The WPA prohibits any employee who has the authority to take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action from acting based upon:   Unlawful discrimination - race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, reprisal, marital status, political affiliation Solicitation or consideration of improper background references - a background reference must be based upon the personal knowledge or records of the person providing it and consists either of an evaluation of work performance, ability aptitude, general qualifications, or an evaluation of the individual's character, loyalty, or suitability, or an agency cannot consider it Coercion of political activity Obstruction of the right to compete - this means an agency shall not interfere with the fair consideration of a candidate during a competitive selection process Influencing the withdrawal of applicants from competition - agencies shall not prevent the consideration of candidates, such as by failing to mail them inquiries concerning their availability for a position or falsely reporting their employment status during the competitive selection process Unauthorized preferences - agencies shall not intentionally take a personnel action in such a way as to give preference to a particular individual for the purpose of improving his or her prospects for employment at the agency, such as hiring under a temporary appointment to circumvent a competitive selection process Nepotism Retaliation for whistleblowing Reprisal for the exercise of an appeal right, or for cooperation with the OSC or an agency IG's office Discrimination based on non-job related conduct Knowingly taking, recommending, or approving - or failing to do - any personnel action if the taking of or failure to take such action would violate a veterans preference requirement Taking or failing to take any other personnel action if doing so would violate any law, rule, or regulation implementing or directly concerning the merit system principles