Title 5Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-73

§3503 Transfer of functions

Title 5 › Part PART III— - EMPLOYEES › Subpart Subpart B— - Employment and Retention › Chapter CHAPTER 35— - RETENTION PREFERENCE, VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS, RESTORATION, AND REEMPLOYMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - RETENTION PREFERENCE › § 3503

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

When a job, duty, or whole agency moves to another federal agency, employees who are competing for jobs in that work must be moved to the new agency and placed in positions they are qualified for. The new agency must do that before hiring anyone from outside.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §3503

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)When a function is transferred from one agency to another, each competing employee in the function shall be transferred to the receiving agency for employment in a position for which he is qualified before the receiving agency may make an appointment from another source to that position.
(b)When one agency is replaced by another, each competing employee in the agency to be replaced shall be transferred to the replacing agency for employment in a position for which he is qualified before the replacing agency may make an appointment from another source to that position.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 861(a) (3d proviso).June 27, 1944, ch. 287, § 12 (3d proviso), 58 Stat. 390. In subsection (a), the words “a function” are substituted for “any or all of the functions”. The word “receiving” is substituted for “replacing” in the phrase “receiving agency” to avoid confusion with subsection (b). In subsections (a) and (b), the word “first” in the phrase “shall first be transferred” is omitted as redundant in view of the subsequent limitation imposed by the words following “before”. The words “make an appointment from another source to that position” are substituted for “appoint additional employees from any other source for such position”. 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

1979—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 96–54 substituted “competing employee” for “preference eligible employed”. 1978—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 95–454 which directed the substitution of “competing employee” for “preference eligible employee” was impossible to execute literally because the text contained reference to “preference eligible employed”. See 1979 Amendment note above.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 3503

Title 5Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73