Standards for Alternative Approaches Issued

The Office of Personnel Management has defined the extent to which agencies with special personnel authorities still must comply with general government-wide personnel policies, such as the merit system principles. The guidance is timely because numerous agencies have been carved out of the general personnel law, called “Title 5,” in recent years, giving them far greater discretion over issues including hiring, promotion, discipline and firing. The policy, called the “Standards for Agency HRM Accountability Systems under the Merit Systems Principles,” also give OPM a framework for reviewing or assessing performance of those agencies. The policy does not cover the national security agencies, however.