Research Guides in Focus – Federal Civil Service Employment Law: A Beginner’s Guide

The Law Library of Congress is pleased to announce the publication of the new research guide, Federal Civil Service Employment Law: A Beginner’s Guide. This research guide provides an introduction to federal statutes and regulations that govern federal civil service employment. Our guide also offers several secondary sources that explain federal civil service employment law.

The guide begins with a brief explanation of the federal civil service and the history of federal civil service employment laws. This section describes the significant changes to federal civil service employment made during President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration and introduces the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal agency that serves as the chief human resources agency and personnel policy manager for the federal government.

The guide then lists secondary sources available in the library’s collection. The secondary sources section highlights a treatise that provides a general overview of federal civil service employment law, as well as treatises organized by specific subject areas, including labor relations, discrimination and harassment, disability and worker’s compensation, veterans’ employment, and whistleblowers.

The guide also has a section about researching relevant federal statutes and regulations. Our guide lists several significant statutes found in Titles 5, 29, 38, and 42 of the United States Code. There is also information about accessing federal regulations affecting civil service employment, many of which are located in Titles 5, 20, and 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

The guide concludes with a page that lists digital resources. Many of these resources are freely available online, including Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports organized by subject area.

We hope that this civil service employment law research guide gives researchers the tools they need to research this complex area of federal law. As always, we encourage researchers who have further questions, comments, or feedback about this guide to reach out to us through Ask a Librarian.

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