5 U.S.C. § 7501 - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 5. Government Organization and Employees § 7501. Definitions

(1) “employee” means an individual in the competitive service who is not serving a probationary or trial period under an initial appointment or who has completed 1 year of current continuous employment in the same or similar positions under other than a temporary appointment limited to 1 year or less; and

(2) “suspension” means the placing of an employee, for disciplinary reasons, in a temporary status without duties and pay.