William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

476 Chapter 13 | The Bureaucracy

such as James L. Perry have argued against attempts to motivate federal workers

with monetary incentives—bureaucrats who work hard because they feel it is the

right thing to do may resent incentive schemes that presume they are lazy or only

interested in money.^42

Civil Service Regulations

Most jobs in the federal bureaucracy are subject to the civil service regulations that

we described earlier.^43 The current civil service system sets out job descriptions and

pay ranges for all federal jobs. The system also establishes tests that determine who

is hired for low-level clerical and secretarial positions. People with less than a college

degree are generally eligible for entry-level jobs, and, as in the private sector, a college

degree or an advanced degree and work experience qualify an individual for higher-

level positions. Federal salaries are supposed to be comparable to what people earn

in similar, private-sector positions, and salaries are somewhat higher for federal

employees who work in areas with a high cost of living.

Civil service regulations provide job security. After three years of satisfactory

performance, employees cannot be fired except “for cause,” meaning that the firing

agency must cite a reason. Civil service regulations set out a multistep procedure for

firing someone, beginning with low performance evaluations, then warning letters

given to the employee, followed by a lengthy appeals process before a firing takes place.

One study found that only about 11,000 civil servants are fired in a given year—a very

small percentage of the total civilian federal workforce of more than 2.5 million people.^44

A subpar performer may be assigned other duties, transferred to another office, or even

given nothing to do in the hope that the person will leave voluntarily out of boredom.

If you think civil service regulations sound cumbersome, you’re right.^45 The hiring

criteria remove a manager’s discretion to hire someone who would do an excellent job but

lacks the education or work experience that the regulations specify as necessary for the

position. The firing requirements make it extremely difficult to remove poor performers.

The salary and promotion restrictions create problems with rewarding excellent

performance or promoting the best employees rather than those with the most seniority.

FIGURE

13.2

Types of Federal

Wo r ker s

Service jobs

Installation, maintenance, and repair jobs

Transportation jobs

Farming, fishing, and forestry jobs

Occupation

Management, business, and financial jobs

Professional and related jobs

Oice and administrative support jobs

173, 700

9%

138, 080

7%

50,450

2% 6,320

0.3%

684,290

34%

750,430

37%

244,23 0

12%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics,

“Occupational Employment Statistics,”

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics4_999100.

htm#00-0000 (accessed 5/18/18).

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