Civil Service FAQ Merit System Principles Questions and Answers

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT one of the nine Merit System Principles?

Accepted Answer

Employees should be retained based on seniority and tenure.

Answer

The Merit System Principles state that employees should be retained on the basis of the adequacy of their performance, not seniority or tenure. The other options are accurate representations of established principles.

Question 2

A manager for a federal agency consistently promotes employees who share their political affiliation, regardless of the employees' performance or qualifications compared to other candidates. Which Merit System Principle is most clearly being violated?

Accepted Answer

Fair and equitable treatment.

Answer

This scenario directly violates the principle that all employees and applicants should receive fair and equitable treatment without regard to political affiliation. Personnel decisions must be based on merit, not personal or political favoritism.

Question 3

The Merit System Principle concerning recruitment and advancement emphasizes that selections must be based solely on:

Accepted Answer

Relative ability, knowledge, and skills after fair and open competition.

Answer

The first Merit System Principle is explicit that 'selection and advancement should be determined solely on the basis of relative ability, knowledge, and skills, after fair and open competition which assures that all receive equal opportunity.'

Question 4

An employee discovers and reports a gross waste of funds within their department. Subsequently, the employee is reassigned to a less desirable position with no change in pay, despite a history of excellent performance. This action potentially violates the Merit System Principle related to:

Accepted Answer

Protection against reprisal (Whistleblower Protection).

Answer

The ninth Merit System Principle specifically protects employees against reprisal for the lawful disclosure of information that evidences mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, or an abuse of authority. This is commonly known as whistleblower protection.

Question 5

According to the Merit System Principles, the Federal workforce should be used efficiently and effectively, and employees should be retained on the basis of what primary factor?

Accepted Answer

Adequacy of their performance.

Answer

Merit System Principle #6 states that 'Employees should be retained on the basis of the adequacy of their performance, inadequate performance should be corrected, and employees should be separated who cannot or will not improve their performance to meet required standards.'

Civil Service FAQ Practice Test

Civil Service FAQ Practice Test

Civil Service FAQ Merit System Principles Questions and Answers