BULLETIN WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, July 7, 1920. Section. I II III Exclusions under the civil-service retirement act. Reinstatement of former employees with reference to the civilservice retirement act-- Automatic retirement and retention of employees under the civil-service retirement act.. Forms of pay rolls for retirement deductions--- IV I__Exclusions under the civil-service retirement act.-The following War Department circular is published to the Army for the information and guidance of all concerned : CIRCULAR: WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, June 8, 1920. The following circular of the Civil Service Commission is published for the information and guidance of all concerned : UNITED STATES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, Washington, D. C., June 4, 1920. EXCLUSIONS UNDER THE RETIREMENT ACT. To heads of departments, branches, and offices: Inquiries have been received concerning the application of the retirement act of May 22, 1920, to certain classes of positions. The title of the act, namely, "An act for the retirement of employees in the classified civil service, and for other purposes," contains words which are repeated several times in the act. The definition of the classified civil service contained in section 1 of civil service Rule II excludes presidential appointees and mere unclassified laborers. The Attorney General, in an opinion of June 23, 1913 (30 Op., 181), held that the term "classified civil service" in section 6 of the act of August 24, 1912, relating to removals was used in the more popular sense of the competitive service, and therefore should not be held to include excepted positions, unless the occupants were appointed competitively as permitted by the civil-service rules. The commission is of the opinion, and so holds, that all employees appointed without competitive examination under Schedules A and B of the civil-service rules, section 10 of civilservice Rule II, the Executive order of March 27, 1917, and any other employees appointed without competitive tests are not covered by the retirement act with the exceptions noted hereinafter. However, a former competitive classified employee who has been promoted or transferred to a position excepted under Schedule A, to which he could have been appointed, or who was appointed in accordance with section 3 of the civil 1448-20 2 service Rule II, namely, "but the proper appointing officer may fill an excepted position as competitive positions are filled, in which case the person appointed will receive all the rights of a competitive employee," is an employee in the classified civil service of the United States and is covered by the retirement act. Persons included in the competitive classified service with their positions by general Executive order, or appointed to such positions by individual Executive order, are included. Temporary appointees under sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the civil-service Rule VIII are held not to be covered by the act, since they are not persons in the classified civil service of the United States; that is, in the more restricted sense of competitive classified service. They are not appointed regularly after meeting all requirements of competition, if any of them. This is indicated by the fact that temporary appointments in the departments at Washington are made without regard to the apportionment. Temporary employees are outside the scope of the law governing removals. Temporary employees do not have the full benefit of leave or other privileges allowed competitive employees. By direction of the commission. Very respectfully, MARTIN A. MORRISON, President. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: [230.64, A. G. O.] JOHN C. SCOFIELD, Assistant and Chief Clerk. II__Reinstatement of former employees with reference to the civil-service retirement act.-The following War Department circular is published to the Army for the information and guidance of all concerned: CIRCULAR: WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, June 10, 1920. Recommendation for the reinstatement of former employees will not be approved for the purpose of conferring upon such employees the benefits of the act approved May 22, 1920, entitled "An act for the retirement of employees in the classified service, and for other purposes.” Recommendations for the reinstatement of former employees who have reached, or will within 10 years reach, the age making them eligible for retirement under the said law must be accompanied by a full statement of the facts in each case indicating that such reinstatement will be in the interest of the public service. No employee of the class referred to will be reinstated unless physically able to perform active duty, and officers recommend 3 ing a person of this class for reinstatement must give his age, full information as to physical fitness for the work to which it is proposed to assign him, and if the employee were then of the retirement age that the officer would recommend the issuance of the certificate provided for in the second proviso to section 6 of the act. BY ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR: [230.64, A. G. O.] JOHN C. SCOFIELD, Assistant and Chief Clerk. III__Automatic retirement and retention of employees under the civil-service retirement act.-The following War Department circular is published to the Army for the information and guidance of all concerned. CIRCULAR: WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, June 16, 1920. 1. Section 6 of the act of Congress approved May 22, 1920 (Pub. 215), for the retirement of employees in the classified civil service contains the following provision: That all employees to whom this act applies shall, upon the expiration of ninety days next succeeding its passage, if of retirement age, or thereafter on arriving at retirement age as defined in section 1 hereof, be automatically separated from the service, and all salary, pay, or compensation shall cease from that date, and it shall be the duty of the head of each department, branch, or independent office of the Government to notify such employees under his direction of the date of such separation from the service at least sixty days in advance thereof: Provided, That no person employed in the executive departments within the District of Columbia, retired under the provisions of this act during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921, shall be replaced by additional employees, but if the exigencies of the service so require, places made vacant by such retirement may be filled by promotion or transfer of eligible employees already in the service: Provided, That if within sixty days after the passage of this act or not less than thirty days before the arrival of an employee at the age of retirement, the head of the department, branch, or independent office of the Government in which he or she is employed certifies to the Civil Service Commission that by reason of his or her efficiency and willingness to remain in the civil service of the United States the continuance of such employee therein would be advantageous to the public service, such employee may be retained for a term not exceeding two years upon approval and certification by the Civil Service Commission, and at the end of the two years he 4 or she may, by similar approval and certification, be continued for an additional term not exceeding two years, and so on: Provided, however, That at the end of ten years after this act becomes effective no employee shall be continued in the civil service of the United States beyond the age of retirement defined in section 1 hereof for more than four years. 2. General authority of the Secretary of War is hereby given to the respective chiefs of bureaus and heads of local services in the field to issue the notices, required by the act, to employees to be automatically dropped, as provided in the above-quoted provision of the act. 3. In each case where an employee is being automatically dropped under the foregoing provision, report should be promptly forwarded to the War Department, giving the following information: 1. Full name of employee. 2. Designation. 3. Rate of compensation. 4. Station. 5. Service record of the employee. 6. Date on which dropped. 7. Actual age at the time of being dropped. This report should be accompanied by a copy of the notice issued to the employee in accordance with the foregoing authority. 4. With respect to the second proviso of the above-quoted section of the act, on the subject of retaining employees who reach the retirement age, bureau chiefs and others concerned are advised that only such persons as are necessary to the service should be certified for continuance in the service. In applying the rule the only test shall be the good of the service; personal consideration affecting the employees ought not and must not be considered as a reason for certifying such persons for continuance. Recommendation for further retention of employees who have reached the age of retirement should be made on Form 2318 of the United States Civil Service Commission. These forms may be obtained by request on the Commission. [230.64, A. G. 0.1 NEWTON D. BAKER, |