Opinion ID: 399394
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Administrative Program: Subsection (u)

Text: 8 The program under which Mr. Shirey was hired began as an administrative experiment in 1964, and its structure was largely shaped by the overall structure of the federal employment system. Civil service positions are divided into two categories: competitive service positions and positions excepted from the competitive service. 5 U.S.C. §§ 2102-2103 (1976 & Supp. III 1979). 8 Congress has excepted some positions from the competitive service by statute 9 ; others are excepted because they require Senate confirmation of appointees. 10 Furthermore, the President may prescribe rules for necessary exceptions of positions from the competitive service(.) Id. § 3302(1) (1976). The President, in turn, has delegated this authority to the Civil Service Commission and its successor, the Office of Personnel Management. Executive Order No. 10577, Rule VI, 3 C.F.R. 222 (1954-1958 Comp.), reprinted as amended, 5 U.S.C. § 3301 app. at 375 (1976). 9 Pursuant to the President's delegation of authority, the Civil Service Commission created a large number of excepted positions over the course of the years, linked principally by its determination that it would not be practicable to fill them by competitive processes. 11 In 1964 the Commission included among these an experimental exception for positions filled by persons with severe physical handicaps. 29 Fed.Reg. 498 (1964) (codified at 5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(u)); cf. 28 Fed.Reg. 10327 (1963) (codified at 5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(t)) (mentally retarded persons). Three years later the Commission made these authorities permanent, and it removed numerical limits on the number of positions agencies could fill with physically disabled or mentally retarded persons. 32 Fed.Reg. 10635 (1967). 10 Subsections (t) and (u) are only two of many authorities for filling positions outside of the competitive service. Many of these identify jobs wholly different in character from those performed by competitive service employees 12 or specialized part-time or seasonal work. 13 Subsections (t) and (u) differ from almost all other excepted service positions because they do not define the type of position to be filled, only the medical condition of the employee. 14 Subject to approval by the central civil service authority, see 5 C.F.R. § 213.102 (1981), any position in the civil service could be excepted for a handicapped person, regardless of the job duties, so long as the appointee was qualified to perform them. 15 11 In July 1969 the Civil Service Commission launched on its own initiative a program to promote what it called selective placement, or the careful matching of the abilities of the handicapped persons with the duties of particular positions. Federal Personnel Manual 306-3 (July 1969). As part of this program the Commission attempted to educate federal employers about the usefulness of subsection (u) authority as a means to provide for continuing employment of severely handicapped people by match(ing) job tasks and work environment to accommodate the particular disabilities of a severely handicapped person. Id. at 306-14 (May 30, 1972). After the Commission began its 1969 campaign, employment of handicapped persons under excepted service authority increased substantially. 16 It was under this program that Mr. Shirey was hired, using subsection (u) to bypass the competitive appointment system.