Which act created the Office of Personnel Management and the Merit Systems Protection Board, along with an investigative board?

• A. Pendleton Act
• B. Whistleblower Protection Act
• C. Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
• D. National Performance Review

Answer: (C)

This question hinges on understanding a major reform of the federal civil service in 1978. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 restructured how federal personnel were managed by creating two new independent bodies: the Office of Personnel Management to handle recruitment, pay, and general personnel operations, and the Merit Systems Protection Board to hear appeals from federal employees and to uphold merit principles in personnel actions. It also established an investigative component—the Office of Special Counsel—to handle whistleblower protections and investigations into prohibited personnel practices. These changes together mark a shift toward a more merit-based, accountable civil service, which is why this act is the correct choice. The Pendleton Act is an earlier merit-based reform, but it did not create these entities; the other options pertain to whistleblower protections or later reforms, not the specific creation of both the Office of Personnel Management and the Merit Systems Protection Board.