Amending the Civil Service Rules Relating To Federal Employees With Psychiatric Disabilities
Signed June 4, 1999·William J. Clinton·64 FR 31103
Source
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Plain-language summary
Amends the Civil Service Rules to give federal employees with psychiatric disabilities the same hiring and advancement opportunities already available to those with mental retardation or severe physical disabilities. Previously, employees with psychiatric disabilities hired under excepted appointing authorities could not convert to competitive civil service status after two years of satisfactory service, unlike those in the other two categories. The order amends Civil Service Rule III to allow employees with psychiatric disabilities who complete at least two years of satisfactory service in an excepted position to gain competitive status. It directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to align hiring rules for people with psychiatric disabilities with those for people with mental retardation or severe physical disabilities, and to issue any regulations needed to carry out the order.
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Claimed authority
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 3301 and 3302 of title 5, United States Code, and in order to give individuals with psychiatric disabilities the same hiring opportunities as persons with severe physical disabilities or mental retardation under the Civil Service Rules, and to permit individuals with psychiatric disabilities to obtain Civil Service competitive status, it is hereby ordered
Quoted from the order as written. Many orders cite nothing more specific than “the Constitution and the laws”; this reproduces what the order claims, not an assessment of whether it holds.
The order, in full
Executive Order 13124 of June 4, 1999
Amending the Civil Service Rules Relating To
Federal Employees With Psychiatric Disabilities
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including sections 3301 and 3302 of title 5,
United States Code, and in order to give individuals
with psychiatric disabilities the same hiring
opportunities as persons with severe physical
disabilities or mental retardation under the Civil
Service Rules, and to permit individuals with
psychiatric disabilities to obtain Civil Service
competitive status, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy.
(a) It is the policy of the United States to assure
equality of opportunity, full participation,
independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for
persons with disabilities. The Federal Government as an
employer should serve as a model for the employment of
persons with disabilities and utilize the full
potential of these talented citizens.
(b) The Civil Service Rules governing appointment
of persons with psychiatric disabilities were adopted
years ago when attitudes about mental illness were
different than they are today, which led to stricter
standards for hiring persons with psychiatric
disabilities than for persons with mental retardation
or severe physical disabilities. The Civil Service
Rules provide that persons with mental retardation,
severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric
disabilities may be hired under excepted appointing
authorities. While persons with mental retardation or
severe physical disabilities may be appointed for more
than 2 years and may convert to competitive status
after completion of 2 years of satisfactory service in
their excepted position, people with psychiatric
disabilities may not.
(c) The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and
the President's Task Force on Employment of Adults with
Disabilities believe that the Federal Government could
better benefit from the contributions of persons with
psychiatric disabilities if they were given the same
opportunities available to people with mental
retardation or severe physical disabilities.
Sec. 2. Implementation.
(a) The Director of the Office of Personnel
Management shall, consistent with OPM authority,
provide that persons with psychiatric disabilities are
subject to the same hiring rules as persons with mental
retardation or severe physical disabilities.
(b) Civil Service Rule III (5 CFR Part 3) is
amended by adding the following new paragraph to
subsection (b) of section 3.1:
“(3) An employee with psychiatric disabilities
who completes at least 2 years of satisfactory service
in a position excepted from the competitive service.”
Sec. 3. The Director of the Office of Personnel
Management shall prescribe such regulations as may be
necessary to implement this order.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
June 4, 1999.Reproduced from the Federal Register plain-text record, signed June 4, 1999. Typesetting artifacts are removed; no wording is changed.