(a) Background. Section 208 of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4728) authorizes Federal agencies to require, as a condition of participation in Federal assistance programs, systems of a personnel administration consistent with personnel standards prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). OPM has promulgated Standards for a System of Personnel Administration (5 CFR part 900) which prescribe intergovernmental personnel standards on a merit basis as a condition of eligibility in the administration of grant programs. OPM has approved FEMA adoption of these standards by the regulations in this part.
(b) Standard. Participation by each grantee and each subgrantee under the program covered in this part is subject to compliance with the following conditions regarding merit personnel systems:
Methods of personnel administration will be established and maintained in public agencies administering or supervising the administration of the civil defense program in conformity with the Standards for a Merit System of Personnel Administration 5 CFR part 900, which incorporate the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Merit Principles (Pub. L. 91-648, section 2, 84 Stat. 1909) prescribed by the Office of Personnel Management pursuant to section 208 of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act of 1970 as amended.
Section 302.3(a)(5) of this part provides, in part, that State administrative plans that fail to provide for fulfilling this condition are not approvable.