Reading Room Document

Authority to Employ the Services of White House Office Employees During an Appropriations Lapse

The Antideficiency Act permits the White House Office to employ personnel during an appropriations lapse for functions that are excepted from the Act's general prohibition: functions relating to emergencies involving an imminent threat to the safety of human life or protection of property; other functions as to which express statutory authority to incur obligations in advance of appropriations has been granted; those functions for which such authority arises by necessary implication; and certain functions necessary to the discharge of the President's constitutional duties and powers. Such personnel may not be paid, however, until appropriations are enacted. The President may use his authority under 3 U.S.C. § 105 to create and fill nonsalaried positions in the White House Office during an appropriations lapse, but nonsalaried employees cannot receive an obligation of payment for the services they perform in that capacity. White House Office employees appointed under 3 U.S.C. § 105 may waive their compensation, and if they do so, their services may be accepted during an appropriations lapse. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/20191/download.

September 13, 1995