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Title 5, Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-110

§7503 Cause and Procedure

Title 5 › PART III — EMPLOYEES › Subpart F — Labor-Management and Employee Relations › CHAPTER 75 — ADVERSE ACTIONS › SUBCHAPTER I — SUSPENSION FOR 14 DAYS OR LESS › § 7503

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Under rules from the Office of Personnel Management, an employee may be suspended for 14 days or less if it helps the agency run better. That can include rude conduct toward the public when an immediate supervisor documents four incidents within any one-year period, or other patterns of discourtesy. Before the suspension, the employee must get written reasons, time to respond and submit evidence, the right to a representative, and a prompt written decision. The agency must keep and provide copies of the notice, the employee’s reply, the decision, the suspension order, and related records to the Merit Systems Protection Board or the employee on request.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §7503

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Under regulations prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management, an employee may be suspended for 14 days or less for such cause as will promote the efficiency of the service (including discourteous conduct to the public confirmed by an immediate supervisor’s report of four such instances within any one-year period or any other pattern of discourteous conduct).
(b)An employee against whom a suspension for 14 days or less is proposed is entitled to—
(1)an advance written notice stating the specific reasons for the proposed action;
(2)a reasonable time to answer orally and in writing and to furnish affidavits and other documentary evidence in support of the answer;
(3)be represented by an attorney or other representative; and
(4)a written decision and the specific reasons therefor at the earliest practicable date.
(c)Copies of the notice of proposed action, the answer of the employee if written, a summary thereof if made orally, the notice of decision and reasons therefor, and any order effecting the suspension, together with any supporting material, shall be maintained by the agency and shall be furnished to the Merit Systems Protection Board upon its request and to the employee affected upon the employee’s request.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective 90 days after Oct. 13, 1978, see section 907 of Pub. L. 95–454, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1978 Amendment note under section 1101 of this title. Information on Appeal Rights Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title X, § 1097(b)(2), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1617, provided that: “(A) In general.—Any notice provided to an employee under section 7503(b)(1), section 7513(b)(1), or section 7543(b)(1) of title 5, United States Code, shall include detailed information with respect to—“(i) the right of the employee to appeal an action brought under the applicable section; “(ii) the forums in which the employee may file an appeal described in clause (i); and “(iii) any limitations on the rights of the employee that would apply because of the forum in which the employee decides to file an appeal. “(B) Development of information.—The information described in subparagraph (A) shall be developed by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Special Counsel, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 7503

Title 5, Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110