5 U.S.C. § 8331 - Definitions

Cite as5 U.S.C. § 8331

For the purpose of this subchapter-

(1) "employee" means-

(A) an employee as defined by section 2105 of this title;

(B) the Architect of the Capitol, an employee of the Architect of the Capitol, and an employee of the Botanic Garden;

(C) a Congressional employee as defined by section 2107 of this title (other than the Architect of the Capitol, an employee of the Architect of the Capitol, and an employee of the Botanic Garden), after he gives notice in writing to the official by whom he is paid of his desire to become subject to this subchapter;

(D) a temporary Congressional employee appointed at an annual rate of pay, after he gives notice in writing to the official by whom he is paid of his desire to become subject to this subchapter;

(E) a United States Commissioner whose total pay for services performed as Commissioner is not less than $3,000 in each of the last 3 consecutive calendar years ending after December 31, 1954;

(F) an individual employed by a county committee established under section 590h(b) of title 16;

(G) an individual first employed by the government of the District of Columbia before October 1, 1987;

(H) an individual employed by Gallaudet College;

(I) an individual appointed to a position on the office staff of a former President under section 1(b) of the Act of August 25, 1958 (72 Stat. 838);

(J) an alien (i) who was previously employed by the Government, (ii) who is employed full time by a foreign government for the purpose of protecting or furthering the interests of the United States during an interruption of diplomatic or consular relations, and (iii) for whose services reimbursement is made to the foreign government by the United States;

(K) an individual appointed to a position on the office staff of a former President, or a former Vice President under section 5 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended (78 Stat. 153), who immediately before the date of such appointment was an employee as defined under any other subparagraph of this paragraph; and

(L) an employee described in section 2105(c) who has made an election under section 8347(q)(1) to remain covered under this subchapter;

but does not include-

(i) a justice or judge of the United States as defined by section 451 of title 28;

(ii) an employee subject to another retirement system for Government employees (besides any employee excluded by clause (x), but including any employee who has made an election under section 8347(q)(2) to remain covered by a retirement system established for employees described in section 2105(c));

(iii) an employee or group of employees in or under an Executive agency excluded by the Office of Personnel Management under section 8347(g) of this title;

(iv) an individual or group of individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia excluded by the Office under section 8347(h) of this title;

(v) an employee of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, or a court named by section 610 of title 28, excluded by the Director of the Administrative Office under section 8347(o) of this title;

(vi) a construction employee or other temporary, part-time, or intermittent employee of the Tennessee Valley Authority;

(vii) an employee under the Office of the Architect of the Capitol excluded by the Architect of the Capitol under section 8347(i) of this title;

(viii) an employee under the Library of Congress excluded by the Librarian of Congress under section 8347(j) of this title;

(ix) a student-employee as defined by section 5351 of this title;

(x) an employee subject to the Federal Employees' Retirement System;

(xi) an employee under the Botanic Garden excluded by the Director or Acting Director of the Botanic Garden under section 8347(l) of this title; or

(xii) a member of the Foreign Service (as described in section 103(6) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980), appointed after December 31, 1987.

Notwithstanding this paragraph, the employment of a teacher in the recess period between two school years in a position other than a teaching position in which he served immediately before the recess period does not qualify the individual as an employee for the purpose of this subchapter. For the purpose of the preceding sentence, "teacher" and "teaching position" have the meanings given them by section 901 of title 20;

(2) "Member" means a Member of Congress as defined by section 2106 of this title, after he gives notice in writing to the official by whom he is paid of his desire to become subject to this subchapter, but does not include any such Member of Congress who is subject to the Federal Employees' Retirement System or who makes an election under section 8401(20) of this title not to be subject to such System;

(3) "basic pay" includes-

(A) the amount a Member received from April 1, 1954, to February 28, 1955, as expense allowance under section 601(b) of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 (60 Stat. 850), as amended; and that amount from January 3, 1953, to March 31, 1954, if deposit is made therefor as provided by section 8334 of this title;

(B) additional pay provided by-

(i) subsection (a) of section 60e-7 of title 2 and the provisions of law referred to by that subsection; and

(ii) sections 60e-8, 60e-9, 60e-10, 60e-11, 60e-12, 60e-13, and 60e-14 of title 2;

(C) premium pay under section 5545(c)(1) of this title;

(D) with respect to a law enforcement officer, premium pay under section 5545(c)(2) of this title;

(E) availability pay-

(i) received by a criminal investigator under section 5545a of this title; or

(ii) received after September 11, 2001, by a Federal air marshal or criminal investigator (as defined in section 5545a(a)(2)) of the Transportation Security Administration, subject to all restrictions and earning limitations imposed on criminal investigators receiving such pay under section 5545a, including the premium pay limitations under section 5547;

(F) pay as provided in section 5545b(b)(2) and (c)(2);

(G) with respect to a customs officer (referred to in subsection (e)(1) of section 5 of the Act of February 13, 1911), compensation for overtime inspectional services provided for under subsection (a) of such section 5, but not to exceed 50 percent of any statutory maximum in overtime pay for customs officers which is in effect for the year involved;

(H) any amount received under section 5948 (relating to physicians comparability allowances); and

(I) with respect to a border patrol agent, the amount of supplemental pay received through application of the level 1 border patrol rate of pay or the level 2 border patrol rate of pay for scheduled overtime within the regular tour of duty of the border patrol agent as provided in section 5550;

but does not include bonuses, allowances, overtime pay, military pay, pay given in addition to the base pay of the position as fixed by law or regulation except as provided by subparagraphs (B) through (I) of this paragraph 1 retroactive pay under section 5344 of this title in the case of a retired or deceased employee, uniform allowances under section 5901 of this title, or lump-sum leave payments under subchapter VI of chapter 55 of this title. For an employee paid on a fee basis, the maximum amount of basic pay which may be used is $10,000;

(4) "average pay" means the largest annual rate resulting from averaging an employee's or Member's rates of basic pay in effect over any 3 consecutive years of creditable service or, in the case of an annuity under subsection (d) or (e)(1) of section 8341 of this title based on service of less than 3 years, over the total service, with each rate weighted by the time it was in effect;

(5) "Fund" means the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund;

[(6) Repealed. Pub. L. 96-499, title IV, §403(b), Dec. 5, 1980, 94 Stat. 2606;]

(7) "Government" means the Government of the United States, the government of the District of Columbia, Gallaudet University, and, in the case of an employee described in paragraph (1)(L), a nonappropriated fund instrumentality of the Department of Defense or the Coast Guard described in section 2105(c);

(8) "lump-sum credit" means the unrefunded amount consisting of-

(A) retirement deductions made from the basic pay of an employee or Member;

(B) amounts deposited by an employee or Member covering earlier service, including any amounts deposited under section 8334(j) of this title; and

(C) interest on the deductions and deposits at 4 percent a year to December 31, 1947, and 3 percent a year thereafter compounded annually to December 31, 1956, or, in the case of an employee or Member separated or transferred to a position in which he does not continue subject to this subchapter before he has completed 5 years of civilian service, to the date of the separation or transfer;

but does not include interest-

(i) if the service covered thereby aggregates 1 year or less; or

(ii) for the fractional part of a month in the total service;

(9) "annuitant" means a former employee or Member who, on the basis of his service, meets all requirements of this subchapter for title to annuity and files claim therefor;

(10) "survivor" means an individual entitled to annuity under this subchapter based on the service of a deceased employee, Member, or annuitant;

(11) "survivor annuitant" means a survivor who files claim for annuity;

(12) "service" means employment creditable under section 8332 of this title;

(13) "military service" means honorable active service-

(A) in the armed forces;

(B) in the Regular or Reserve Corps 2 of the Public Health Service after June 30, 1960; or

(C) as a commissioned officer of the Environmental Science Services Administration after June 30, 1961;

and includes service as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, or the United States Coast Guard Academy, or as a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, but does not include service in the National Guard except when ordered to active duty in the service of the United States or full-time National Guard duty (as such term is defined in section 101(d) of title 10) if such service interrupts creditable civilian service under this subchapter and is followed by reemployment in accordance with chapter 43 of title 38 that occurs on or after August 1, 1990;

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