United States Civil Service Commission

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The United States Civil Service Commission was created by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which was passed into law on January 16, 1883. The commission was created to administer the civil service of the United States federal government in response to the assassination of President James Garfield by Charles Guiteau, who is said to have been a rejected office seeker. Guiteau wanted a job via the spoils system, also known as patronage, and Chester Arthur didn't want to continue the system that killed his predecessor. The law required certain applicants to take the civil service exam in order to be given certain jobs; it also prevented elected officials and political appointees from firing civil servants, removing civil servants from the influences of political patronage and partisan behavior.^[1]

Effective January 1, 1978, the commission was renamed the Office of Personnel Management under the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1978 (43 F.R. 36037, 92 Stat. 3783) and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. In addition, several of its functions were spun off to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Special Counsel (OSC).