Title 20, EducationRelease 119-110

§80q–4 Director and Staff of National Museum

Title 20 › CHAPTER 3 — SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, NATIONAL MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES › SUBCHAPTER XIII — NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN › § 80q–4

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of the Smithsonian must appoint a Director to run the National Museum, following the Board of Trustees’ policies, and must hire other museum staff who work under the Director. Every Heye Museum employee who works there the day before the transfer of Heye Foundation assets must be offered a Smithsonian job under normal terms and with pay at least equal to what they were paid that day. The Secretary may hire the Director, two other employees, and those Heye employees without using the usual federal competitive hiring rules (title 5). The Secretary can set pay for the Director and the two employees without following federal classification and General Schedule pay rules (chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53); Heye employees’ pay must follow those rules but cannot be lower than their pre-transfer pay.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §80q–4

Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution shall appoint—

(1)a Director who, subject to the policies of the Board of Trustees, shall manage the National Museum; and

(2)other employees of the National Museum, to serve under the Director.

(b)Offer of employment to Heye Foundation employees

Each employee of the Heye Museum on the day before the date of the transfer of the Heye Foundation assets to the Smithsonian Institution shall be offered employment with the Smithsonian Institution—

(1)under the usual terms of such employment; and

(2)at a rate of pay not less than the rate applicable to the employee on the day before the date of the transfer.

(c)Applicability of certain civil service laws

The Secretary may—

(1)appoint the Director, 2 employees under subsection (a)(2), and the employees under subsection (b) without regard to the provisions of title 5, governing appointments in the competitive service;

(2)fix the pay of the Director and such 2 employees without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates; and

(3)fix the pay of the employees under subsection (b) in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, subject to subsection (b)(2).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 80q–4

Title 20, Education

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110