section 209 of title 18” are substituted for “section 1914 of title 18” on authority of the Act of Oct. 24, 1962, Pub. L. 87–849, § 2, 76 Stat. 1126. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2000—Subsec. (a)(1)(C). Pub. L. 106–518 and Pub. L. 106–553 amended par. (1) identically, adding subpar. (C). 1986—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted “Internal Revenue Code of 1986” for “Internal Revenue Code of 1954”. 1982—Subsec. (b)(1)(C). Pub. L. 97–258 substituted “section 1342 of title 31” for “section 3679(b) of the Revised Statutes (31 U.S.C. 665(b))”. 1980—Pub. L. 96–523 amended section generally and, among other changes, in section catchline substituted “personal assistants for handicapped employees, including blind and” for “reading assistants for blind employees and interpreting assistants for”, in subsec. (a) substituted applicability to handicapped employees for applicability to blind and deaf employees omitted applicability to the government of the District of Columbia, in subsec. (b) substituted applicability to personal assistants for applicability to reading and interpreting assistants for blind and deaf employees, respectively, redesignated former subsec. (d) as (c) and made changes in phraseology, added subsec. (d), and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (e) and made changes in phraseology. 1979—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 96–54 substituted “Mayor” for “Commissioner”. 1978—Pub. L. 95–454, § 302(b)(2), substituted “reading assistants for blind employees and interpreting assistants for deaf employees” for “readers for blind employees” in section catchline. Subsec. (a)(4), (5). Pub. L. 95–454, § 302(a)(1), added par. (4) and redesignated former par. (4) as (5). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95–454, § 302(a)(2), inserted provisions respecting applicability to employment and compensation for interpreting assistant or assistants for deaf employees. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 95–454, § 302(a)(3), inserted “or deaf” after “blind”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 95–454, § 302(a)(4), added subsec. (d). 1968—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 90–623 substituted “Commissioner” for “Board of Commissioners”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1980 Amendment Pub. L. 96–523, § 3, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 3040, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this Act [amending this section, section 7 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, formerly set out in the Appendix to this title, section 604 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and section 410 of Title 39, Postal Service] shall take effect sixty days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 1980].”
Effective Date
of 1979 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–54 effective July 12, 1979, see section 2(b) of Pub. L. 96–54, set out as a note under section 305 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1978 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 95–454 effective 90 days after Oct. 13, 1978, see section 907 of Pub. L. 95–454, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1968 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 90–623 intended to restate without substantive change the law in effect on Oct. 22, 1968, see section 6 of Pub. L. 90–623, set out as a note under section 5334 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
5 U.S.C. § 3102
Title 5 — Government Organization and Employees
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73