| n Competitive Service n Excepted Service n Senior Executive Service (SES) |
The primary differences between the three services are in the areas of appointment
procedures and job protections. In the competitive service, appointment procedures, merit
promotion requirements, and qualification requirements are prescribed by law or by the Office of Personnel Management and apply to all agencies. In the
excepted service, only basic requirements are prescribed by law or regulation and each
agency develops specific requirements and procedures for its own jobs.
The general merit principles of the competitive service apply to the SES, with some
adaptations during the course of its development. Appointment procedures and qualification
requirements are determined by individual agencies, based on minimum requirements
prescribed by law and the Office of Personnel Management. Provisions for compensation,
performance evaluation, and removal from the SES are significantly different from those
governing the other systems.
Appeal rights available to competitive employees are generally not available to excepted
employees unless the excepted employees are veterans preference eligibles. The provisions
of Title 5, United States Code, treating classification, pay, leave, retirement, insurance
and health benefits apply to both competitive and excepted positions unless the positions
are excluded from any of those provisions by statute.
