5 USC § 3131 - The Senior Executive Service

It is the purpose of this subchapter to establish a Senior Executive Service to ensure that the executive management of the Government of the United States is responsive to the needs, policies, and goals of the Nation and otherwise is of the highest quality. The Senior Executive Service shall be administered so as to—

(1) provide for a compensation system, including salaries, benefits, and incentives, and for other conditions of employment, designed to attract and retain highly competent senior executives;

(2) ensure that compensation, retention, and tenure are contingent on executive success which is measured on the basis of individual and organizational performance (including such factors as improvements in efficiency, productivity, quality of work or service, cost efficiency, and timeliness of performance and success in meeting equal employment opportunity goals);

(3) assure that senior executives are accountable and responsible for the effectiveness and productivity of employees under them;

(4) recognize exceptional accomplishment;

(5) enable the head of an agency to reassign senior executives to best accomplish the agency’s mission;

(6) provide for severance pay, early retirement, and placement assistance for senior executives who are removed from the Senior Executive Service for nondisciplinary reasons;

(7) protect senior executives from arbitrary or capricious actions;

(8) provide for program continuity and policy advocacy in the management of public programs;

(9) maintain a merit personnel system free of prohibited personnel practices;

(10) ensure accountability for honest, economical, and efficient Government;

(11) ensure compliance with all applicable civil service laws, rules, and regulations, including those related to equal employment opportunity, political activity, and conflicts of interest;

(12) provide for the initial and continuing systematic development of highly competent senior executives;

(13) provide for an executive system which is guided by the public interest and free from improper political interference; and

(14) appoint career executives to fill Senior Executive Service positions to the extent practicable, consistent with the effective and efficient implementation of agency policies and responsibilities.

Source

(Added Pub. L. 95–454, title IV, § 402(a),Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1154.)

Effective Date

Section 415 of title IV of Pub. L. 95–454provided that:

“(a)(1) The provisions of this title, other than sections 413 and 414(a) [enacting this subchapter and sections 2101a, 3391 to 3397, 3591 to 3595, 4311 to 4315, 4507, 5381 to 5385, 5752, and 7541 to 7543 of this title, amending sections 2102, 2103, 2108, 3109, 3501, 5311, 5331, 5504, 5541, 5595, 5723, 6304, 8336, and 8339 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 5311 of this title], shall take effect 9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 13, 1978].

“(2) The provisions of section 413 of this title [set out as a note under section 3133 of this title] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 13, 1978].

“(3) The provisions of section 414(a) of this title [amending sections 3104 and 5108 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 3104 and 5108 of this title] shall take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 13, 1978].

“(b)(1) The amendments made by sections 401 through 412 of this title [enacting this subchapter and sections 2101a, 3391 to 3397, 3591 to 3595, 4311 to 4315, 4507, 5381 to 5385, 5752, and 7541 to 7543 of this title, amending sections 2102, 2103, 2108, 3109, 3501, 5311, 5331, 5504, 5541, 5595, 5723, 6304, 8336, and 8339 of this title] shall continue to have effect unless, during the first period of 60 calendar days of continuous session of the Congress beginning after 5 years after the effective date of such amendments, a concurrent resolution is introduced and adopted by the Congress disapproving the continuation of the Senior Executive Service. Such amendments shall cease to have effect on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of the adoption of such concurrent resolution.

“(2) The continuity of a session is broken only by an adjournment of the Congress sine die, and the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of the 60-day period.

“(3) The provisions of subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), and (k) ofsection 5305 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply with respect to any concurrent resolution referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, except that for the purpose of this paragraph the reference in such subsection (e) to 10 calendar days shall be considered a reference to 30 calendar days.

“(4) During the 5-year period referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall include in each report required under section 3135 of title 5, United States Code (as added by this title) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Senior Executive Service and the manner in which such Service is administered.”

Congressional Findings Respecting Continuation of Senior Executive Service

Pub. L. 98–615, title III, § 301,Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3217, provided that: “The Congress finds that the Senior Executive Service should be continued indefinitely.”