Administrative Office of the United States Courts Personnel Act of 1990
Public Law 101-474 · H.R. 4174 · 101st Congress · began in the House
Signed by George H. W. Bush (R) on Oct 30, 1990 · Law
Sponsor: Rep. William Ford (D-MI-15)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateVoice vote
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Administrative Office of the United States Courts Personnel Act of 1990 - Authorizes the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (Office) to appoint, fix the compensation of, assign, and direct such personnel as deemed necessary to discharge duties and functions of the Office.
Requires the Director to establish a personnel management system for the Office which provides for the appointment, pay, promotion, and assignment of all employees based on merit but without regard to Federal provisions governing appointments and other personnel actions in competitive civil service or relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates.
Requires that such system, at a minimum: (1) provide for a schedule of pay rates applicable to all employees; (2) provide that the basic rate of pay not exceed that under level V of the Executive Schedule, with exceptions; (3) incorporate pay comparability principles; (4) provide for pay adjustments as provided for General Schedule and prevailing rate employees; (5) establish procedures for employee evaluations, the granting of periodic pay adjustments, incentive awards, and resolution of employee grievances; (6) establish procedures for disciplinary actions; (7) establish procedures for premium pay; (8) include merit system principles; (9) prohibit personnel practices prohibited under Federal law; (10) prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, or handicapping condition; (11) provide for the basic rate of pay of not more than five percent of the authorized positions of the Office, with exceptions, to be set at rates not to exceed the rate of basic pay for positions at level IV of the Executive Schedule; and (12) in the case of an individual who would be a preference eligible in the executive branch, provide preference for such individual in a manner and to an extent consistent with preference accorded to preference eligibles in the executive branch.
Authorizes the Director to implement flexible and compressed work schedules and to exempt the hours constituting such schedules from premium pay to the extent necessary to implement such schedules.
Requires the Director to promulgate regulations providing procedures for resolving complaints of discrimination by employees and applicants for employment.
Limits the aggregate pay in any one-year period of any individual whose basic rate of pay is set under this Act to the annual aggregate amount computed at the basic rate of pay for the position of the Director.
Authorizes the Director to apply Federal provisions regarding travel expenses and leave for certain positions, including the Deputy Director, and to provide for incentive awards, subject to specified limitations.
Authorizes the Chief Justice of the United States or the Judicial Conference of the United States to grant incentive awards to the Director, subject to certain limitations.
Authorizes the Director to develop and conduct programs to meet agency training needs.
Continues the right of specified employees to file appeals to the Merit Systems Protection Board or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Specifies that: (1) nothing in this Act shall be construed to abolish or diminish any right or remedy granted to employees of, or applicants for employment in, the Office by any law prohibiting discrimination in Federal employment on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, or handicapping condition; but (2) with respect to any such employees or applicants, any authority granted under any such law to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board, or any other executive branch agency, shall be exercised by the Office.
Provides that: (1) any Office employee who has completed at least one year of continuous service under a nontemporary appointment under the personnel system established pursuant to this Act acquires a competitive status for appointment to any position in the competitive service for which the employee possesses the required qualifications; and (2) a period of continuous service performed as a nontemporary Office employee immediately before such personnel system takes effect shall, for purposes of competitive status for appointments, be treated as if it had been performed under such system.
Includes the Office, the Federal Judicial Center, and specified courts within the scope of civil service severance pay provisions. Applies back pay provisions to the Center and specified courts. Amends civil service retirement provisions to authorize the Director to exclude from operation of such provisions employees of the Office, the Center, or specified courts whose employment is temporary or of uncertain duration.
Sets the salary of the Deputy Director at 92 percent of that of the Director.
Authorizes appropriations.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Judiciary Committee · House · referred toSubcommittee: Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee
Post Office and Civil Service Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Compensation and Employee Benefits Subcommittee; Civil Service Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 18 actions.
- Oct 30, 1990Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 101-474.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Oct 19, 1990PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Oct 11, 1990FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.
- Oct 1, 1990FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Sikorski moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Sep 28, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- Sep 26, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Compensation and Employee Benefits Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Civil Service Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- Jul 26, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Hearings by Civil Service Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- Mar 16, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
- Mar 13, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Compensation and Employee Benefits Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Civil Service Subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- Mar 5, 1990CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Post Office and Civil Service Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.