PANAMA CANAL EMPLOYMENT SYSTEM; MERIT AND OTHER EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS.

SEC. 3530. PANAMA CANAL EMPLOYMENT SYSTEM; MERIT AND OTHER EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS. (a) In General.— Section 1212 (22 U.S.C. 3652) is amended to read as follows: “panama canal employment system; merit and other employment requirements “Sec. 1212. (a) The Commission shall establish a Panama Canal Employment System and prescribe the regulations necessary for its administration. The Panama Canal Employment System shall— “(1) be established in accordance with and be subject to the provisions of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 and related agreements, the provisions of this chapter, and any other applicable provision of law; “(2) be based on the consideration of the merit of each employee or candidate for employment and the qualifications and fitness of the employee to hold the position concerned; “(3) conform, to the extent practicable and consistent with the provisions of this Act, to the policies, principles, and standards applicable to the competitive service; “(4) in the case of employees who are citizens of the United States, provide for the appropriate interchange of those employees between positions under the Panama Canal Employment System and positions in the competitive service; and “(5) not be subject to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, unless specifically made applicable by this Act. 110 STAT. 2863 “(b) (1) The head of any Executive agency (other than the Commission) and the Smithsonian Institution may elect to have the Panama Canal Employment System made applicable in whole or in part to personnel of that agency in the Republic of Panama. “(2) Any Executive agency (other than the Commission) and the Smithsonian Institution, to the extent of any election under paragraph (1), shall conduct its employment and pay practices relating to employees in accordance with the Panama Canal Employment System. “(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or the Panama Canal Act Amendments of 1996, this subchapter, as last in effect before the effective date of section 3530 of the Panama Canal Act Amendments of 1996, shall continue to apply to an Executive agency or the Smithsonian Institution to the extent of an election under paragraph (1) by the head of agency or the Institution, respectively. “(c) The Commission may exclude any employee or position from coverage under any provision of this subchapter, other than the interchange rights extended under subsection (a)(4).”. (b) Savings Provisions.— The Panama Canal Employment System and all elections, rules, regulations, and orders relating thereto, as last in effect before the amendment made by subsection (a) takes effect, shall continue in effect, according to their terms, until modified, terminated, or superseded under section 1212 of the Panama Canal Act of 1979, as amended by subsection (a).