(a) In general

It shall not be a violation of any provision of section 1311 of this title to consider the—

(1) party affiliation;

(2) domicile; or

(3) political compatibility with the employing office;


of an employee referred to in subsection (b) with respect to employment decisions.

(b) “Employee” defined

Terms Used In 2 USC 1432

  • employee: includes an applicant for employment and a former employee. See 2 USC 1301
  • employing office: means &mdash. See 2 USC 1301
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1

For purposes of subsection (a), the term “employee” means—

(1) an employee on the staff of the leadership of the House of Representatives or the leadership of the Senate;

(2) an employee on the staff of a committee or subcommittee of—

(A) the House of Representatives;

(B) the Senate; or

(C) a joint committee of the Congress;


(3) an employee on the staff of a Member of the House of Representatives or on the staff of a Senator;

(4) an officer of the House of Representatives or the Senate or a congressional employee who is elected by the House of Representatives or Senate or is appointed by a Member of the House of Representatives or by a Senator (in addition an employee described in paragraph (1), (2), or (3)); or

(5) an applicant for a position that is to be occupied by an individual described in any of paragraphs (1) through (4).

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