Prohibited Personnel Practices
Prohibited personnel practices (PPPs) are employment-related activities that are banned in the federal workforce because they violate the merit
system through some form of employment discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, improper hiring practices, or failure to adhere to laws,
rules, or regulations that directly concern the merit system principles. Under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(1)-(b)(14) a federal employee authorized to
take, direct others to take, recommend or approve any personnel action may not:
Discriminate (including discrimination based on
marital status and political affiliation).
Ex: Supervisor Joe refuses to promote Employee Jane
because Jane is a registered Republican; or his refusal is
because she is single. NOTE: OSC does not generally
investigate Title VII discrimination. 5 U.S.C. §
2302(b)(1)
Solicit or consider employment recommendations
based on factors other than personal knowledge or
records of job-related abilities or characteristics.
Ex: Selecting Official Joe hires Applicant Jack based on
Senator Smith’s recommendation that Jack be hired
because Jack is a constituent. 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(2)
Coerce the political activity of any person or take
action against any employee as reprisal for refusing
to engage in political activity. Ex: Supervisor Jane
takes away significant job duties of Employee Jack
because Jack will not make a contribution to Jane’s
favorite candidate. 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(3)
Deceive or willfully obstruct any person from
competing for employment. Ex: Supervisor Joe,
located in Headquarters, orders that no vacancy
announcements be posted in the field office where
Employee Jack works because he does not want Jack to
get hired for a job in Headquarters. 5 U.S.C. §
2302(b)(4)
Influence any person to withdraw from competition
for a position to improve or injure the employment
prospects of any other person. Ex: Supervisor Jane, in
an effort to hire Employee Joe, tells Employee Jack that
he should not apply for a position because he is not
qualified and will never be selected. Employee Jack is
qualified. 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(5)
Give an unauthorized preference to a person to
improve or injure the employment prospects of any
particular employee or applicant. Ex: Supervisor Jane
specifies that Spanish-speaking skills are necessary for
a vacant position, for the purpose of selecting
Employee Jack, who speaks fluent Spanish. The
position, however, does not require Spanish-speaking
skills. 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(6)
Engage in nepotism: Ex: Second-level Supervisor Jane
asks First-level Supervisor Joe to hire or promote her
son. Supervisor Denise serves as the first-line
supervisor for her uncle Anthony. 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(7)
Take, fail to take, or threaten (to take or fail to take)
a personnel action against an employee for making
protected disclosures. Ex: Supervisor Joe directs the
geographic reassignment of Employee Jill after Jill
reported a gross waste of funds to the Office of Internal
Affairs. 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8)
Take, fail to take, or threaten (to take or fail to take)
a personnel action against an employee for engaging
in protected activity. Ex: Supervisor Jack terminates
Employee John after learning that John reported a gross
waste of funds to the Office of Inspector General; or for
refusing to obey an order that would require John to
violate agency regulations. 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(9)
Discriminate against an employee on the basis of
conduct, which does not adversely affect the
performance of the employee. Ex: Jack’s employment
is terminated because he attended a “Gay Pride” march;
or he attended a “Pro-Life” event; or he attended an
animal rights rally; or he attended a gun-owners’ rights
meeting. 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(10)
Take or fail to take a personnel action, if such action
would violate a veterans’ preference requirement.
Ex: Supervisor Jane hired Employee Jack, without
considering Veteran Jennifer, who was included on the
list of eligible employees. NOTE: OSC’s jurisdiction is
limited to disciplinary actions only; the Dept. of Labor
has jurisdiction to investigate for corrective actions.
5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(11)
Take a personnel action against an employee which
violates a law, rule, or regulation which implements
a merit systems principle. Ex: Supervisor Joe
terminates the probationary appointment of Employee
Jack because of Jack’s letter to the editor criticizing
affirmative action – a valid exercise of First amendment
rights, a law implementing a merit system principle.
5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(12)
Implement or enforce a nondisclosure agreement or
policy lacking notification of whistleblower rights.
Ex: A manager Issues a policy to all employees in his
program that prohibits the employees from discussing
the program in any way and fails to notify employees of
protected channels for making disclosures. 5 U.S.C. §
2302(b)(13)
Access the medical record of an employee or
applicant, as part of, or in furtherance of any of the
above-listed prohibitions. Ex: An employee expresses
interest in an open position to a hiring official, who
wants to hire another applicant. The hiring official
accesses the employee’s medical records provided
under a reasonable accommodation (RA) request and
attempts to influence the employee to withdraw from
competition by telling her that the stress of the new
position will worsen a medical condition noted in her
RA medical records. 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(14)
WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU BELIEVE THAT A PPP HAS BEEN COMMITTED?
OSC is a federal investigative and prosecutorial agency. Current and former federal employees, including probationary employees, and applicants
for federal employment can submit a complaint electronically to OSC at https://osc.gov. OSC will review the allegations to determine jurisdiction
and investigate allegations of prohibited personnel practices. In complaints where OSC finds a violation, OSC has the authority to seek corrective
and/or disciplinary action and/or file complaints with the Merit Systems Protection Board, where appropriate. 5 U.S.C. §§ 1212, 2302(b)(1)
(b)(14). You can learn more about prohibited personnel practices by watching these short videos.
WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU WANT TO REPORT GOVERNMENT WRONGDOING?
Current and former federal employees and applicants can confidentially report information evidencing a violation of any law, rule, or regulation,
gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or censorship
related to scientific integrity or research to OSC. OSC has the authority to require the head of the agency concerned to investigate the matter.
While OSC does not have independent investigative authority in these cases, Congress has given OSC an important oversight role in reviewing
government investigations of potential wrongdoing.
HOW DOES OSC ENFORCE THE HATCH ACT?
The Hatch Act Unit (HAU) enforces compliance with the Hatch Act, which limits certain political activities of federal executive branch
employees. All employees, except for the President and Vice President, are prohibited from: (1) using their official authority or influence to affect
the result of an election; (2) soliciting, accepting, or receiving political contributions from any person; (3) being candidates in partisan elections;
(4) soliciting or discouraging the political activity of persons with business pending before their employing office; and (5) engaging in political
activity while on duty or in the federal workplace. See 5 U.S.C. §§ 7323-7324. HAU investigates complaints to determine whether a Hatch Act
violation has occurred. In cases where HAU concludes that an employee has violated this law, it will either issue a warning letter or seek
disciplinary action by negotiating a settlement or prosecuting the case before the Merit Systems Protection Board. HAU also is responsible for a
nation-wide program that provides federal, state, and local employees, as well as the public at large, with legal advice on the Hatch Act, enabling
individuals to determine their coverage under the Act and whether their contemplated activities are permitted under the Act. To further its
advisory and enforcement role, HAU is very active in OSC’s outreach program and operates a hotline and dedicated email address for individuals
to request and receive timely Hatch Act advice. In addition, HAU launched its own webinar series tailored to various audiences to address
specific Hatch Act topics. You can learn more about the Hatch Act’s prohibitions by watching these short videos.
For more information on filing a complaint or making a disclosure: 202-804-7000, 800-872-9855, or submit a question at info@osc.gov.
Please note that OSC may not provide advice regarding merit of a complaint or whether the allegation meets the statutory definitions.
Updated and detailed information on OSC and its procedures can be found on OSC’s website at https://osc.gov.
For information about training and the 2302c Certification Program please contact OSC’s Outreach Unit via email at certification@osc.gov.
Source: the PDF/Word copied and pased here
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