The Office of Special Counsel is the independent federal agency that investigates allegations of Prohibited Personnel Practices (PPP) and seeks appropriate corrective action. The PPPs are a list of actions that federal employees are prohibited from engaging in by federal law. Committing a PPP may lead to disciplinary action. Please consult Your Rights as a Federal Employee for your rights and remedies regarding PPPs.
The PPPs state that federal employees may not:
- Discriminate
- Solicit or consider employment recommendations based on factors other than personal knowledge or records of job related abilities or characteristics
- Coerce the political activity of any person
- Deceive or willfully obstruct any person from competing for employment
- Influence any person to withdraw from job competition
- Give an unauthorized preference or advantage to improve or injure the prospects of any particular person for employment
- Engage in nepotism
- Take or threaten to take a personnel action because of whistleblowing
- Take or threaten to take a personnel action because of the exercise of a lawful appeal, complaint, or grievance right
- Discriminate based on personal conduct which does not adversely affect the performance of the employee or other employees
- Knowingly take or fail to take personnel action in the violation of veteran's preference laws
- Violate any law, rule or regulation implementing or directly concerning merit system principles
- Implement or enforce a nondisclosure agreement or policy lacking notification of whistleblower rights
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Access the medical record of an employee or applicant, as part of, or in furtherance of any of the above-listed prohibitions
Date last updated: 11/8/2024