Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 70.djvu/990

 934

PUBLIC L,AW 918-AUG. 2, 1956

Public Law 918 August 2, 1956 TS. 1915]

Agriculture. Dissemination of Information.

Definitions.

I n t e r c hange of en^loyees.

Department e m ployees. Salary and l e a v e rights.

46 Stat. 468. 5 USC 691 note s. 68 Stat. 736. 5 USC 2091 note.

[70

ST A T,

CHAPTER 878

AN ACT To provide for further effectuating the Act of May 15, 1862, through the exchange of employees of the United States Department of Agriculture and employees of State political subdivisions or educational institutions.

Be it enacted by the Senate and Houm of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress hereby declares that the objectives of this Act are to aid in the dissemination of useful information on subjects connected with agriculture and to provide a means whereby the Government of the United States and the several States may better cooperate in problems arising as a result of the interrelationships of their work in the field of agriculture. SEC. 2. For the purposes of this Act, the term "Department" shall be deemed to mean United States Department of Agriculture; "Secretary" shall mean Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture; and "State" shall mean a State, county, city, municipality, land-grant college, or a college or university operated by any State or local government. SEC. 3. I n carrying out this Act, the Secretary is authorized through cooperative agreements or otherwise to provide for the interchange of employees of the Department and employees of States. The period of assignment under such an interchange arrangement shall not exceed two years. SEC. 4. Employees of the Department participating in an exchange of personnel as authorized in section 3 may be considered during such participation to be (1) on detail to a regular work assignment of the Department, or (2) in a status of leave-of-absence from their positions in the Department. Employees who are considered to be detailed shall be entitled to the same salary and benefits to which they would otherwise be entitled and shall remain employees of the Department for all other purposes except that the supervision of their duties during the period of detail may be governed by agreement between the Department and the State involved. Employees who are in a leaveof-absence status as provided herein shall be carried on leave without p a y: Provided, That they may be granted annual leave to the extent authorized by law and may be granted authorized sick leave only in circumstances considered by the Secretary to justify approval of such leave. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, such employees shall have the same rights, benefits, and obligations as employees generally who are in such leave status but notwithstanding any other provision of law such employees shall be entitled to credit the period of such assignment (1) toward periodic and longevity step-increases, and (2) upon payment into the retirement fund of the percentage of their State salary which would have been deducted from a like Federal salary for the period of such assignment, to credit such period as service within the meaning of the Civil Service Retirement Act; and they shall also be entitled to continuation of their insurance under the Federal Employee's Group Life Insurance Act of 1954, so long as the Department continues to collect the employee's contribution from the employee and to transmit for timely deposit into the employees' life insurance fund the amount of the employee's contribution, and the Government's contribution from Department appropriations. Any employee who participates in an exchange under the terms of this section who suffers disability or death as a result of personal injury arising out of and in the course of an exchange, or sustained in the performance of duties in connection therewith shall be treated, for the purposes of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, as

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