Commission. However, each decision is subject to discretionary review by the three members of the Commission upon the direction of any one of the three, if done within 30 days of the filing of the decision. When that occurs, the Commission issues its own decision.

Once a case is decided, any person adversely affected or aggrieved thereby may obtain a review of the decision in the United States Courts of Appeals.

The principal office of the Commission is in Washington, DC. There are also three regional offices where Commission judges are stationed.

The Office of Government Ethics is a separate executive agency established under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as amended (5 U.S.C. app. 401). The Director of the Office is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate for a 5-year term,

and is required to submit to Congress a biennial report concerning the implementation of the Director's functions and responsibilities.

Activities

The chief responsibilities of the Office

are:

-developing, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Office of Personnel Management, rules and regulations to be promulgated by the President or the Director of the Office of Government Ethics pertaining to standards of ethical conduct of executive agencies, public and confidential financial disclosure of executive branch officials, executive agency ethics training programs, and the identification and resolution of conflicts of interest;

-monitoring and investigating compliance with the executive branch financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as amended;

-providing ethics program assistance and information to executive branch agencies through a desk officer system; -conducting periodic reviews of the ethics programs of executive agencies;

-ordering corrective action on the part of agencies and employees that the Director of the Office deems necessary, including orders to establish or modify an agency's ethics program;

-providing guidance on and promoting understanding of ethical standards in executive agencies through an extensive program of Government ethics advice, education, and training;

-evaluating the effectiveness of the Ethics Act, the conflict of interest laws, and other related statutes; and

-recommending appropriate new legislation or amendments.

Sources of Information

The Office of Government Ethics annually updates its publication, The Informal Advisory Letters and Memoranda and Formal Opinions of the United States Office of Government Ethics, available from the Government Printing Office. In addition, the Office publishes a periodic newsletter on Government ethics, offers a free ethics electronic bulletin board service (phone via modem, 202–523–1186), and has available ethics publications, instructional videotapes, and a CDROM. The Office also, upon request, provides copies of executive branch public financial disclosure reports (SF 278's) in accordance with the Ethics Act and the Office's regulations.

The Office of Personnel Management was created as an independent establishment by Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1978 (5 U.S.C. app.), effective January 1, 1979, pursuant to Executive Order 12107 of December 28, 1978. Transferred to OPM were many of the functions of the former United States Civil Service Commission. The Office's duties and authority are specified in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 1101).

Office of the Inspector General The
Office of the Inspector General conducts
comprehensive and independent audits,
investigations, and evaluations relating to
OPM programs and operations. It is
responsible for administrative actions
against health care providers who
commit sanctionable offenses with
respect to the Federal Employees' Health
Benefits Program or other Federal
programs. The Office keeps the Director
and Congress fully informed about
problems and deficiencies in the
administration of agency programs and
operations, and the necessity for
corrective action.

For further information, contact the Office of the
Inspector General. Phone, 202-606-1200.

Activities

Examining and Staffing The Office of Personnel Management is responsible for providing departments and agencies with technical assistance and guidance in examining competitive positions in the Federal civil service for General Schedule grades 1 through 15 and Federal Wage system positions. In addition, the Office is responsible for:

-providing examination services, at the request of an agency, on a reimbursable basis;

-establishing basic qualification standards for all occupations;

-certifying agency delegated examining units to conduct examining; -providing employment information for competitive service positions; and -providing policy direction and guidance on promotions, reassignments, appointments in the excepted and competitive services, reinstatements, temporary and term employment, veterans preference, workforce restructuring, career transition, and other staffing provisions.

Workforce Diversity The Office provides leadership, direction, and policy for governmentwide affirmative. recruiting programs for minorities and veterans. It also provides leadership,

guidance, and technical assistance to promote merit and equality in systemic workforce recruitment, employment, training, and retention. In addition, OPM gathers, analyzes, and maintains statistical data on the diversity of the Federal workforce, and prepares evaluation reports for Congress and others on individual agency and governmentwide progress toward full workforce representation for all Americans in the Federal sector. Executive Resources The Office leads in the selection, management, and development of Federal executives. It administers the Senior Executive Service program and other merit-based executive personnel systems that promote the development of a corporate perspective. The Office provides policy guidance, consulting services, and technical support in such areas as recruitment, selection, succession planning, mobility performance, awards, and removals. It reviews agency nominations for SES career appointments and administers the Qualifications Review Boards that certify candidates' executive qualifications. It manages SES, senior-level, and scientific and professional space allocations to agencies, administers the Presidential Rank Awards program, and conducts orientation sessions for newly appointed executives. In addition, the Office manages three interagency residential development and training centers for executives and managers.

Personnel Systems The Office provides leadership and guidance to agencies on systems to support the manager's personnel management responsibilities. These include:

-white and blue collar pay systems, including Senior Executive Service and special occupational pay systems; geographical adjustments and locality payments; special rates to address recruitment and retention problems; allowances and differentials, including recruitment and relocation bonuses, retention allowances, and hazardous duty/environmental pay; and premium

pay;

-annual and sick leave, court leave, military leave, leave transfer and leave

bank programs, family and medical leave, excused absence, holidays, and scheduling of work—including flexible and compressed work schedules;

-performance management, covering appraisal systems, performance pay and awards, and incentive awards for suggestions, inventions, and special acts; classification policy and standards for agencies to determine the series and grades for Federal jobs;

-labor-management relations,

including labor-management partnerships and consulting with unions on governmentwide issues;

-systems and techniques for resolving disputes with employees;

-quality of worklife initiatives, such as employee health and fitness, work and family, AIDS in the workplace, and employee assistance programs;

-training and employee development, including providing support to the Human Resources Development Council and the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) interest group;

-the Training Management Assistance program, to help agencies design and produce training systems and products, performance management systems, workforce productivity systems, business process reengineering, compensation, and employee relations systems;

-information systems to support and improve Federal personnel management decisionmaking; and

-governmentwide instructions for personnel processing and recordkeeping, and for release of personnel data under the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act.

The Office also provides administrative support to special advisory bodies, including the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee, the Federal Salary Council, and the National Partnership Council.

Oversight The Office assesses agencies' effectiveness in personnel management at the governmentwide, agency, and installation levels to gather information for policy development and program, refinement, ensure compliance with personnel laws and regulations, enhance agency capability for self-evaluation, and assist agencies in operating personnel