A bill to amend Civil Service retirement provisions as they apply to certain employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and of the Indian Health Service who are not entitled to Indian employment preference and to modify the application of the Indian employment preference laws as it applies to those agencies.
PL 96-135 (H.R.1885), enacted 12/05/1979

93 STAT. 1056 
PUBLIC LAW 96-135—DEC. 5, 1979 
Public Law 96-135 
96th Congress 
An Act 
Dec. 5, 1979 
[H.R. 1885] 
Indians. 
Civil service 
retirement 
provisions. 
To amend Civil Service retirement provisions as they apply to certain employees of 
the Bureau of Indian Affairs and of the Indian Health Service who are not 
entitled to Indian emplojonent preference and to modify the application of the 
Indian employment preference laws as it applies to those agencies. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of 
America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 8336 
of title 5, United States Code, is amended by redesignating subsection 
(j) as subsection (k) and inserting after subsection (i) the following 
new subsection: 
"(jXD Except as provided in paragraph (3), an employee is entitled 
to an annuity if he— 
"(AXi) is separated from the service after completing 25 years 
of service or after becoming 50 years of age and completing 20 
years of service, or 
"(ii) is involuntarily separated, except by removal for cause on 
charges of misconduct or delinquency, during the 2-year period 
before the date on which he would meet the years of service and 
age requirements under clause (i), 
"(B) was employed in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian 
Health Service, a tribal organization (to the extent provided in 
paragraph (2)), or any combination thereof, continuously from 
December 21,1972, to the date of his separation, and 
"(C) is not entitled to preference under the Indian preference 
laws. 
"(2) Emplojmaent in a tribal organization may be considered for 
purposes of paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection only i
f
— 
"(A) the employee was employed by the tribal organization 
after January 4,1975, and immediately before such employment 
he was an employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Indian 
Health Service, and 
"(B) at the time of such employment such employee and the 
tribal organization were eligible to elect, and elected, to have the 
employee retain the covercige, rights, and benefits of this chapter 
under section 105(eX2) of the Indian Self-Determination Act (25 
U.S.C. 450i(aX2); 88 Stat. 2209). 
"(3)(A) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not 
apply with respect to any separation of any employee which occurs 
after the date 5 years after— 
"(i) the date the employee first meets the years of service and 
age requirements of paragraph (IXAXi), or 
"(ii) the date of the enactment of this paragraph, if the 
employee met those requirements before that date. 
"(B) For purposes of applying this paragraph with respect to any 
employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of the 
Interior or of the Indian Health Service in the Department of Health, 
Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of the department involved 
may postpone the date otherwise applicable under subparagraph (A) 
i
f
— 
vMVii 
PUBLIC LAW 96-135—DEC. 5, 1979 
93 STAT. 1057 
"Bureau of 
Indian Affairs.' 
"Indian 
preference 
laws." 
5 u s e 8336. 
"(i) such employee consents to such postponement, and 
"(ii) the Secretary finds that such postponement is necessary 
for the continued effective operation of the agency. 
The period of any postponement under this subparagraph shall not 
exceed 12 months and the total period of all postponements with 
respect to any employee shall not exceed 5 years. 
"(4) For the purpose of this subsection— 
"(A) 'Bureau of Indian Affairs' means (i) the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs and (ii) all other organizational units in the Department 
of the Interior directly and primarily related to providing 
services to Indians and in which positions are filled in 
accordance with the Indian preference laws. 
"(B) 'Indian preference laws' means section 12 of the Act of 
June 18,1934 (25 U.S.C. 472; 48 Stat. 986), or any other provision 
of law granting a preference to Indians in promotions or other 
Federal personnel actions.". 
(b) Section 8339(d) of title 5, United States (Dode, is amended by 
adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph: 
"(5) The annuity of an employee retiring under section 8336(j) of 
this title is computed under subsection (a) of this section, except that 
with respect to service on or after December 21,1972, the employee's 
annuity is— 
"(A) 2y2 percent of the employee's average pay multiplied by so 
much of the employee's service on or after that date as does not 
exceed 20 years; plus 
"(B) 2 percent of the employee's average pay multiplied by so 
much of the employee's service on or after that date as exceeds 20 
years.". 
(c) The first sentence of section 8339(h) of title 5, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(1) by inserting "(d)(5)," after "(b),"; and 
(2) by striking out "or (h)" and inserting in lieu thereof ", (h), or 
(j)". 
(d) The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the 
date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 2. (a) For purposes of applying reduction-in-force procedures 
under subsection (a) of section 3502 of title 5, United States Code, with 
respect to positions within the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the 
Indian Health Service, the competitive and excepted service reten-
tion registers shall be combined, and any employee entitled to Indian 
preference who is within a retention category established under 
regulations prescribed under such subsection to provide due effect to 
military preference shall be entitled to be retained in preference to 
other employees not entitled to Indian preference who are within 
such retention category. 
(b)(1) The Indian preference laws shall not apply in the case of any Reassignment 
reassignment within the Bureau of Indian Affairs or within the 
Indian Health Service (other than to a position in a higher grade) of 
an employee not entitled to Indian preference if it is determined that 
under the circumstances such reassignment is necessary— 
(A) to assure the health or safety of the employee or of any 
member of the employee's household; 
(B) in the course of a reduction in force; or 
(C) because the employee's working relationship with a tribe 
has so deteriorated that the employee cannot provide effective 
service for such tribe or the Federal Government. 
Effective date. 
5 u s e 8336 note. 
Reductions in 
force. 
25 u s e 472a. 
59-194 O — 81 
69 : QL3 
93 STAT. 1058 
PUBLIC LAW 96-135—DEC. 5, 1979 
Waiver. 
Reports to 
Congress. 
Office of 
Personnel 
Management, 
placement 
assistance. 
Reports to 
Congress. 
Definitions. 
(2) The authority to make any determination under subparagraph 
(A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1) is vested in the Secretary of the 
Interior with respect to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the 
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare with respect to the 
Indian Health Service, and, notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, the Secretary involved may not delegate such authority to any 
individual other than an Under Secretary or Assistant Secretary of 
the respective department. 
(c)(1) Notwithstanding any provision of the Indian preference laws, 
such laws shall not apply in the case of any personnel action 
respecting an employee not entitled to Indian preference if each 
tribal organization concerned grants, in writing, a waiver of the 
application of such laws with respect to such personnel action. 
(2) The provisions of section 8336(j) of title 5, United States Code (as 
added by the preceding section of this Act), shall not apply to any 
individual who has accepted a waiver with respect to a personnel 
action pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection or to section 
1131(f) of the Education Amendments of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2011(f); 92 
Stat. 2324). 
(d) The Secretaries of the Interior and Health, Education, and 
Welfare shall each submit to the Congress a report following the close 
of each fiscal year with respect to the actions which they took in such 
fiscal year to recruit and train Indians to qualify such Indians for 
positions which are subject to preference under the Indian preference 
laws. Such report shall also include information as to the grade levels 
and occupational classifications of Indian and non-Indian employees 
in the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service. 
(eXD The Office of Personnel Management shall provide all appro-
priate assistance to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian 
Health Service in placing non-Indian employees of such agencies in 
other Federal positions. All other Federal agencies shall cooperate to 
the fullest extent possible in such placement efforts. 
(2) The Secretaries of the Interior and Health, Education, and 
Welfare, and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management 
shall each submit a report to Congress following the close of each 
fiscal year with respect to the actions which they took in such fiscal 
year to place non-Indian employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
and the Indian Health Service in other Federal positions. 
(f) For purposes of this section— 
(1) The term "tribal organization" means— 
(A) the recognized governing body of any Indian tribe, 
band, nation, pueblo, or other organized community, includ-
ing a Native village (as defined in section 3(c) of the Alaska 
Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c); 85 Stat. 
688)); or 
(B) in connection with any personnel action referred to in 
subsection (cXl) of this section, any legally established 
organization of Indians which is controlled, sanctioned, or 
chartered by a governing body referred to in subparagraph 
(A) of this paragraph and which has been delegated by such 
governing body the authority to grant a waiver under such 
subsection with respect to such personnel action. 
(2) The term "Indian preference laws" means section 12 of the 
Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 472; 48 Stat. 986) or any other 
provision of law granting a preference to Indians in promotions 
and other personnel actions. 
PUBLIC LAW 96-135—DEC. 5, 1979 
93 STAT. 1059 
(3) The term "Bureau of Indian Affairs" means (A) the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs and (B) all other organizational units in the 
Department of the Interior directly and primarily related to 
providing services to Indians and in which positions are filled in 
accordance with the Indian preference laws. 
Approved December 5, 1979. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 96-370, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Post Office and Civil Service) and Pt. 2 
(Comm. on Appropriations). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 125 (1979): 
Oct. 26, considered and passed House. 
Nov. 26, considered and passed Senate. 
I