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Prohibited Personnel Practices (PPPs)
Practical Law Glossary Item 7-576-2905 (Approx. 5 pages)
Glossary
Prohibited Personnel Practices (PPPs)
Employment-related activities banned in the federal workforce because they violate the merit system through some form of employment discrimination, retaliation, improper hiring practices, or failure to adhere to the federal merit system principles (MSPs). The PPPs are specifically listed in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) and include:
- Discrimination based on:
- race;
- color;
- religion;
- sex;
- national origin;
- age;
- disability or handicapping condition;
- marital status; or
- political affiliation.
- Considering a recommendation about an employee or applicant unless the recommendation is based on the personal knowledge or records of the person providing the recommendation (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(2)).
- Coercing political activity of any person or retaliating against an employee for refusing to engage in political activity (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(3)).
- Obstructing any person from competing for federal employment (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(4)).
- Influencing any person to withdraw from competition to improve or injure the employment prospects of another person (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(5)).
- Granting unfair advantage to an applicant to help or hurt a person's chance of obtaining a job (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(6)).
- Nepotism (hiring, promoting, or advocating the hiring or promotion of a relative) (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(7)).
- Whistleblower retaliation (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8)).
- Other retaliation, including retaliation against an employee who:
- filed a complaint, grievance, or appeal;
- testified for or helped someone else to file a complaint, grievance, or appeal;
- cooperated with or disclosed information to the Special Counsel, an agency's Inspector General, or any agency component responsible for internal investigation or review; or
- refused to obey an order that would require the employee to violate a law, rule, or regulation.
- Other discrimination based on an employee's conduct that does not adversely affect job performance (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(10)).
- Failing to honor a veteran's preference requirement (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(11)).
- Violating rules that implement a merit systems principle, a catch-all provision that prohibits agency officials from taking or failing to take a personnel action that violates any other civil service law, rule, or regulation designed to uphold merit system principles (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(12)).
- Imposing a nondisclosure agreement that does not contain a specific statement notifying employees of their whistleblowing rights (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(13)).
- Accessing the medical records of another employee or applicant as part of or in furtherance of another PPP (5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(14)).
The Office of Special Counsel investigates and prosecutes violations of the PPPs, except for veteran's preference complaints, which are processed by the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) at the Department of Labor (DOL).