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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] is it illegal to wire a position?  I don't see that in the list.  [/quote]

From the MSPB Website:

[i]Prohibited Personnel Practices (5 USC § 2302(b))

Any employee who has authority to take, direct others to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action, shall not, with respect to such authority—

[. . .]

6.   grant any preference or advantage not authorized by law, rule, or regulation to any employee or applicant for employment (including defining the scope or manner of competition or the requirements for any position) for the purpose of improving or injuring the prospects of any particular person for employment;

AND

PROHIBITED PERSONNEL PRACTICE NUMBER 6 - Granting Any Preference or Advantage Not Authorized by LawWhere is this prohibition covered in the law?
The sixth prohibited personnel practice (PPP) can be found at section 2302(b)(6) in title 5 of the United States Code.

What is the purpose of the sixth prohibited personnel practice?
This provision supports the first Merit System Principle which asserts that recruitment, selection and advancement should be merit-based.  See 5 U.S.C. § 2301(b)(1).  This PPP is designed to prevent an agency from giving an improper advantage in promoting an employee or in selecting an applicant for a position in federal employment.  See 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(6).  It complements and supports the same goal of fair competition as do PPPs 4 and 5, which prohibit obstructing the right to compete and influencing a person to withdraw from competition.

It should be noted that some employment preferences are authorized by law, so they would not be prohibited.  For example, there is a veterans’ preference statute that gives eligible veterans preference in appointment over many other applicants.  See 5 U.S.C. § 2108.

What exactly is prohibited?
To establish a violation of 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(6), Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or Board) case law requires proof of an intentional or purposeful taking of a personnel action in such a way as to give a preference to a particular individual for the purpose of improving his or her prospects.  See Special Counsel v. Byrd, 59 M.S.P.R. 561, 570 (1993), aff’d, 39 F.3d 1196 (Fed. Cir. 1994) (Table).  The preference must be given for the purpose of providing an improper advantage.  In other words, an improper motive must be shown.  See Special Counsel v. Lee, 114 M.S.P.R. 57, ¶ 21 (2010), rev’d in part, 413 F. App’x. 298 (Fed. Cir. 2011).  However, it is not necessary that the action actually have resulted in an advantage, only that its purpose be to give an advantage.  Special Counsel v. DeFord, 28 M.S.P.R. 98, 104 (1985).

It is possible to violate section 2302(b)(6) using legally permissible hiring actions if the intent is to afford preferential treatment to an individual.  See Lee, 114 M.S.P.R. 57, ¶ 21.  Conversely, hiring actions that have the unintentional effect of favoring one applicant over another would not violate section 2302(b)(6).  See id.  The Board also has found, based on the wording of the statute, that it does not prohibit actions improperly advantaging a class of persons, only an individual.  See Avery v. Office of Personnel Management, 94 M.S.P.R. 212, ¶ 5 (2003). [/i][/quote]

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