Chapter 71 Labor-Management Relations
Chapter 72 Antidiscrimination; Right to Petition Congress
Chapter 73 Suitability, Security, and Conduct
Chapter 75 Adverse Actions
Chapter 77 Appeals
Chapter 79 Services to Employees

Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 5 > Part III > Subpart F - Labor-Management and Employee Relations

  • Acquittal:
    1. Judgement that a criminal defendant has not been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
    2. A verdict of "not guilty."
     
  • Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
  • Adjournment sine die: The end of a legislative session "without day." These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual or the two-year session of legislature.
  • Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Agency for International Development: includes any successor agency primarily responsible for administering part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U. See 5 USC 409
  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • Alternate valuation date: The earlier of the date six months after the decedent
  • alternative trading system: means an organization, association, or group of persons that&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • association: when used in reference to a corporation, shall be deemed to embrace the words "successors and assigns of such company or association" in like manner as if these last-named words, or words of similar import, were expressed. See 1 USC 5
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Attorney General: means the Attorney General of the United States or his designee. See 34 USC 10251
  • Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Board: means the Merit Systems Protection Board under chapter 12 of title 5. See 3 USC 401
  • Board: means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See 7 USC 1a
  • board of trade: means any organized exchange or other trading facility. See 7 USC 1a
  • Calendar of Business: A Senate publication sent to each lawmaker's office (and other offices) every day the Senate is in session. It contains information on, for instance, measures reported from the various standing committees, bills in conference, and the status of appropriation bills.
  • Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
  • Chambers: A judge's office.
  • Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
  • cleared swap: means any swap that is, directly or indirectly, submitted to and cleared by a derivatives clearing organization registered with the Commission. See 7 USC 1a
  • commerce: means commerce between any State or the District of Columbia and any place outside thereof, or between points within the same State or the District of Columbia but through any place outside thereof, or within the District of Columbia. See 7 USC 62
  • Commission: means the Commodity Futures Trading Commission established under section 2(a)(2) of this title. See 7 USC 1a
  • Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. See 26 USC 7701
  • Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
  • commodity: means wheat, cotton, rice, corn, oats, barley, rye, flaxseed, grain sorghums, mill feeds, butter, eggs, Solanum tuberosum (Irish potatoes), wool, wool tops, fats and oils (including lard, tallow, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, soybean oil, and all other fats and oils), cottonseed meal, cottonseed, peanuts, soybeans, soybean meal, livestock, livestock products, and frozen concentrated orange juice, and all other goods and articles, except onions (as provided by section 13-1 of this title) and motion picture box office receipts (or any index, measure, value, or data related to such receipts), and all services, rights, and interests (except motion picture box office receipts, or any index, measure, value or data related to such receipts) in which contracts for future delivery are presently or in the future dealt in. See 7 USC 1a
  • commodity pool: means any investment trust, syndicate, or similar form of enterprise operated for the purpose of trading in commodity interests, including any&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • commodity pool operator: means any person&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • commodity trading advisor: means any person who&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • community development corporation: means a private, nonprofit corporation whose board of directors is comprised of business, civic and community leaders, and whose principal purpose includes the provision of low-income housing or community economic development projects that primarily benefit low-income individuals and communities. See 34 USC 12211
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Conference committee: A temporary, ad hoc panel composed of conferees from both chamber of a legislature which is formed for the purpose of reconciling differences in legislation that has passed both chambers. Conference committees are usually convened to resolve bicameral differences on major and controversial legislation.
  • Congressional Record: The substantially verbatim account of daily proceedings in Congress. It is printed for each day Congress is in session. At the back of each daily issue is the "Daily Digest," which summarizes the day's floor and committee activities.
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • contract of sale: includes sales, agreements of sale, and agreements to sell. See 7 USC 1a
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • cooperative association of producers: means any cooperative association, corporate, or otherwise, not less than 75 percent in good faith owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by producers of agricultural products and otherwise complying with sections 291 and 292 of this title, including any organization acting for a group of such associations and owned or controlled by such associations, except that business done for or with the United States, or any agency thereof, shall not be considered either member or nonmember business in determining the compliance of any such association with this chapter. See 7 USC 1a
  • cooperative bank: means an institution without capital stock organized and operated for mutual purposes and without profit, which&mdash. See 26 USC 7701
  • corporation: includes associations, joint-stock companies, and insurance companies. See 26 USC 7701
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • corporation: includes associations, joint-stock companies, and insurance companies. See 26 USC 7701
  • correctional option: includes community-based incarceration, weekend incarceration, boot camp prison, electronic monitoring of offenders, intensive probation, and any other innovative punishment designed to have the greatest impact on offenders who can be punished more effectively in an environment other than a traditional correctional facility. See 34 USC 10251
  • cotton: means cotton of any variety produced within the continental United States, including linters. See 7 USC 62
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • county: includes a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States. See 1 USC 2
  • court: means a tribunal recognized as a part of the judicial branch of a State or of its local government units. See 34 USC 10251
  • covered employee: means any employee of an employing office. See 3 USC 401
  • criminal justice: means activities pertaining to crime prevention, control, or reduction, or the enforcement of the criminal law, including, but not limited to, police efforts to prevent, control, or reduce crime or to apprehend criminals, including juveniles, activities of courts having criminal jurisdiction, and related agencies (including but not limited to prosecutorial and defender services, juvenile delinquency agencies and pretrial service or release agencies), activities of corrections, probation, or parole authorities and related agencies assisting in the rehabilitation, supervision, and care of criminal offenders, and programs relating to the prevention, control, or reduction of narcotic addiction and juvenile delinquency. See 34 USC 10251
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Department of Agriculture: means the United States Department of Agriculture. See 7 USC 75
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
  • derivatives clearing organization: means a clearinghouse, clearing association, clearing corporation, or similar entity, facility, system, or organization that, with respect to an agreement, contract, or transaction&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • domestic: when applied to a corporation or partnership means created or organized in the United States or under the law of the United States or of any State unless, in the case of a partnership, the Secretary provides otherwise by regulations. See 26 USC 7701
  • domestic: when applied to a corporation or partnership means created or organized in the United States or under the law of the United States or of any State unless, in the case of a partnership, the Secretary provides otherwise by regulations. See 26 USC 7701
  • Donee: The recipient of a gift.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • election day: means the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in every fourth year succeeding every election of a President and Vice President held in each State, except, in the case of a State that appoints electors by popular vote, if the State modifies the period of voting, as necessitated by force majeure events that are extraordinary and catastrophic, as provided under laws of the State enacted prior to such day, "election day" shall include the modified period of voting. See 3 USC 21
  • electronic trading facility: means a trading facility that&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • eligible commercial entity: means , with respect to an agreement, contract or transaction in a commodity&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • eligible contract participant: means &mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC
  • employee: includes an applicant for employment and a former employee. See 3 USC 401
  • employee: shall include a full-time life insurance salesman who is considered an employee for the purpose of chapter 21. See 26 USC 7701
  • employee: shall include a full-time life insurance salesman who is considered an employee for the purpose of chapter 21. See 26 USC 7701
  • employing office: means &mdash. See 3 USC 401
  • enrolled actuary: means a person who is enrolled by the Joint Board for the Enrollment of Actuaries established under subtitle C of the title III of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. See 26 USC 7701
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • evaluation: means the administration and conduct of studies and analyses to determine the impact and value of a project or program in accomplishing the statutory objectives of this chapter. See 34 USC 10251
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • exchanged basis property: means property having a basis determined under any provision of subtitle A (or under any corresponding provision of prior income tax law) providing that the basis shall be determined in whole or in part by reference to other property held at any time by the person for whom the basis is to be determined. See 26 USC 7701
  • excluded commodity: means &mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • executive: means , with respect to any State, the Governor of the State (or, in the case of the District of Columbia, the Mayor of the District of Columbia), except when the laws or constitution of a State in effect as of election day expressly require a different State executive to perform the duties identified under this chapter. See 3 USC 21
  • Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • export elevator: means any grain elevator, warehouse, or other storage or handling facility in the United States as determined by the Secretary, from which grain is shipped from the United States to an area outside thereof. See 7 USC 75
  • export grain: means grain for shipment from the United States to any place outside thereof. See 7 USC 75
  • export port location: means a commonly recognized port of export in the United States or Canada, as determined by the Secretary, from which grain produced in the United States is shipped to any place outside the United States. See 7 USC 75
  • Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. Source: OCC
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. Source: OCC
  • Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. Source: OCC
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • fiduciary: means a guardian, trustee, executor, administrator, receiver, conservator, or any person acting in any fiduciary capacity for any person. See 26 USC 7701
  • financial institution: means &mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
    • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
    • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
    • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
  • floor broker: means any person&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • floor trader: means any person&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
  • foreign: when applied to a corporation or partnership means a corporation or partnership which is not domestic. See 26 USC 7701
  • foreign: when applied to a corporation or partnership means a corporation or partnership which is not domestic. See 26 USC 7701
  • foreign estate: means an estate the income of which, from sources without the United States which is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States, is not includible in gross income under subtitle A. See 26 USC 7701
  • foreign exchange forward: means a transaction that solely involves the exchange of 2 different currencies on a specific future date at a fixed rate agreed upon on the inception of the contract covering the exchange. See 7 USC 1a
  • foreign exchange swap: means a transaction that solely involves&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • foreign futures authority: means any foreign government, or any department, agency, governmental body, or regulatory organization empowered by a foreign government to administer or enforce a law, rule, or regulation as it relates to a futures or options matter, or any department or agency of a political subdivision of a foreign government empowered to administer or enforce a law, rule, or regulation as it relates to a futures or options matter. See 7 USC 1a
  • foreign trust: means any trust other than a trust described in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (30). See 26 USC 7701
  • foreign trust: means any trust other than a trust described in subparagraph (E) of paragraph (30). See 26 USC 7701
  • Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • futures commission merchant: means an individual, association, partnership, corporation, or trust&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • grain: means corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, flaxseed, sorghum, soybeans, mixed grain, and any other food grains, feed grains, and oilseeds for which standards are established under section 76 of this title. See 7 USC 75
  • Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Gross estate: The total fair market value of all property and property interests, real and personal, tangible and intangible, of which a decedent had beneficial ownership at the time of death before subtractions for deductions, debts, administrative expenses, and casualty losses suffered during estate administration.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
  • hybrid instrument: means a security having one or more payments indexed to the value, level, or rate of, or providing for the delivery of, one or more commodities. See 7 USC 1a
  • Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
  • including: when used in a definition contained in this title shall not be deemed to exclude other things otherwise within the meaning of the term defined. See 26 USC 7701
  • including: when used in a definition contained in this title shall not be deemed to exclude other things otherwise within the meaning of the term defined. See 26 USC 7701
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • individual retirement plan: means &mdash. See 26 USC 7701
  • individual retirement plan: means &mdash. See 26 USC 7701
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Intangible property: Property that has no intrinsic value, but is merely the evidence of value such as stock certificates, bonds, and promissory notes.
  • Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • interested person: means any person having a contract or other financial interest in grain as the owner, seller, purchaser, warehouseman, or carrier, or otherwise. See 7 USC 75
  • international organization: means a public international organization entitled to enjoy privileges, exemptions, and immunities as an international organization under the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U. See 26 USC 7701
  • international organization: means a public international organization entitled to enjoy privileges, exemptions, and immunities as an international organization under the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U. See 26 USC 7701
  • Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
  • interstate commerce: means commerce&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • interstate or foreign commerce: means commerce from any State to or through any other State, or to or through any foreign country. See 7 USC 75
  • intracompany shipment: means the shipment, within the United States, of grain lots between facilities owned or controlled by the person owning the grain. See 7 USC 75
  • introducing broker: means any person (except an individual who elects to be and is registered as an associated person of a futures commission merchant)&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • 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.
  • Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
  • joint return: means a single return made jointly under section 6013 by a husband and wife. See 26 USC 7701
  • Joint session: When both chambers of a legislature adopt a concurrent resolution to meet together.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Juror: A person who is on the jury.
  • Law clerk: Assist judges with research and drafting of opinions.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
  • levy: includes the power of distraint and seizure by any means. See 26 USC 7701
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Lineal descendant: Direct descendant of the same ancestors.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • lot: means a specific quantity of grain identified as such. See 7 USC 75
  • Magistrate judges: Judicial officers who assist U.S. district judges in getting cases ready for trial, who may decide some criminal and civil trials when both parties agree to have the case heard by a magistrate judge instead of a judge.
  • major security-based swap participant: has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U. See 7 USC 1a
  • major swap participant: means any person who is not a swap dealer, and&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
  • Majority whip: See Whips.
  • member: means , with respect to a registered entity or derivatives transaction execution facility, an individual, association, partnership, corporation, or trust&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
  • Minority whip: See Whips.
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • narrow-based security index: means an index&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. Source: OCC
  • National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) Source: OCC
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • nonrecognition transaction: means any disposition of property in a transaction in which gain or loss is not recognized in whole or in part for purposes of subtitle A. See 26 USC 7701
  • oath: includes affirmation, and "sworn" includes affirmed. See 1 USC 1
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
  • official agency: means any State or local governmental agency, or any person, designated by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (f) of section 79 of this title for the conduct of official inspection (other than appeal inspection), or subsection (c) of section 79a of this title for the conduct of official weighing or supervision of weighing (other than appeal weighing). See 7 USC 75
  • official grade designation: means a numerical or sample grade designation, specified in the standards relating to kind, class, quality, and condition of grain, provided for in this chapter. See 7 USC 75
  • official inspection: means the determination (by original inspection, and when requested, reinspection and appeal inspection) and the certification, by official inspection personnel of the kind, class, quality, or condition of grain, under standards provided for in this chapter, or the condition of vessels and other carriers or receptacles for the transportation of grain insofar as it may affect the quality or condition of such grain. See 7 USC 75
  • official inspection personnel: means persons licensed or otherwise authorized by the Secretary pursuant to section 84 of this title to perform all or specified functions involved in official inspection, official weighing, or supervision of weighing, or in the supervision of official inspection, official weighing or supervision of weighing. See 7 USC 75
  • official mark: means any symbol prescribed by regulations of the Secretary to show the official determination of official inspection or official weighing. See 7 USC 75
  • official sample: means a sample obtained from a lot of grain by, and submitted for official inspection by, official inspection personnel (the term "official sampling" shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
  • official sampling: shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
  • official weighing: means the determination and certification by official inspection personnel of the quantity of a lot of grain under standards provided for in this chapter, based on the actual performance of weighing or the physical supervision thereof, including the physical inspection and testing for accuracy of the weights and scales and the physical inspection of the premises at which the weighing is performed and the monitoring of the discharge of grain into the elevator or conveyance (the terms "officially weigh" and "officially weighed" shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
  • officially inspected: shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
  • officially weighed: shall be construed accordingly). See 7 USC 75
  • option: means an agreement, contract, or transaction that is of the character of, or is commonly known to the trade as, an "option" "privilege" "indemnity" "bid" "offer" "put" "call" "advance guaranty" or "decline guaranty". See 7 USC 1a
  • organized exchange: means a trading facility that&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • paid or accrued: shall be construed according to the method of accounting upon the basis of which the taxable income is computed under subtitle A. See 26 USC 7701
  • partner: includes a member in such a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or organization. See 26 USC 7701
  • partner: includes a member in such a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or organization. See 26 USC 7701
  • partnership: includes a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or other unincorporated organization, through or by means of which any business, financial operation, or venture is carried on, and which is not, within the meaning of this title, a trust or estate or a corporation. See 26 USC 7701
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • partnership: includes a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or other unincorporated organization, through or by means of which any business, financial operation, or venture is carried on, and which is not, within the meaning of this title, a trust or estate or a corporation. See 26 USC 7701
  • performance: may be construed to mean "exercise". See 3 USC 303
  • person: shall be construed to mean and include an individual, a trust, estate, partnership, association, company or corporation. See 26 USC 7701
  • person: import s the plural or singular, and includes individuals, associations, partnerships, corporations, and trusts. See 7 USC 1a
  • person: import s the plural or the singular, as the case demands, and includes an individual, a partnership, a corporation, or two or more persons having a joint or common interest. See 7 USC 62
  • person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity. See 7 USC 75
  • person: shall be construed to mean and include an individual, a trust, estate, partnership, association, company or corporation. See 26 USC 7701
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • prudential regulator: means &mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Public debt: Cumulative amounts borrowed by the Treasury Department or the Federal Financing Bank from the public or from another fund or account. The public debt does not include agency debt (amounts borrowed by other agencies of the Federal Government). The total public debt is subject to a statutory limit.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Ranking minority member: The highest ranking (and usually longest serving) minority member of a committee or subcommittee.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
  • Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. Source: FDIC
  • registered entity: means &mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
  • Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate. See 26 USC 7701
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate. See 26 USC 7701
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of the Treasury. See 7 USC 1a
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States or delegates of the Secretary. See 7 USC 75
  • Secretary of the Treasury: means the Secretary of the Treasury, personally, and shall not include any delegate of his. See 26 USC 7701
  • Secretary of the Treasury: means the Secretary of the Treasury, personally, and shall not include any delegate of his. See 26 USC 7701
  • security: means a security as defined in section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U. See 7 USC 1a
  • security future: means a contract of sale for future delivery of a single security or of a narrow-based security index, including any interest therein or based on the value thereof, except an exempted security under section 3(a)(12) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 [15 U. See 7 USC 1a
  • security futures product: means a security future or any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any security future. See 7 USC 1a
  • security-based swap: has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U. See 7 USC 1a
  • security-based swap dealer: has the meaning given the term in section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U. See 7 USC 1a
  • Sentencing guidelines: A set of rules and principles established by the United States Sentencing Commission that trial judges use to determine the sentence for a convicted defendant. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • shareholder: includes a member in an association, joint-stock company, or insurance company. See 26 USC 7701
  • shareholder: includes a member in an association, joint-stock company, or insurance company. See 26 USC 7701
  • significant price discovery contract: means an agreement, contract, or transaction subject to section 2(h)(5) of this title. See 7 USC 1a
  • State: shall be construed to include the District of Columbia, where such construction is necessary to carry out provisions of this title. See 26 USC 7701
  • State: includes the District of Columbia. See 3 USC 21
  • State: means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands: Provided, That for the purposes of section 10156(a) of this title, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be considered as one state 1 and that for these purposes 67 per centum of the amounts allocated shall be allocated to American Samoa, and 33 per centum to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. See 34 USC 10251
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
  • State: means any one of the States (including Puerto Rico) or territories or possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia). See 7 USC 75
  • State: shall be construed to include the District of Columbia, where such construction is necessary to carry out provisions of this title. See 26 USC 7701
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • stock: includes shares in an association, joint-stock company, or insurance company. See 26 USC 7701
  • stock: includes shares in an association, joint-stock company, or insurance company. See 26 USC 7701
  • storage facility: means a facility which uses energy storage technology within the meaning of section 48(c)(6). See 26 USC 7701
  • submitted sample: means a sample submitted by or for an interested person for official inspection, other than an official sample. See 7 USC 75
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • subscription: includes a mark when the person making the same intended it as such. See 1 USC 1
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • supervision of weighing: means such supervision by official inspection personnel of the grain-weighing process as is determined by the Secretary to be adequate to reasonably assure the integrity and accuracy of the weighing and of certificates which set forth the weight of the grain and such physical inspection by such personnel of the premises at which the grain weighing is performed as will reasonably assure that all the grain intended to be weighed has been weighed and discharged into the elevator or conveyance. See 7 USC 75
  • swap: includes a master agreement that provides for an agreement, contract, or transaction that is a swap under subparagraph (A), together with each supplement to any master agreement, without regard to whether the master agreement contains an agreement, contract, or transaction that is not a swap pursuant to subparagraph (A). See 7 USC 1a
  • swap data repository: means any person that collects and maintains information or records with respect to transactions or positions in, or the terms and conditions of, swaps entered into by third parties for the purpose of providing a centralized recordkeeping facility for swaps. See 7 USC 1a
  • swap dealer: means any person who&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • swap execution facility: means a trading system or platform in which multiple participants have the ability to execute or trade swaps by accepting bids and offers made by multiple participants in the facility or system, through any means of interstate commerce, including any trading facility, that&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • target area: means any area defined in an application for assistance under this part that has a population whose income does not exceed the median for the area within which the target area is located. See 34 USC 12211
  • Tax Court: means the United States Tax Court. See 26 USC 7701
  • tax return preparer: means any person who prepares for compensation, or who employs one or more persons to prepare for compensation, any return of tax imposed by this title or any claim for refund of tax imposed by this title. See 26 USC 7701
  • taxable year: means the calendar year, or the fiscal year ending during such calendar year, upon the basis of which the taxable income is computed under subtitle A. See 26 USC 7701
  • taxable year: means the calendar year, or the fiscal year ending during such calendar year, upon the basis of which the taxable income is computed under subtitle A. See 26 USC 7701
  • taxpayer: means any person subject to any internal revenue tax. See 26 USC 7701
  • taxpayer: means any person subject to any internal revenue tax. See 26 USC 7701
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • TIN: means the identifying number assigned to a person under section 6109. See 26 USC 7701
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • trade or business: includes the performance of the functions of a public office. See 26 USC 7701
  • trade or business: includes the performance of the functions of a public office. See 26 USC 7701
  • trading facility: means a person or group of persons that constitutes, maintains, or provides a physical or electronic facility or system in which multiple participants have the ability to execute or trade agreements, contracts, or transactions&mdash. See 7 USC 1a
  • transaction: includes a series of transactions. See 26 USC 7701
  • transaction: includes a series of transactions. See 26 USC 7701
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • transferred basis property: means property having a basis determined under any provision of subtitle A (or under any corresponding provision of prior income tax law) providing that the basis shall be determined in whole or in part by reference to the basis in the hands of the donor, grantor, or other transferor. See 26 USC 7701
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • United States: when used in a geographical sense includes only the States and the District of Columbia. See 26 USC 7701
  • United States: means the States (including Puerto Rico) and the territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia). See 7 USC 75
  • United States: when used in a geographical sense includes only the States and the District of Columbia. See 26 USC 7701
  • United States person: means &mdash. See 26 USC 7701
  • United States person: means &mdash. See 26 USC 7701
  • Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
  • User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
  • vehicle: includes every description of carriage or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on land. See 1 USC 4
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • vessel: includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water. See 1 USC 3
  • Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
  • Whips: Assistants to the floor leaders who are also elected by their party conferences. The Majority and Minority Whips (and their assistants) are responsible for mobilizing votes within their parties on major issues. In the absence of a party floor leader, the whip often serves as acting floor leader.
  • withholding agent: means any person required to deduct and withhold any tax under the provisions of section 1441, 1442, 1443, or 1461. See 26 USC 7701
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
  • writing: includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. See 1 USC 1