CIVIL SERVICE
The designation given to government employment
for which a person qualifies on the basis of merit
rather than political patronage or personal favor.
Civil service employees, often called civil
servants or public employees, work in a variety
of fields such as teaching, sanitation, HEALTH
CARE, management, and administration for the
federal, state, or local government. Legislatures
establish basic prerequisites for employment
such as compliance with minimal age and edu-
cational requirements and residency laws.
Employees enjoy job security, promotion and
educational opportunities, comprehensive med-
ical insurance coverage, and PENSION and other
benefits often not provided in comparable posi-
tions in private employment.
Most civil service positions are filled from
lists of applicants who are rated in descending
order of their passing scores on competitive civil
service examinations. Such examinations are
written tests designed to measure objectively a
person’s aptitude to perform a job. They are
open to the general public upon the completion
and filing of the necessary forms. Promotional
competitive examinations screen eligible
employees for job advancement. Veterans of the
ARMED SERVICES may be given hiring prefer-
ence, usually in the form of extra points added
to their examination scores, depending upon the
nature and duration of their service. Applicants
may also be required to pass a medical examina-
tion and more specialized tests that relate
directly to the performance of a designated job.
Once hired, an employee may have to take an
oath to execute his job in GOOD FAITH and in
accordance with the law.
Unlike workers in private employment, civil
service employees may be prohibited from cer-
tain acts that would compromise their position
as servants of the government and the general
public. For example, the federal HATCH ACT (5
U.S.C.A. § 7324 et seq. [1887]) makes participa-
tion by federal, state, and local civil service
employees in designated public electoral and
political activities unlawful.
The U.S. Civil Service Commission, created
by Congress in 1883 and reorganized under the
Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C.A. §
1101 et seq.) as the MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION
BOARD, established a merit system for federal
employment and governs various aspects of
such employment, such as job classification,
tenure, pay, training, employee relations, equal
opportunity, pensions, and health and life insur-
ance.Most states have comparable bodies for the
regulation of state and local civil service employment.
