Title 5, Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-102
§3310 Preference Eligibles; Examinations; Guards, Elevator Operators, Messengers, and Custodians
Title 5 › PART III — EMPLOYEES › Subpart B — Employment and Retention › CHAPTER 33 — EXAMINATION, SELECTION, AND PLACEMENT › SUBCHAPTER I — EXAMINATION, CERTIFICATION, AND APPOINTMENT › § 3310
Summary
Agencies must limit exams for competitive jobs like guards, elevator operators, messengers, and custodians to people who have a hiring preference when such people are available. The limit does not apply to housekeeping aide jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Full Legal Text
Title 5, §3310
Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
In examinations for positions of guards, elevator operators, messengers, and custodians in the competitive service (other than for positions of housekeeping aides in the Department of Veterans Affairs), competition is restricted to preference eligibles as long as preference eligibles are available.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 5 U.S.C. 852 (2d sentence).
June 27, 1944, ch. 287, § 3 (proviso), 58 Stat. 388.Aug. 14, 1953, ch. 485, § 1(a) “Sec. 3 (2d sentence)”, 67 Stat. 581. The words “in the competitive service” are added for clarity. The reference to “examinations held prior to
December 31, 1954, for positions of apprentices” is omitted as obsolete. Application of this section to the excepted service in the executive branch and to the government of the District of Columbia, as provided in former section 858, is carried into section 3320. 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
2022—Pub. L. 117–168 inserted “(other than for positions of housekeeping aides in the Department of Veterans Affairs)” after “competitive service”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
5 U.S.C. § 3310
Title 5, Government Organization and Employees
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102