From Washington to Trump, every era has redefined the rules of federal employment. If you could set the clock, which version ...

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 created a nonpartisan service of experts whose purpose was to serve the American people and the Constitution. Their hiring was to be based on merit alone. That ...

Labour’s cronyism scandal keeps growing. On Friday, Whitehall’s regulator, the Civil Service Commission, launched an extraordinary review of the new Government’s “exceptional” appointments.

This changed with the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883, expanded in 1885. These created the idea of a federal employee, as distinct from a political appointee.

The economic development package signed by Gov. Maura Healey on Nov. 20 “codified the largest reform of the Civil Service system in decades,” according to the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 created a nonpartisan service of experts whose purpose was to serve the American people and the Constitution. Their hiring was to be based on merit alone.

The federal civil service, which has many virtues, is also a bit of a mess. This is not only my view but that of almost every former Democratic administration official I know, going back to ...