§5105. Standards for classification of positions

(a) The Office of Personnel Management, after consulting the agencies, shall prepare standards for placing positions in their proper classes and grades. The Office may make such inquiries or investigations of the duties, responsibilities, and qualification requirements of positions as it considers necessary for this purpose. The agencies, on request of the Office, shall furnish information for and cooperate in the preparation of the standards. In the standards, which shall be published in such form as the Office may determine, the Office shall-

(1) define the various classes of positions in terms of duties, responsibilities, and qualification requirements;

(2) establish the official class titles; and

(3) set forth the grades in which the classes have been placed by the Office.

(b) The Office, after consulting the agencies to the extent considered necessary, shall revise, supplement, or abolish existing standards, or prepare new standards, so that, as nearly as may be practicable, positions existing at any given time will be covered by current published standards.

(c) The official class titles established under subsection (a)(2) of this section shall be used for personnel, budget, and fiscal purposes. However, this requirement does not prevent the use of organizational or other titles for internal administration, public convenience, law enforcement, or similar purposes.

( Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 452 ; Pub. L. 95–454, title IX, §906(a)(2), (3), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1224 .)

The section is restated for clarity.

In subsection (b), the requirement that the Commission keep the standards up to date is omitted as included in the requirement that the Commission revise, supplement, or abolish existing standards, or prepare new standards so as to keep them current as nearly as practicable.

Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1978-Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 95–454 substituted "Office of Personnel Management" and "Office" for "Civil Service Commission" and "Commission", respectively, wherever appearing.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1978 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 95–454 effective 90 days after Oct. 13, 1978, see section 907 of Pub. L. 95–454, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Performance Management Skills and Competencies

Pub. L. 111–352, §12, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3882 , provided that:

"(a) Performance Management Skills and Competencies.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Jan. 4, 2011], the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, in consultation with the Performance Improvement Council, shall identify the key skills and competencies needed by Federal Government personnel for developing goals, evaluating programs, and analyzing and using performance information for the purpose of improving Government efficiency and effectiveness.

"(b) Position Classifications.-Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, based on the identifications under subsection (a), the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall incorporate, as appropriate, such key skills and competencies into relevant position classifications.

"(c) Incorporation Into Existing Agency Training.-Not later than 2 years after the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall work with each agency, as defined under section 306(f) of title 5, United States Code, to incorporate the key skills identified under subsection (a) into training for relevant employees at each agency."