Conceived during the turbulent period of the late 1960s when ‘rights talk’ was ubiquitous, Federal Service and the Constitution, a landmark study first published in 1971, strove to understand how the rights of federal civil servants had become so differentiated from those of ordinary citizens. Now in a new, second edition, this legal–historical analysis reviews and enlarges its look at the constitutional rights of federal employees from the nation's founding to the present.
Thoroughly revised and updated, this highly readable history of the constitutional relationship between federal employees and the government describes how the changing political, administrative, and institutional concepts of what the federal service is or should be are related to the development of constitutional doctrines defining federal employees’ constitutional rights. Developments in society since 1971 have dramatically changed the federal bureaucracy, protecting and expanding employment rights, while at the same time Supreme Court decisions are eroding the special legal status of federal employees. Looking at the current status of these constitutional rights, Rosenbloom concludes by suggesting that recent Supreme Court decisions may reflect a shift to a model based on private sector practices.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The Public Employment Relationship
2. Development of the Public Employment Relationship, 1776-1829
3. The Spoils System and the Public Employment Relationship
4. Civil Service Reform and the Public Employment Relationship
5. Political Neutrality
6. Equality of Access to Civil Service Positions
7. Loyalty and Security
8. Building the Public Service Model
9. The Public Employment Relationship Today: Toward Convergence with the Private Sector?
Bibliography
Index
Reviews
"Provides scholars, students of public administration, and public management practitioners with an invaluable overview of how courts have reshaped the public employment relationship. . . . [the book] should be mandatory reading for any student studing public administration and anyone serving as a government employee."—Public Administration Review
"This updated version of Rosenbloom’s groundbreaking book contributes immensely and significantly to the fields of public administration, public law, and public personnel administration. Rosenbloom carefully and assiduously examines the evolving conception of federal employees in tandem with changes and developments in constitutional law. This second edition incorporates a number of contemporary themes (e.g., reinventing government; contracting) as they relate to public employees and the law. Rosenbloom’s research is extraordinarily insightful and his writing is impeccable. This book should be required reading in every public administration program."—Norma Riccucci, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University, Newark
"David Rosenbloom has successfully revised his important 1971 book by considering subsequent modifications in the public employment relationship. In this second edition, he describes and analyzes forty years of developments in politics, administration, and law. Anyone interested in understanding public employment in the 21st century should read this book."—Robert Vaughn , Professor of Law and A. Allen King Scholar, Washington College of Law, American University
About the Author
David H. Rosenbloom is Distinguished Professor of Public Administration at American University. Among his major awards are the Dwight Waldo and John Gaus awards for career achievement in public administration scholarship and the National Academy of Public Administration Louis Brownlow Best Book Award. He is the author of numerous books and articles.
