5 U.S.C. § 3704: Assignment of employees from…

Summary

Private-sector employees who are sent to work at a federal agency are treated as being on detail to that agency while they are there. They may still get pay and benefits from their company. For many legal purposes listed by the law, they are treated as agency employees — including chapter 73; sections 201, 203, 205, 207, 208, 209, 603, 606, 607, 643, 654, 1905, and 1913 of title 18; sections 1343, 1344, and 1349(b) of title 31; the Federal Tort Claims Act; chapter 131 of this title; section 1043 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and chapter 21 of title 41. They may not see their company’s trade secrets or other nonpublic commercial information. The President can make rules about these assignments. Supervision can be set by agreement between the agency and the company, and the agency may or may not repay the company for pay or benefit costs. If such an employee is injured or dies while on the assignment, they are treated as an employee under subchapter I of chapter 81 and section 8101 for workers’ compensation, but any insurance or benefit payments from the company that were fully paid by the company are subtracted from what the federal program would pay. A private company may not charge the federal government, directly or indirectly under a federal contract, for the pay or benefits it gives the assigned employee during the assignment.

Title 5, §3704

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In General.—

An employee of a private sector organization assigned to an agency under this chapter is deemed, during the period of the assignment, to be on detail to such agency.

(b)Terms and Conditions.—

An employee of a private sector organization assigned to an agency under this chapter—

(1)may continue to receive pay and benefits from the private sector organization from which he is assigned;

(2)is deemed, notwithstanding subsection (a), to be an employee of the agency for the purposes of—

(A)chapter 73;

(B)section 201, 203, 205, 207, 208, 209, 603, 606, 607, 643, 654, 1905, and 1913 of title 18;

(C)section 1343, 1344, and 1349(b) of title 31;

(D)the Federal Tort Claims Act and any other Federal tort liability statute;

(E)chapter 131 of this title;

(F)section 1043 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and

(G)chapter 21 of title 41;

(3)may not have access to any trade secrets or to any other nonpublic information which is of commercial value to the private sector organization from which he is assigned; and

(4)is subject to such regulations as the President may prescribe.

The supervision of an employee of a private sector organization assigned to an agency under this chapter may be governed by agreement between the agency and the private sector organization concerned. Such an assignment may be made with or without reimbursement by the agency for the pay, or a part thereof, of the employee during the period of assignment, or for any contribution of the private sector organization to employee benefit systems.

(c)Coordination With Chapter 81.—

An employee of a private sector organization assigned to an agency under this chapter who suffers disability or dies as a result of personal injury sustained while performing duties during the assignment shall be treated, for the purpose of subchapter I of chapter 81, as an employee as defined by section 8101 who had sustained the injury in the performance of duty, except that, if the employee or the employee’s dependents receive from the private sector organization any payment under an insurance policy for which the premium is wholly paid by the private sector organization, or other benefit of any kind on account of the same injury or death, then, the amount of such payment or benefit shall be credited against any compensation otherwise payable under subchapter I of chapter 81.

(d)Prohibition Against Charging Certain Costs to the Federal Government.—

A private sector organization may not charge the Federal Government, as direct or indirect costs under a Federal contract, the costs of pay or benefits paid by the organization to an employee assigned to an agency under this chapter for the period of the assignment.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Federal Tort Claims Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(D), is title IV of act Aug. 2, 1946, ch. 753, 60 Stat. 842, which was classified principally to chapter 20 (§§ 921, 922, 931–934, 941–946) of former Title 28, Judicial Code and Judiciary. Title IV of act Aug. 2, 1946, was substantially repealed and reenacted as section 1346(b) and 2671 et seq. of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, by act June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 992, the first section of which enacted Title 28. The Federal Tort Claims Act is also commonly used to refer to chapter 171 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. For complete classification of title IV to the Code, see Tables. For distribution of former sections of Title 28 into the revised Title 28, see Table at the beginning of Title 28. section 1043 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(F), is classified to section 1043 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (b)(2)(E). Pub. L. 117–286 substituted “chapter 131 of this title;” for “the Ethics in Government Act of 1978;”. 2011—Subsec. (b)(2)(G). Pub. L. 111–350 substituted “chapter 21 of title 41” for “section 27 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective 120 days after Dec. 17, 2002, see section 402(a) of Pub. L. 107–347, set out as a note under section 3601 of Title 44, Public Printing and Documents.

§3704 Assignment of Employees From Private Sector Organizations