The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is essentially the “HR Department” of the federal government. An independent federal agency, OPM manages the civil service workforce and makes sure it remains “vital and healthy.” The agency ensures that all federal agencies comply with civil service laws and regulations in hiring or firing employees or managing its workforce. The office also manages all benefits programs, including health insurance, available to federal employees. Civil service rules have long been the subject of debate and proposed reforms, some of which have been implemented. Others, like those pushed by the Bush administration in creating the new Department of Homeland Security, have not been as successful.
The US Civil Service Commission was founded in 1883, when the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was passed. This law placed most federal employees on the merit system and forced some government jobs to be filled on the basis of competitive exams. The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was drafted during the administration of President Chester A. Arthur and was passed partially in response to the recent assassination of James Garfield by one of his own speechwriters, Julius Guiteau. (The law also prohibits the solicitation of campaign donations on federal government property.)
The law applied only to federal jobs, not the state and local jobs that were bartered for political influence. This meant that few jobs were actually covered at the outset. But as outgoing presidents nominated their own appointees, these jobs could be converted to civil service jobs. By the beginning of the 20th century, most federal jobs were under civil service. This led to greater expertise in civil service positions.
On January 1, 1979, when the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 was enacted, the Office of Personnel Management was founded. This law allowed for agency heads to move career senior executives into any position for which they are qualified. As the old US Civil Service Commission was abolished, the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) and the US Merit Systems Protection Board (MPSB) were also created.
Under the new agency, all aspects of the federal government’s workforce, including benefits information, hiring practices, human resources information and more, were stored in one central location. This information is also available to federal workers and the general public through the Internet.
Biography of an Ideal: A History of the Federal Civil Service
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the federal government’s workforce. The agency promotes civil services and advocates for the members of the federal workforce. OPM provides management guidance to the various areas of the federal government’s executive branch and issues regulations controlling federal human resources. OPM’s work sometimes brings it into contact with the Federal Labor Relationship Authority, which oversees the collective bargaining rights of federal employees, and the Merit Systems Protection Board, which is responsible for conducting studies of the federal civil service and hearing appeals from federal employees who have been disciplined or fired. OPM is divided into 13 individual subcomponents:
Office of the Director includes the deputy director, chief of staff and director of external affairs, the Office of the Combined Federal Campaign, and Executive Director of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council.
Office of Communications and Public Liaison deals with the press and with requests from media and the general public for information about the agency.
Office of Congressional Relations communicates information and advocates for OPM’s initiatives to Congress, including oversight and appropriations committees.
Office of the General Counsel provides legal services to OPM’s director, deputy
director and divisions. It advises government agencies in understanding and carrying out civil service responsibilities and meeting the merit system principles. The office also provides civil service-related legal assistance to members of the public.
Office of the Chief Financial Officer is responsible for implementing the
President’s Management Agenda within the agency and providing OPM offices with the full range of financial management, strategic planning and budget services. It also performs OPM’s oversight of internal controls and risk assessments.
Federal Investigative Service Division is used by federal security offices that submit investigation requests to OPM, or follow OPM guidance on security and suitability programs.
Human Capital Leadership and Merit System Accountability Division provides advice and assistance in all areas of staffing and human resource management, such as interviewing for internal and external selection, workforce restructuring and downsizing and employment information.
Office of Modernization & Human Resources Line of Business maintains Human Resources Products and Services which help agencies and businesses to recruit, develop and retain the best workforce possible. The office provides human resources management and consulting services, education and leadership development services, and investigation services.
Management Services Division provides internal support to all agency divisions.
Strategic Human Resources Policy leads the design, development and implementation of HR policies.
Office of the Inspector General conducts independent audits, investigations, and evaluations relating to OPM programs and operations. It is responsible for administrative actions against health care providers that commit sanctionable offenses with respect to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) or other federal programs. The OIG keeps the director and Congress informed about problems and deficiencies in the administration of agency programs and operations and the necessity for corrective action.
Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee
helps to determine the prevailing federal rates for minimum wage.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) spent nearly $3.4 billion on 1,199 contractors this decade. According to USASpending.gov, OPM paid for a variety of services, from education and training services to automatic data processing equipment in support of its goals.
The top 10 contractors are as follows:
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US Investigations Service, Inc.
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$988,155,775
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Teltara, Inc.
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$386,963,315
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Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.
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$175,187,635
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Human Technology, Inc.
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$132,156,221
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Northrop Grumman Corporation
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$89,737,064
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SRA International Inc.
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$76,426,377
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SI International, Inc.
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$74,874,657
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International Business Machines Corporation
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$58,161,808
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C2 Technologies, Inc.
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$55,592,202
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Eaton Corporation
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$50,045,629
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OPM’s largest contractor, US Investigations Service, is the nation’s leading security and information services provider. The company offers employment screening services, government security solutions, and risk management strategies to companies, federal agencies and national security markets. OPM’s second largest contractor is Teltara, Inc., a company providing hospital housekeeping and custodial services. For the Office of Personnel Management, Teltara provides carpet laying and cleaning.
Faith-Based Healthcare Program Provokes Controversy
In 2004, OPM announced the launch of a faith-based insurance program for federal workers in Illinois. The program, run by OSF Health, prohibited payment for contraceptives, abortions, sterilization or artificial insemination. Although OPM tried to characterize the healthcare program as one option among many, both pro-life and pro-choice groups protested the move, saying it blurred the line between church and state.
Federal Employees Unsatisfied by Management’s Handling of Poor Performers
In 2000, a white paper released by the President’s Management Council suggested several ways to address the problem of management in top federal agencies. In a recent survey, federal employees unexpectedly said they were very unsatisfied by how managers dealt with poor performers. This added to a long-running controversy between employees and managers at several federal agencies. The Office of Personnel Management placed the paper on display at its Senior Management Conference in Springfield, VA, and planned to review suggestions for possible inclusion in future initiatives.
Performance-Based Pay
In June 2005, the Washington Post reported that Linda M. Springer, nominated to be the next director of OPM, admitted that federal employees were anxious about the Bush administration’s plans to overhaul civil service pay policies. The administration planned to abolish the General Schedule which features predictable pay raises and replace it with broad salary ranges known as “pay bands.” Many federal workers worried that agencies would not impose performance-based pay fairly.
OPM Nominee Reassures Senators About Pay and Personnel Changes
(by Stephen Barr, Washington Post)
Civil Service Reform in the Name of National Security
When the Bush administration created the Department of Homeland Security, it tried to use the new agency as a test ground for implementing new civil service reforms. In early 2008, after a protracted political and legal battle over the proposed changes, the administration signaled in a court filing that it was caving on its plans to implement the controversial changes.
Pro:
Administration officials argued it was critical to alter federal regulations pertaining to employee raises and other personnel rules in order to make the new homeland security operation run efficiently. The plan was backed by DHS leaders and Republicans on Capitol Hill, and it got an unexpected boost from the Government Accountability Office, which gave a positive review of the proposed changes.
Con:
Initially, federal employee labor unions discussed the changes with administration officials in an attempt to help craft reforms that could be acceptable to both sides. The effort failed, however, after union leaders concluded that the administration was determined to destroy the collective bargaining power of DHS and other federal employees. Over the past several years, the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union, among other unions, have publicly opposed the new personnel system designed for DHS. They also filed suit to stop the implementation of the changes. Congressional Democrats joined the unions in opposing the administration’s effort.
Background:
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Founded: 1979
Annual Budget: $228.9 million
Employees: 4,189
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Office of Personnel Management
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Gay rights activists were delighted by the news that President Barack Obama had chosen M. John Berry to lead the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). As head of the federal government’s central Human Resources operation, Berry is expected to advance the cause of domestic partnerships, along with becoming the highest ranking, openly gay member of a presidential administration. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 3, 2009 and sworn in on April 23.
Berry was raised Catholic in Rockville, Maryland, His mother, Alberta Opalko Berry, was an X-ray and MRI technician who later became a real estate agent. His father, Morrell Joesph Berry, was a salesman for moving companies. Berry earned a Bachelor of Arts in government and politics from the University of Maryland, summa cum laude, in 1980. He went on to earn his Master of Public Administration in 1981 from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, as a Herbert H. Lehman Fellow.
From 1984 to 1985, Berry served as the Maryland Senate Finance Committee Staff Director for the state General Assembly’s Department of Fiscal Services. From 1985 until 1994, he worked as a staffer in the US House of Representatives, first for the House Appropriations Committee and then as legislative director for Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD). During that time, he was Hoyer’s lead on federal employee policy issues, helping to guide the negotiations that led to the 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act, which established the locality pay system, in which salaries are adjusted according to the location of the job.
Following his Congressional work, Berry served at the Department of the Treasury (1994-1995) as deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary for law enforcement, later assuming the role of assistant secretary for policy, management and budget.
He became director of government relations and a senior policy advisor in 1995 for the Smithsonian Institution, reporting to Smithsonian Secretary I. Michael Heyman and Under Secretary Constance Berry Newman. During that time, Berry helped secure federal funds for the National Museum of the American Indian and the National Air and Space Museum’s Hazy Center.
In 1996, Berry’s companion of 11 years, Thomas Leishman, died of AIDS.
In 1997, Berry left the Smithsonian to become Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget at the Department of the Interior. During his tenure, he developed a presidential initiative known as the “Lands Legacy Initiative” and oversaw programs to improve employees’ work-life balance. He also worked to create a grievance procedure for employees who experience discrimination because of their sexual orientation, expand relocation benefits and counseling services to the domestic partners of employees, establish a liaison to gay and lesbian workers, and eliminate discriminatory provisions of the National Park Service’s law enforcement standards, including a ban on security clearances for gay and lesbian employees. In 1999, Berry was instrumental in adding to the National Register of Historic Places The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, where, thirty years earlier, gay patrons had fought back during a police raid.
In addition, Berry held town hall meetings to elicit suggestions, leading to upgrades to the Interior cafeteria and health center, and also improved the department’s credit union and continuing education options. Berry funded a number of those enhancements through partnerships with unions, other agencies and even employees, and in the process reduced overall costs to the department.
After President Clinton left office in 2001, Berry became executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a Congressionally chartered nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the nation’s wildlife resources. He managed an annual operating budget of $9.5 million and a 75-member staff in six regional centers. During his tenure, Berry overhauled the foundation’s financial systems, while working with then-inspector general of the Department of Interior Earl Devaney.
In 2005, Berry became director (annual salary: $225,000) of the National Zoological Park, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution. As director of the National Zoo, he oversaw both the 163-acre facility in Washington, DC, and the 3,200-acre Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, VA. Berry implemented a management reorganization, a 20- year capital master plan and secured funding for infrastructural improvements.
Berry is known as an advocate for gay and lesbian federal employees. According to the Human Rights Campaign, if confirmed, he will be the highest-ranking openly gay official to serve in the executive branch in any administration. Some gay rights advocates expect Berry to implement rules at OPM to allow domestic partners of federal employees to receive health and retirement benefits. Under the Bush administration, OPM argued against such a policy, claiming that extending partner benefits was too risky because gay and lesbian federal employees might commit fraud to get them.
Other openly gay appointments by President Obama include Nancy Sutley, head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Fred P. Hochberg, head of the Export-Import Bank.
During his confirmation hearing for Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget in 1997, Berry said that both of his parents were Republicans. “We had an even partisan split around our dinner table—which was important in forging my appreciation that no one party holds the lock on truth, and my belief that the best decisions come from a search for common ground through well-intentioned debate.”
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Hager, Michael
Previous Director
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A native of Princeton, West Virginia, Michael W. Hager graduated frim Bluefield State College with a degree in Business Administration. Hager spent most of his professional career with Bank One Corporaion in Columbus, Ohio, including fifteen years as Senior Vice President of Human Resources. He moved on to become Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Russell Corporation, an apparel company based in Atlanta, and then took the same position at the Federal Home Loan and Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Hager served as Associate Administrator in the Office for of Capital Access for the Small Business Administration and then, beginning in November 2007, as Assistant Secretary fir Human Resources and Administration for the Department of Veteran Affiars. On August 1, 2008, President Bush nominated Hager to replace Linda Springer as Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Hager served as acting director of OPM until President Barack Obama's choice for the position, John Berry, was confirmed.
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