For the purpose of this chapter—

“agency” means—

(A) an Executive agency;

(B) the Library of Congress;

(C) the Botanic Garden;

(D) the Government Publishing Office;

(E) the Office of the Architect of the Capitol; and

(F) the government of the District of Columbia;

(2) “employee” means an individual employed in or under an agency;

(3) “position” means the work, consisting of the duties and responsibilities, assignable to an employee;

“class” or “class of positions” includes all positions which are sufficiently similar, as to—

(A) kind or subject-matter of work;

(B) level of difficulty and responsibility; and

(C) the qualification requirements of the work;

“grade” includes all classes of positions which, although different with respect to kind or subject-matter of work, are sufficiently equivalent as to—

(A) level of difficulty and responsibility; and

(B) level of qualification requirements of the work;

Except as provided by subsections (c) and (d) of this section, this chapter applies to all civilian positions and employees in or under an agency, including positions in local boards and appeal boards within the Selective Service System and employees occupying those positions.

This chapter does not apply to—

[ (1) Repealed. Pub. L. 91–375, § 6(c)(9), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 776;]

members of the Foreign Service whose pay is fixed under the Foreign Service Act of 1980; and positions in or under the Department of State which are—

(A) connected with the representation of the United States to international organizations; or

(B) specifically exempted by statute from this chapter or other classification or pay statute;

(3) physicians, dentists, nurses, and other employees in the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs whose pay is fixed under chapter 73 of title 38;

(4) teachers, school officials, and employees of the Board of Education of the District of Columbia whose pay is fixed under chapter 15 of title 31, District of Columbia Code; the chief judges and the associate judges of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals; and nonjudicial employees of the District of Columbia court system whose pay is fixed under title 11 of the District of Columbia Code;

(5) members of the Metropolitan Police, the Fire Department of the District of Columbia, the United States Park Police, and the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division; members of the police force of the National Zoological Park whose pay is fixed under section 5375 of this title; and members of the police forces of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States Mint whose pay is fixed under section 5378 of this title;

(6) lighthouse keepers and civilian employees on lightships and vessels of the Coast Guard whose pay is fixed under section 432(f) and (g) [1] of title 14;

(7) employees in recognized trades or crafts, or other skilled mechanical crafts, or in unskilled, semiskilled, or skilled manual-labor occupations, and other employees including foremen and supervisors in positions having trade, craft, or laboring experience and knowledge as the paramount requirement, and employees in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing whose duties are to perform or to direct manual or machine operations requiring special skill or experience, or to perform or direct the counting, examining, sorting, or other verification of the product of manual or machine operations;

(8) officers and members of crews of vessels;

(9) employees of the Government Publishing Office whose pay is fixed under section 305 of title 44;

(10) civilian professors, instructors, and lecturers at a professional military education school (and, in the case of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, the Director and the Deputy Director) whose pay is fixed under section 1595, 7371, 8748, or 9371 of title 10; civilian professors, lecturers, and instructors at the Military Academy, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy whose pay is fixed under sections 7438, 8452, and 9438, respectively, of title 10; senior professors, professors, associate and assistant professors, and instructors at the Naval Postgraduate School whose pay is fixed under section 8544 of title 10; the Provost and Academic Dean of the Naval Postgraduate School whose pay is fixed under section 8543 of title 10; civilian professors, instructors, and lecturers in the defense acquisition university structure (including the Defense Systems Management College) whose pay is fixed under section 1746(b) of title 10;

(11) aliens or noncitizens of the United States who occupy positions outside the United States;

[(12) Repealed. Pub. L. 104–201, div. C, title XXXV, § 3548(a)(2)(B), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2868;]

(13) employees who serve without pay or at nominal rates of pay;

(14) employees whose pay is not wholly from appropriated funds of the United States (other than employees of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Management System appointed under section 8474(c)(2) of this title), except that with respect to the Veterans’ Canteen Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, this paragraph applies only to employees necessary for the transaction of the business of the Service at canteens, warehouses, and storage depots whose employment is authorized by section 7802 of title 38;

employees whose pay is fixed under a cooperative agreement between the United States and—

(A) a State or territory or possession of the United States, or political subdivision thereof; or

(B) an individual or organization outside the service of the Government of the United States;

(16) student nurses, medical or dental interns, residents-in-training, student dietitians, student physical therapists, student occupational therapists, and other student employees, assigned or attached to a hospital, clinic, or laboratory primarily for training purposes, whose pay is fixed under subchapter V of chapter 53 of this title or sections 7405 and 7406 of title 38;

(17) inmates, patients, or beneficiaries receiving care or treatment or living in Government agencies or institutions;

(18) experts or consultants, when employed temporarily or intermittently in accordance with section 3109 of this title;

(19) emergency or seasonal employees whose employment is of uncertain or purely temporary duration, or who are employed for brief periods at intervals;

(20) employees employed on a fee, contract, or piece work basis;

(21) employees who may lawfully perform their duties concurrently with their private profession, business, or other employment, and whose duties require only a portion of their time, when it is impracticable to ascertain or anticipate the proportion of time devoted to the service of the Government of the United States;

(22) “teachers” and “teaching positions” as defined by section 901 of title 20;

(23) administrative patent judges and designated administrative patent judges in the United States Patent and Trademark Office;

(24) temporary positions in the Bureau of the Census established under section 23 of title 13, and enumerator positions in the Bureau of the Census;

(25) positions for which rates of basic pay are individually fixed, or expressly authorized to be fixed, by other statute, at or in excess of the rate for level V of the Executive Schedule;

(26) civilian members of the faculty of the Coast Guard Academy whose pay is fixed under section 186 of title 14;

(27) members of the police of the Library of Congress whose pay is fixed under section 167 of title 2;

(28) civilian members of the faculty of the Air Force Institute of Technology whose pay is fixed under section 9414 of title 10;

(29) administrative law judges appointed under section 3105; or

(30) members of agency boards of contract appeals appointed under section 7105(a)(2), (c)(2), or (d)(2) of title 41.

This chapter does not apply to an employee of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol whose pay is fixed by other statute. Subsection (c) of this section, except paragraph (7), does not apply to the Office of the Architect of the Capitol.

Except as may be specifically provided, this chapter does not apply for pay purposes to any employee of the government of the District of Columbia during fiscal year 2006 or any succeeding fiscal year.

(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 444; Pub. L. 90–83, § 1(11), Sept. 11, 1967, 81 Stat. 197; Pub. L. 90–610, § 2, Oct. 21, 1968, 82 Stat. 1201; Pub. L. 91–34, § 2(a), June 30, 1969, 83 Stat. 41; Pub. L. 91–358, title I, § 172(f), July 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 591; Pub. L. 91–375, § 6(c)(9), Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 776; Pub. L. 93–176, § 1, Dec. 5, 1973, 87 Stat. 693; Pub. L. 94–183, § 2(12), (13), Dec. 31, 1975, 89 Stat. 1057; Pub. L. 95–454, title VIII, § 801(a)(3)(D), title IX, § 906(a)(2), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1221, 1224; Pub. L. 96–54, § 2(a)(22), Aug. 14, 1979, 93 Stat. 382; Pub. L. 96–70, title III, § 3302(e)(1), (6), Sept. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 498; Pub. L. 96–191, § 8(b), Feb. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 33; Pub. L. 96–465, title II, § 2314(b), Oct. 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2167; Pub. L. 97–468, title VI, § 615(b)(1)(C), Jan. 14, 1983, 96 Stat. 2578; Pub. L. 98–618, title V, § 502(a), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 Stat. 3302; Pub. L. 99–145, title V, § 504(b), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 622; Pub. L. 99–335, title II, § 207(n), June 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 598; Pub. L. 100–135, § 1(b)(2), Oct. 16, 1987, 101 Stat. 811; Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title XI, § 1124(e), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1560; Pub. L. 101–474, § 5(h), Oct. 30, 1990, 104 Stat. 1100; Pub. L. 101–509, title V, § 529 [title I, §§ 101(b)(9)(F), 104(d)(1), 109(a)(2)], Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1427, 1441, 1447, 1451; Pub. L. 101–510, div. A, title XII, § 1209(h)(2), Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1667; Pub. L. 102–40, title IV, § 403(c)(1), May 7, 1991, 105 Stat. 240; Pub. L. 102–54, § 13(b)(1), (2), June 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 274; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title V, § 533(c), title IX, § 923(b), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1658, 1731; Pub. L. 103–359, title V, § 501(g), Oct. 14, 1994, 108 Stat. 3429; Pub. L. 103–446, title XII, § 1203(b), Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4689; Pub. L. 104–201, div. A, title XI, § 1122(a)(1), div. C, title XXXV, § 3548(a)(2), Sept. 23, 1996, 110 Stat. 2687, 2868; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title IV, § 4732(b)(3)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–583; Pub. L. 108–271, § 8(b), July 7, 2004, 118 Stat. 814; Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title V, § 557(b)(5), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1916; Pub. L. 109–356, title III, § 303(b), Oct. 16, 2006, 120 Stat. 2040; Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title IX, § 931(a)(1), Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4575; Pub. L. 111–282, § 4(c)(1), Oct. 15, 2010, 124 Stat. 3043; Pub. L. 111–350, § 5(a)(8), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3841; Pub. L. 113–235, div. H, title I, § 1301(b), Dec. 16, 2014, 128 Stat. 2537; Pub. L. 114–113, div. M, title IV, § 402, Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 2921; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 809(c)(1), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1841.)