ROBERT E. HAMPTON PAPERS, 1960-77

President John F. Kennedy appointed Robert Hampton to the U.S. Civil Service Commission (CSC) in 1961. In 1969, Hampton accepted President Richard M. Nixon's appointment as CSC Chairman, a post he held until he left the Commission in 1977.

The CSC was the federal agency with a primary responsibility for the human resources of government. The Commission handled federal personnel management issues such as hiring procedures, training, labor-management relations, equal employment opportunity, status and tenure, job classifications, life and health insurance, awards, and retirement. In a 1979 reorganization, the Office of Personnel Management replaced the CSC as the agency handling these matters.

Hampton also served as a member of the Federal Labor Relations Council (FLRC), 1969-76. The FLRC is made up of the Chairman of the CSC, the Secretary of Labor, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. It oversees the labor-management relations program of the federal government by entertaining appeals of certain labor dispute decisions, deciding policy issues, drafting regulations, and making recommendations to the President.

During his government service, Hampton was also quite active in the National Academy of Public Administrators (NAPA). NAPA is a group of scholars and practitioners committed to furthering the understanding of administrative problems and improving the quality of public administration.

The Hampton papers document some aspects of his government service more completely than others. His materials on the work of the Civil Service Commission appear less complete than those on the FLRC.

Hampton's CSC materials contain little relating to high-level policy making or day-to-day operations. The small Subject File contains much that is personal in nature (e.g. congratulatory letters received upon his appointment or materials on his involvement in the National Academy of Public Administration). Other series contain speeches, telephone logs, and appointment calendars. It appears likely that Hampton left the bulk of his CSC materials with the Commission in 1977 and, for the most part, removed only types of documents that most agencies determine to be "personal." The collection does contain general statements about the CSC's goals and objectives in Hampton's speeches and subject files on a small number of issues such as equal employment opportunity and the establishment of a Federal Executive Service.

Hampton's papers documenting federal labor-management relations, especially the FLRC, appear much more complete. A subject file concerns individual cases, executive orders, FLRC administration and personnel, the Federal Service Impasses Panel, and speeches by the FLRC staff. A series of case files on FLRC meetings contain briefing papers and minutes concerning both specific labor- management disputes and periodic policy discussion.

Related Materials (June 1989)
The White House Central Files Subject File includes related materials in such categories as FG 261 (Federal Labor Relations Council), FG 229 (Civil Service Commission), and PE (Personnel Management in the Federal Government).

The Domestic Council files of David Lissy contain materials on labor issues and on the civil service.