United States Civil Service Commission

The United States Civil Service Commission a three man commission was created by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act,[1] which was passed into law on January 16, 1883. The commission was created to administer the civil service of the United States federal government in response to the assassination of President James Garfield by Charles Guiteau, who is said to have been a rejected office seeker. Guiteau wanted a job via the spoils system, also known as patronage, and Chester Arthur didn't want to continue the system that killed his predecessor. The law required certain applicants to take the civil service exam in order to be given certain jobs; it also prevented elected officials and political appointees from firing civil servants, removing civil servants from the influences of political patronage and partisan behavior.[2]

Effective January 1, 1978, functions of the commission were split between the Office of Personnel Management and the Merit Systems Protection Board under the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1978 (43 F.R. 36037, 92 Stat. 3783) and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. In addition, other functions were placed under jurisdiction of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) and the Office of Special Counsel (OSC).

Under the Commission Model, policy making and administrative powers were given to semi-independent commission rather than to the president. Reformers believed that a commission formed outside of the president’s chain of command would ensure that civil servants would be selected on the basis of merit system and the career service would operate in a political neutrality fashion. Civil Service Commissions typically consisted of three to seven individuals appointed by the chief executive on a bipartisan basis and for limited terms. Commissioners were responsible for direct administration of personnel system, including rule-making authority, administration of merit examinations, and enforcement of merit rules.

Presidents of the commission

Name From Until
Dorman B. Eaton Mar 9, 1883 [3] Nov 1, 1885 (resigned) [4]
Alfred P. Edgerton Nov 9, 1885 [5] Feb 9, 1889 (removed) [5] Charles Lyman May 13, 1889 [6] Dec 15, 1893 (resigned) [7]
John R. Procter Dec 15, 1893 [7] Dec 12, 1903 (died) [8]
John C. Black Jan 17, 1904 [9] Jun 10, 1913 (resigned) [10]
John A. McIlhenny Jun 12, 1913 [11] Feb 28, 1919 (resigned) [12]
Martin A. Morrison Mar 13, 1919 [12] Jul 14, 1921 (resigned) [13]
John H. Bartlett Jul 15, 1921 [13] Mar 12, 1922 (resigned) [13]
William C. Deming Mar 1, 1923 [14] Feb 6, 1930 (resigned) [15]
Thomas E. Campbell Jul 11, 1930 [16] c. 1933
Harry B. Mitchell May 19, 1933 [17] Feb 26, 1951 (resigned) [18]
Robert Ramspeck Mar 16, 1951 [19] Dec 31, 1952 (resigned) [20]
Philip Young Mar 23, 1953 [21] Feb 11, 1957 (resigned) [22]
Harris Ellsworth Apr 18, 1957 [23] Feb 28, 1959 (resigned) [23]
Roger W. Jones Mar 10, 1959 [24] Jan 4, 1961 (resigned) [25]
John W. Macy Mar 6, 1961 [26] Jan 18, 1969 (resigned) [27]
Robert E. Hampton Jan 18, 1969 [27] c. 1977 [28]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://millercenter.org/president/keyevents/arthur
  2. ^ Creating America: A History of the United States, Rand McNally, p 238 (2003)
  3. ^ Foulke, W. D. Fighting the spoilsmen: reminiscences of the civil service reform movement (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1919), p.8
  4. ^ Cleveland, Grover. Accepting Letter of Resignation of Dorman B. Eaton in The Writings and Speeches of Grover Cleveland, ed. George F. Parker (New York: Cassell Publishing Company, 1892), p.46
  5. ^ a b Fourth Report of the United States Civil Service Commission (Washington: Government Printing Office. 1888) pp. 120-121
  6. ^ Trying The Charleston, "New York Times", May 14, 1889
  7. ^ a b Procter Succeeds Lyman, "The Daily Argus News" (Crawfordsville, Indiana), Dec 15 1893
  8. ^ ''Twentieth Annual Report of the United States Civil Service Commission (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904) p. 7.
  9. ^ Gen. Black Takes The Oath, "New York Times", Jan 17, 1904
  10. ^ Thirty-First Annual Report of the United States Civil Service Commission (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1915) p. 116.
  11. ^ McIlhenny Heads Civil Service, "New York Times", Jun 13, 1913
  12. ^ a b Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the United States Civil Service Commission(Washington: Government Printing Office, 1919) p. xxvii
  13. ^ a b c Thirty-Ninth Annual Report of the United States Civil Service Commission(Washington: Government Printing Office, 1922) p. 121
  14. ^ The U.S. Civil Service Commission, "Congressional Digest", Vol II. No. 7 (April 1923), p. 198
  15. ^ Hoover, Herbert. Letter Accepting the Resignation of William C. Deming as President of the Civil Service Commission in "Public Papers Of The Presidents Of The United States" (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1976)
  16. ^ Civil Service Head Takes Oath, "The Hartford Courant" (Hartford, Connecticut), Jul 11, 1930
  17. ^ Politics And Politicians, "Gazette And Bulletin" (Williamsport, Pennsylvania), May 20, 1933
  18. ^ Ramspeck Is Named Civil Service Head, "The Day" (New London, Connecticut), Feb 27, 1951
  19. ^ Ramspeck Takes Oath For Commission Post, "The Spokesman-Review" (Spokane, Washington), Mar 17, 1951
  20. ^ Civil Service Chief Quits, Wins Praise, "Toledo Blade" (Toledo, Ohio), Jan 1, 1953
  21. ^ Eisenhower Pledges To Rid Civil Service Of All Incompetents, "Florence Times" (Florence, Alabama), Mar 23, 1953
  22. ^ Two Quit CSC, "Reading Eagle" (Reading, Pennsylvania), Feb 11, 1957
  23. ^ a b "Ellsworth, Matthew Harris". Senate Historical office and House Legislative Resource Center. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=E000146. 
  24. ^ Roger Jones Becomes Head of Civil Service, "The Hartford Courant" (Hartford, Connecticut), Mar 10, 1959
  25. ^ Kennedy, Farm Bosses Tackle Issue, "The Miami News" (Miami, Florida), Jan 5, 1961
  26. ^ Macy Serves First Month In Federal Post for Free, "The Hartford Courant" (Hartford, Connecticut), Mar 5, 1961
  27. ^ a b Nixon Names Three to Policy Positions, "The Los Angeles Times" (Los Angeles, California), Jan 18, 1969
  28. ^ "Robert E. Hampton, Member and Chairman, U.S. Civil Service Commission; Member and Chairman, Federal Labor Relations Council: Papers 1960-77". Gerald R. Ford Library-Guides. June 1989. http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/guides/Finding%20Aids/Hampton,%20Robert%20-%20Papers.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-09. 
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