Carter Signs Civil Service Reform Act of 1978

President Jimmy Carter signed the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 on October 13, 1978, the most sweeping overhaul of federal personnel law since the Pendleton Act. The law abolished the Civil Service Commission and replaced it with three new agencies: the Office of Personnel Management to manage hiring and pay, the Merit Systems Protection Board to adjudicate employee appeals, and the Federal Labor Relations Authority to oversee collective bargaining. The act also codified whistleblower protections for federal employees who disclosed government misconduct.