5 U.S.C. § 4503
Section 4503 · Agency awards
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 18 court decisions — leading case Kroll v. United States (1995)
Most recently applied in 76 Fed. Cl. 549 - Cooley v. United States (May 2007)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The head of an agency may pay a cash award to, and incur necessary expense for the honorary recognition of, an employee who—
(1) by his suggestion, invention, superior accomplishment, or other personal effort contributes to the efficiency, economy, or other improvement of Government operations or achieves a significant reduction in paperwork; or
(2) performs a special act or service in the public interest in connection with or related to his official employment.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
The word “employee” is substituted for “civilian officers and employees of the Government” in view of the definition of “employee” in section 4501.
Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.
Amendments
1978—Par. (1). Pub. L. 95–454 inserted “or achieves a significant reduction in paperwork”.
Effective Date of 1978 Amendment
Section 504(a) of Pub. L. 95–454 provided that amendment by Pub. L. 95–454 was effective on first day of first applicable pay period which began on or after Oct. 1, 1981, except it could take effect with respect to any category or categories of positions before such day to extent prescribed by Director of Office of Personnel Management.
Cross References
Cash awards for suggestions, inventions or scientific achievements, see section 1124 of Title 10, Armed Forces.