---
kind: "section"
citation: "5 U.S.C. § 3316"
title: "5"
title_heading: "Government Organization and Employees"
number: "3316"
heading: "Preference eligibles; reinstatement"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/5/3316"
units:
  - "Part III — Employees"
  - "Subpart B — Employment and Retention"
  - "Chapter 33 — Examination, Selection, and Placement"
  - "Subchapter I — Examination, Certification, and Appointment"
---

# §3316. Preference eligibles; reinstatement


On request of an [appointing authority](/usc/5/9201.md?p=2), a preference [eligible](/usc/5/4701.md?p=a-3) who has resigned or who has been dismissed or furloughed may be certified for, and appointed to, a [position](/usc/5/5102.md?p=a-3) for which he is [eligible](/usc/5/4701.md?p=a-3) in the competitive [service](/usc/5/8401.md?p=26), an [Executive agency](/usc/5/6501.md?p=2), or the [government](/usc/5/4101.md?p=3) of the District of Columbia.


## Source credit

(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 421.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Derivation | U.S. Code | Revised Statutes and<br>Statutes at Large |
|  | 5 U.S.C. 862. | June 27, 1944, ch. 287, § 13, 58 Stat. 390. |

The word “authority” is substituted for “officer” in recognition of the several appointing authorities named in section 2105(a)(1).

The words “in the competitive service, an Executive agency, or the government of the District of Columbia” are substituted for “in the civil service, Federal, or District of Columbia, or in any establishment, agency, bureau, administration, project, or department, temporary or permanent” on authority of former section 869.

Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.