{"data":{"id":"us/5-u.s.c.-5561","jurisdiction":"us","citation":"5 U.S.C. § 5561","heading":"Definitions","body":"For the purpose of this subchapter—(1) “agency” means an Executive agency and a military department; (2) “employee” means an employee in or under an agency who is a citizen or national of the United States or an alien admitted to the United States for permanent residence, but does not include a part-time or intermittent employee or native labor casually hired on an hourly or daily basis. However, such an employee who enters a status listed in paragraph (5)(A)–(E) of this section—(A) inside the continental United States; or (B) who is a resident at or in the vicinity of his place of employment in a territory or possession of the United States or in a foreign country and who was not living there solely as a result of his employment; is an employee for the purpose of this subchapter only on a determination by the head of the agency concerned that this status is the proximate result of employment by the agency; (3) “dependent” means—(A) a wife; (B) an unmarried child (including an unmarried dependent stepchild or adopted child) under 21 years of age; (C) a dependent mother or father; (D) a dependent designated in official rec­ords; and (E) an individual determined to be dependent by the head of the agency concerned or his designee; (4) “active service” means active Federal service by an employee; (5) “missing status” means the status of an employee who is in active service and is officially carried or determined to be absent in a status of—(A) missing; (B) missing in action; (C) interned in a foreign country; (D) captured, beleaguered, or besieged by a hostile force; or (E) detained in a foreign country against his will; but does not include the status of an employee for a period during which he is officially determined to be absent from his post of duty without authority; and (6) “pay and allowances” means—(A) basic pay; (B) special pay; (C) incentive pay; (D) basic allowance for housing; (E) basic allowance for subsistence; and (F) station per diem allowances for not more than 90 days.","path":["Title 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES","CHAPTER 55—PAY ADMINISTRATION"],"source_url":"https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/103/xml_usc05@119-103.zip","current_through":"Public Law 119-103 (09/02/2026)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-10T05:55:42Z","sha256":"1e8a8cbffc0efe6a15cc6e53256c7497b0bd930f346f4a124b0ab47437452d6d","source_id":"us","stale":false,"prev":"us/5-u.s.c.-5553","next":"us/5-u.s.c.-5562"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}