§ 8701. Definitions

3,182 words·~14 min read·/usc/title-5/section-8701

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(a)For the purpose of this chapter, “employee” means—

(1)an employee as defined by section 2105 of this title;

(2)a Member of Congress as defined by section 2106 of this title;

(3)a Congressional employee as defined by section 2107 of this title;

(4)the President;

(5)a justice or judge of the United States appointed to hold office during good behavior

(i)who is in regular active judicial service, or

(ii)who is retired from regular active service under section 371(b) or 372(a) of title 28, United States Code, or

(iii)who has resigned the judicial office under section 371(a) of title 28 with the continued right during the remainder of his lifetime to receive the salary of the office at the time of his resignation;

(6)an individual first employed by the government of the District of Columbia before October 1, 1987;

(7)an individual employed by Gallaudet College; 1

(8)an individual employed by a county committee established under section 590h(b) of title 16;

(9)an individual appointed to a position on the office staff of a former President under section 1(b) of the Act of August 25, 1958 (72 Stat. 838); and

(10)an individual appointed to a position on the office staff of a former President, or a former Vice President under section 5 of the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, as amended (78 Stat. 153), who immediately before the date of such appointment was an employee as defined under any other paragraph of this subsection;

but does not include—

(A)an employee of a corporation supervised by the Farm Credit Administration if private interests elect or appoint a member of the board of directors;

(B)an individual who is not a citizen or national of the United States and whose permanent duty station is outside the United States, unless the individual was an employee for the purpose of this chapter on September 30, 1979, by reason of service in an Executive agency, the United States Postal Service, or the Smithsonian Institution in the area which was then known as the Canal Zone; or

(C)an employee excluded by regulation of the Office of Personnel Management under section 8716(b) of this title.

(b)Notwithstanding subsection

(a)of this section, the employment of a teacher in the recess period between two school years in a position other than a teaching position in which he served immediately before the recess period does not qualify the individual as an employee for the purpose of this chapter. For the purpose of this subsection, “teacher” and “teaching position” have the meanings given them by section 901 of title 20.

(c)For the purpose of this chapter, “basic insurance amount” means, in the case of any employee under this chapter, an amount equal to the greater of—

(1)the annual rate of basic pay payable to the employee, rounded to the next higher multiple of $1,000, plus $2,000, or

(2)$10,000.

In the case of any former employee entitled to coverage under this chapter, the term means the basic insurance amount applicable for the employee at the time the insurance to which the employee is entitled as an employee under this chapter stops pursuant to section 8706(a) of this title.

(1)For the purpose of this chapter, “family member”, when used with respect to any individual, means—

(A)the spouse of the individual; and

(B)an unmarried dependent child of the individual (other than a stillborn child), including an adopted child, stepchild or foster child (but only if the stepchild or foster child lived with the individual in a regular parent-child relationship), or recognized natural child—

(i)who is less than 22 years of age, or

(ii)who is 22 years of age or older and is incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical disability which existed before the child became 22 years of age.

(2)For the purpose of this subsection, “dependent”, in the case of any child, means that the individual involved was, at the time of the child’s death, either living with or contributing to the support of the child, as determined in accordance with the regulations the Office shall prescribe.

(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 592; Pub. L. 91–418, § 3(a), Sept. 25, 1970, 84 Stat. 869; Pub. L. 93–160, § 1(a), Nov. 27, 1973, 87 Stat. 635; Pub. L. 95–454, title IX, § 906(a)(2), Oct. 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1224; Pub. L. 96–54, § 2(a)(51), Aug. 14, 1979, 93 Stat. 384; Pub. L. 96–70, title I, § 1209(b), Sept. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 463; Pub. L. 96–427, §§ 2(a), 8(b), Oct. 10, 1980, 94 Stat. 1831, 1837; Pub. L. 98–353, title II, § 205, July 10, 1984, 98 Stat. 350; Pub. L. 99–335, title II, § 207(k)(1), June 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 597;

Pub. L. 100–679, § 13(b), Nov. 17, 1988, 102 Stat. 4071; Pub. L. 105–311, §§ 3(1), 4, Oct. 30, 1998, 112 Stat. 2950; Pub. L. 114–136, § 2(c)(4), Mar. 18, 2016, 130 Stat. 305.)

The definition of “Congressional employee” in section 2107 of this title includes an Official Reporter of Debates of the Senate and an individual employed by an Official Reporter of Debates of the Senate so that the inclusion of “a Congressional employee” in subsection (a)(3) provides the coverage for those individuals which was given by former section 126 of title 2.

The definition of “employee” in section 2105 of this title is broad enough to cover the officers and employees set out in former section 2091(a) with the exception of Members of Congress, the President, individuals employed either by the government of the District of Columbia or by Gallaudet College, and United States commissioners. Accordingly, these have been added specifically in paragraphs (2), (4), (5), (6), and (7).

In subsection

(a)(B), the words “United States” are substituted for “a State of the United States or the District of Columbia”.

Subsection (a)(C) is added for clarity.

In subsection (b), the last sentence is added on authority of former section 2351, which section is scheduled for transfer to section 901 of title 20.

Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

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U.S. Code