The majority of the federal civilian workforce obtained their positions by competing against others under the government’s merit system selection process. However, there are provisions for noncompetitive appointments as well. Included among these are the following: Presidential, noncareer SES, and Schedule C appointees are appointed by an administration to support and advocate the president’s goals and policies. Noncareer SES appointees can receive noncompetitive appointments to SES positions that normally involve advocating, formulating, and directing the programs and policies of the administration. Schedule C appointees generally receive noncompetitive appointments to excepted service positions graded GS-15 and below that involve determining policy or that require a close, confidential relationship with the agency head or other key officials of the agency. These appointees serve at the pleasure of the President or agency head. Certain congressional employees are eligible to apply for noncompetitive, career appointments under the Ramspeck Act. Eligibility requirements include, among other things, that employees must have been separated from this employment involuntarily, such as when a Member retires, and must be appointed to a career position within 1 year of separation. Employees appointed under this authority must meet applicable qualification requirements for the positions to which they are appointed. Under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, certain agencies can noncompetitively appoint individuals to what are labeled administratively determined pay rate appointments in which (1) individuals appointed under this authority serve at the pleasure of the agency head and can be removed upon notice and (2) the salary levels can be determined by the agency head. Limited term SES appointments are time-limited, nonrenewable appointments for up to 3 years. These appointments can be made noncompetitively. Limited emergency SES appointments are also nonrenewable. They are for time-limited positions for up to 18 months that are required to meet an urgent program need. Limited emergency SES appointments also can be made noncompetitively, and the appointees serve at the pleasure of the agency head. Since such appointments are often tied to the administration in power and, with the exception of the Ramspeck Act appointments, are not permanent, such individuals sometimes seek a permanent, career appointment in the government. Career appointments in government are usually made through competitive procedures, consistent with the government’s merit system selection principles, in which the selection is determined on the basis of relative knowledge, skills, and ability, after fair and open competition that ensures that all applicants receive equal opportunity.When a political appointee seeks a career appointment, concerns can arise as to whether these merit principles will be followed. These concerns may occur because the appointee competing for the career appointment is often well known or “connected” in the agency or department, sometimes having worked for the political appointee who should nominate the best qualified candidate to the selecting official or for the official who will do the selecting. We have written a number of reports on the issue of former political appointees and former legislative branch employees receiving career appointments in the executive branch. As in this report, we generally found that agencies usually followed appropriate procedures in making these career appointments. However, we also found a few cases in which the circumstances appeared to have provided the appointee with an advantage. See Related GAO Products for a listing of our past reports. In order to determine whether agencies used appropriate authorities and followed procedures in providing career appointments to former political appointees and legislative branch employees during the period January 1, 1996, through March 31, 1997, we first identified such cases. We did this by asking 50 executive branch agencies, including all cabinet-level departments, to complete and return to us a data collection instrument (DCI) for each case in which they had provided (1) a career appointment to a former political appointee or (2) a career appointment to a former legislative branch employee using Ramspeck Act authority. The DCI provided reporting instructions and defined former political appointees and legislative branch employees for purposes of our review. It was also used to collect details of each of the career appointments, including the appointee’s name, employing agency, date of career appointment, title of position, and grade level. It also collected details about each of the political or legislative branch appointments, including the type and date of the political appointment, title of position, and employing agency. In addition, we asked each of the 50 agencies to send us negative reports for each month in which they did not make such career appointments. A copy of the DCI we used for this review is contained in appendix II. The 50 agencies and departments were selected using criteria developed in concert with your offices. The selection criteria and agencies are identified in appendix III. As agreed with your offices, we conducted detailed reviews of the authorities used and procedures followed in those cases in which career appointments reported to us were made at the GS-13 level and higher. To determine whether the appropriate appointing authority was used, we first identified the authority that the agency cited for the appointment. The agency must cite this authority in Standard Form 50B-Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50B), a copy of which is filed in the appointee’s official personnel folder (OPF). We then researched the cited authority in law and/or regulation to determine the criteria the agency had to meet in order to use the authority. We then examined the contents of the employee’s OPF and, when appropriate, the merit staffing case file to determine if there was evidence that the criteria for using the authority were met. To determine whether proper procedures were followed in the 36 cases, we examined the steps taken in the application and appointment process. With guidance and assistance from a GAO personnel specialist, we examined OPFs and merit staffing case files to determine what procedures the agencies used. In cases where we had questions, we also interviewed officials from the personnel offices of the appointing agency or other officials knowledgeable about the specific case. We then compared the procedures used in the appointment process to the federal personnel laws and regulations contained in the U.S. Code and the Code of Federal Regulations and to the department’s or agency’s merit staffing plans, as appropriate. We did not independently determine whether the 36 employees were qualified for the positions to which they were appointed. There was no specific set of criteria that we could apply to determine if any of the appointments appeared to involve favoritism or preferential treatment. Consequently, we applied our professional judgment after reviewing the circumstances of each case. For example, to assess whether a vacancy announcement might have been tailored to the work experiences of the appointee, we examined information contained in the employee’s application materials and excepted service position descriptions regarding work experiences and dates and responsibilities and compared that information to the information contained in the vacancy announcement. We were aided in this appraisal of the circumstances by the knowledge gained from past work on the subject; the technical assistance provided by a GAO personnel specialist; and by our internal review process, which included the examination of the six questionable cases by attorneys experienced in the application of federal personnel law. In addition, we gave draft summaries of the six cases to the respective agencies that made the appointments and asked them to provide any corrections, clarifications, or explanations that they believed were appropriate to our understanding of the circumstances. We incorporated their clarifications to the case summaries as appropriate. All together, 20 of the 50 agencies reported to us that they had made 47 career appointments of (1) former political appointees or (2) former legislative branch employees under authority provided by the Ramspeck Act. We did not verify that the 50 agencies identified and reported to us all reportable appointments. Of the 47 appointments reported to us, 36 were made at the GS-13 level, or higher, by 18 agencies. Appendix IV provides a list of the 18 agencies where the 36 appointments were made. We did our work in Washington, D.C., from April 1996 through July 1997 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Because OPM is responsible for overseeing the federal personnel system, we obtained written comments on a draft of this report from OPM. These comments are discussed at the end of this letter and are reprinted in appendix V. Agencies must cite the legal authority under which they are appointing an individual in the documentation they prepare to make an appointment. Each appointment authority generally covers a particular set of circumstances and includes requirements or criteria the agencies must meet in order to use the authority. All together, 7 different appointment authorities, such as the Ramspeck Act of 1940, were cited for the 36 appointments. (The 7 authorities, their criteria, and the distribution of the 36 appointments among the 7 authorities are shown in app. VI.) From our review of the various documents that were related to the appointments (such as vacancy announcements, resumes, and official notifications of personnel actions) and our discussions with pertinent agency officials, we determined that the agencies met the requirements of the 7 appointment authorities and that they used the authorities properly in making the 36 appointments. We did note, however, that in 3 of the 36 appointments, although the appropriate appointment authorities were used, the reference citations on the effecting documents were incorrect. For example, in one case, the appointment authority cited was the vacancy announcement number rather than the applicable section of the U.S. Code entry under which authority the appointment had been made. Personnel officials from the employing agencies stated that the incorrect citations were due to administrative error and that corrections would be made. The three appointments did not involve circumstances that, in our opinion, could give the appearance of favoritism or preferential treatment. The merit staffing procedures agencies are to follow in making appointments are set out in federal personnel law and regulations and by the agencies in their merit staffing plans, which detail their procedures for filling positions. The procedures are intended to foster the principles of fair and open competition and equal opportunity.