§3110 — Title 5 Government Organization and Employees | U.S. Code

Summary

Public officials must not hire, promote, or push for the hiring or promotion of their relatives in the agency where they work or that they control. Agency — any executive, legislative, or judicial office, or the government of the District of Columbia. Public official — someone who can appoint, hire, promote, or recommend people, including officers, the President, Members of Congress, and members of the uniformed services. Relative — family members such as parents, children, siblings, spouses, in‑laws, step‑relatives, half‑siblings, aunts/uncles, first cousins, nephews, and nieces. If someone is put in a job in violation of this rule, they cannot be paid and the government may not pay them. The Office of Personnel Management can make rules to allow short-term hires in emergencies like natural disasters, even if the rule would normally block the hire. There is one exception: a veteran with hiring preference may be appointed when skipping that person would mean choosing someone who does not have that preference.

Title 5, §3110

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)For the purpose of this section—

(1)“agency” means—

(A)an Executive agency;

(B)an office, agency, or other establishment in the legislative branch;

(C)an office, agency, or other establishment in the judicial branch; and

(D)the government of the District of Columbia;

(2)“public official” means an officer (including the President and a Member of Congress), a member of the uniformed service, an employee and any other individual, in whom is vested the authority by law, rule, or regulation, or to whom the authority has been delegated, to appoint, employ, promote, or advance individuals, or to recommend individuals for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement in connection with employment in an agency; and

(3)“relative” means, with respect to a public official, an individual who is related to the public official as father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, first cousin, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, or half sister.

(b)A public official may not appoint, employ, promote, advance, or advocate for appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement, in or to a civilian position in the agency in which he is serving or over which he exercises jurisdiction or control any individual who is a relative of the public official. An individual may not be appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced in or to a civilian position in an agency if such appointment, employment, promotion, or advancement has been advocated by a public official, serving in or exercising jurisdiction or control over the agency, who is a relative of the individual.

(c)An individual appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced in violation of this section is not entitled to pay, and money may not be paid from the Treasury as pay to an individual so appointed, employed, promoted, or advanced.

(d)The Office of Personnel Management may prescribe regulations authorizing the temporary employment, in the event of emergencies resulting from natural disasters or similar unforeseen events or circumstances, of individuals whose employment would otherwise be prohibited by this section.

(e)This section shall not be construed to prohibit the appointment of an individual who is a preference eligible in any case in which the passing over of that individual on a certificate of eligibles furnished under section 3317(a) of this title will result in the selection for appointment of an individual who is not a preference eligible.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1978—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 95–454 substituted “Office of Personnel Management” for “Civil Service Commission”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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

Pub. L. 90–206, title II, § 220(a)(1), Dec. 16, 1967, 81 Stat. 639, provided, except as otherwise expressly provided, that: “This section [enacting provisions set out as a note under section 8704 of this title] and section 201 [enacting provisions set out as

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note under section 5332 of this title], 207 [amending section 5303 of this title], 212 [enacting provisions set out as a note under section 5303 of this title], 218 [enacting provisions set out as a note under section 5332 of this title], 221 [enacting this section and provisions set out as a note under this section], 224(a) and (b) [amending section 4101 and 8339 of this title], and 225 [enacting section 351–361 of Title 2, The Congress] shall become effective on the date of enactment of this title [Dec. 16, 1967].” Retroactive Effect Pub. L. 90–206, title II, § 221(c), Dec. 16, 1967, 81 Stat. 641, provided that: “The

Amendments

made by this section [enacting this section] do not apply to an appointment, employment, advancement, or promotion made or advocated by a public official of any individual who is a relative of the public official if, prior to the

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of this section [see

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note above], the individual was appointed by the public official, or received an appointment advocated by the public official, and is serving under the appointment on such

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.” [section 221(c) of Pub. L. 90–206 effective Dec. 16, 1967, see section 220(a)(1) of Pub. L. 90–206, set out as an

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note above.]

§3110 Employment of relatives; restrictions

Summary

Title 5, §3110

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