Under Special Provisions of the Ramspeck Act
Title 5, Section 3304 (c), U.S. Code
An individual seeking to qualify for appointment under the provisions of the Ramspeck Act must have at least three (3) years service in the legislative branch in a position paid by the Chief Administrative Officer of the House or the Secretary of the Senate and must be involuntarily separated from employment.
When applying for a position under the Act, the individual should submit a SF-171, "Personal Qualifications Statement," and a copy of Form E303, "Ramspeck Form," to the agency personnel office where the appointment is made. These forms do not need to be submitted to the Office of Personnel Management.
For appointments under the Ramspeck Act, the field office of an agency may not need to transmit to the parent agency the form E303 and the SF-171 to effect the appointment. Field offices should consult the parent agency for guidance.
Agency personnel offices may refer to the Federal Personnel Manual, Chapter 315, Subchapter 6, "Career or Career-Conditional Appointments Under Special Authorities" for information concerning appointments under the Ramspeck Act.
Some of the conditions of eligibility under the Act are as follows:
The 3 years of service required for eligibility need not have been continuous.
The employee must have been separated from a position in the legislative branch or it must be definitely known that he or she will be separated within 90 days.
The separation must be involuntary and without prejudice; that is, the employee's record must be good and final separation must be due to circumstances beyond the employee's control, such as death, defeat, or resignation of an employer, or separation because of lack of work or funds, etc.
Discharge from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions may be considered an involuntary separation from a legislative position.
The individual seeking to qualify for appointment under the Act must locate a competitive position in the Federal service within one (1) year of involuntary separation.
Cases in which there have been a break between service in the legislative branch and the appointment under 5 USC 3304 (c), the appointment is effective as a reinstatement.
The employee does not serve a probationary period in connection with an appointment under 5 USC 3304 (c).
Before the Office of Personnel and Benefits can complete your service history, Section 7 of Form E303 "Ramspeck Form" must first be signed by the employing office (Member of Congress or Officer of the House) as may be applicable.
Public Law 104-65 Sec. 16 repeals the Ramspeck Act. Ramspeck applications will cease to be recognized as of December 20, 1997.