Government and Civil Service Civil Service System and Merit Principles 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is veteran's preference in federal hiring?
- Automatic federal employment for all veterans
- Extra points added to exam scores of eligible veterans (Correct answer)
- Separate hiring pools for veterans only
- Higher starting salaries for veteran applicants
Correct answer: Extra points added to exam scores of eligible veterans
Veterans preference adds 5 or 10 extra points to the passing examination scores of eligible veterans applying for federal jobs.
Question 2: Which federal pay system covers most white-collar civil service employees?
- Federal Wage System (FWS)
- Senior Executive Service (SES)
- General Schedule (GS) (Correct answer)
- Pay Band System
Correct answer: General Schedule (GS)
The General Schedule (GS) pay system covers approximately 1.5 million white-collar federal employees in grades GS-1 through GS-15.
Question 3: What does career-conditional appointment mean in civil service?
- A permanent appointment from day one
- A probationary period for new federal employees (Correct answer)
- An appointment contingent on security clearance
- A part-time temporary position
Correct answer: A probationary period for new federal employees
A career-conditional appointment is given to new competitive service employees who must complete a 3-year waiting period before receiving full career tenure.
Question 4: Which act protects federal employees who disclose government waste, fraud, or abuse?
- Civil Service Reform Act
- Whistleblower Protection Act (Correct answer)
- Freedom of Information Act
- Government Ethics Act
Correct answer: Whistleblower Protection Act
The Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 protects federal employees from retaliation when they report waste, fraud, abuse, or violations of law.
Question 5: What is the Senior Executive Service (SES)?
- Entry-level federal positions
- The tier of career federal managers just below political appointees (Correct answer)
- Political appointees chosen by the President
- A pay grade for administrative assistants
Correct answer: The tier of career federal managers just below political appointees
The SES is a corps of approximately 8,000 senior career managers who work just below the top presidential appointees and serve as the key link between them and the rest of the civil service.
Question 6: How long is the standard probationary period for new competitive service federal employees?
- 6 months
- 1 year (Correct answer)
- 2 years
- 3 years
Correct answer: 1 year
New federal employees in the competitive service typically serve a 1-year probationary period during which they can be dismissed more easily than tenured employees.
Government and Civil Service Civil Service System and Merit Principles 2
What is veteran's preference in federal hiring?