Evening star., 1947-02-24
Fire or Denote
!ncompetents,
Truman Orders
Civil Service Returned
To Peocetime Bosis,
Authority Divided
By Joseph Young

0t SOSCPh ioehS
President Truman today di-
rected Federal departments and
agencies to fire or denote all
incompetent employees as he is
sued an executive order placing
the Federal civil service system
back on a peacetime basis, effec-
tive May /.
Another high light of the new civil
service rules is the decentralization
of authority from the Civil Service
Commission in employe promotions,
transfers, reassignmentS and in
some hiring instances. Federal
agencies are given more authority
in these matters than they had in
the past.
The new rules will replace the
wartime civil service regulations in
effect since 1912, and modernize and
change the rules in effect before the
war.
Reaffirms Jobless Pay Stand.
In ordering the dismissals of in
competent employees, Mr.. Truman
instructed Federal departments and
agencies: "The head of each agency
shall remove, denote or reassign to
another position any employe in the
competitive service whose conduct
or capacity is such that his removal,
demotion or reasSignment will pro-
mote the efficiency of the service"
At the same time, the President
said efficient Federal employees
should be protected in their jobs
from unnecessary insecurity and re-
iterated his recent statement that
Government workers should be COW
cred by unemployment compensa-
ton.
Under the present system, agency
heads may fire incompetent en-
ployes, but until today this had
never been defined specifically by
presidential order. Civil Service
Commission officials expressed the
belief that the specific order will
considerably increase efficiency in
Government by wedding out the in
competents.
More Discretion in Hiring Allowed.
In decentralizing the authority of
the Civil Service Commission, the
President was said by commission
officials to have acted on their rec
ommendation. Before the war the
commission had sole jurisdiction in
employe hiring, promotions, trans
fers and reasSignmentS.
The new regulations still give the
commission supervisory authority
over agencies activities, but Federal
departments are vested with consid-
erable more discretion and authority
in employe practices. Agencies will
be empowered to determine promo
tions, transfers and reasignments OF
their personnel and in some in
stances, agencies are permitted to
set up boards OF expert examiners
in their respective fields to hire
scientific, professional and technical
workers.
The commission, however, will
continue to have its preWar powers
in the hiring of other employees. At
the end of the war, Federal agencies
were given the authority to hire
temporary employees, but this will
be ended when the rules go into
effect May /.
Other Highlights of Order.
Other highlights of the new reg
ulations are:
1. Veterans, their widows and the
wives of disabled veterans will con-
tinue to get preference in Civil
Service appointment and retention.
2. The Council of Personnel Ad-
ministration, a bureau of the COM
mission stated by the heads OF Fed
eral agencies to formulate personnel
policies, will hereafter be known
as the Federal Personnel Council,
and will be continued iwithin the
commission.
3, Widows of veterans and wives
of disabled eX-Servicemen Will get
the same preference consideration
that veterans are generally given
now in Government employment.
They will receive consideration over
all non-veterans in their respective
classes. whether it be permanent,
war appointee or temporary.
Will Promote Efficiency.
Mr.. Truman said the new rules
would promote greater efficiency IN
the Federal service.
"The President, and the Clvll
Service Commission working with
the departments and agencies, set
the personnel policies; then persons
close to actual operations will act
within these limits. Both the COM
mission and the agencies must fol-
low up to see that policies and
standards are observed. When
fewer decisions are referred TO
washington, time is saved and red
tape cut" the order declared.
The new rules emphasize that
the commission continues to deter
mine personnel policies and that
agencies must follow these policies
in dealing with personnel. Other
wise the commission Will step in
and remove the offending agency S
power to act Independently.
The regulations mark the first
time since 1883 that civil service
rules have been changed on per-
manent basis. In drafting the new
rules the President and the COM
mission combined the best features
of the prewar regulations and the
wartime temporary rules, it was