26 U.S.C. § 7471 — Employees

(a) Appointment and compensation
(1) Clerk: The Tax Court^* may appoint a clerk without following title 5 of the United States Code’s rules for appointments in the competitive service. The clerk serves at the pleasure of the Tax Court.
(2) Judge-appointed employees:
(A) In general: The Tax Court’s judges and special trial judges may appoint as many employees as the Tax Court approves, without following title 5’s rules for appointments in the competitive service. Each employee^* serves at the pleasure of the judge who appointed the employee.
(B) Exemption from Federal leave provisions: A law clerk appointed under this subsection is exempt from subchapter I of chapter 63 of title 5. Any unused sick leave or annual leave credited to the law clerk on the day this subsection takes effect remains credited to the law clerk and is available to the law clerk when the law clerk separates from the Federal Government.
(3) Other employees: The Tax Court may appoint necessary employees without following title 5’s rules for appointments in the competitive service. The Tax Court may remove those employees.
(4) Pay: The Tax Court may set and adjust the compensation of its clerk and other employees without following chapter 51, subchapter III of chapter 53, or section 5373 of title 5. To the greatest extent feasible, the Tax Court must pay employees at rates consistent with rates for employees in comparable positions in courts established under Article III of the Constitution.
(5) Programs: The Tax Court may establish programs for employee evaluations, incentive awards, flexible work schedules, premium pay, and resolving employee grievances.
(6) Discrimination prohibited: The Tax Court must—
(A) prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, political affiliation, marital status, or handicapping condition; and
(B) issue procedures for resolving discrimination complaints by employees and applicants for employment.
(7) Experts and consultants: The Tax Court may obtain the services of experts and consultants under section 3109 of title 5.
(8) Rights to certain appeals reserved: Despite any other law, an individual who was a Tax Court employee on the day before this subsection took effect and who, on that day, was entitled to any of the following may continue to file the appeal or make the allegation as long as the individual remains a Tax Court employee:
(A) an appeal of a reduction in grade or removal to the Merit Systems Protection Board under chapter 43 of title 5;
(B) an appeal of an adverse action to the Merit Systems Protection Board under chapter 75 of title 5;
(C) an appeal of a prohibited personnel practice described in section 2302(b) of title 5 to the Merit Systems Protection Board under chapter 77 of title 5;
(D) an allegation of a prohibited personnel practice described in section 2302(b) of title 5 to the Office of Special Counsel under chapter 12 of title 5, for action under that chapter; or
(E) an appeal to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under part 1614 of title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(9) Competitive status: Despite any other law, a Tax Court employee who has completed at least one year of continuous service under a non-temporary appointment with the Tax Court gains competitive status for appointment to any position in the competitive service for which the employee has the required qualifications.
(10) Merit system principles, prohibited personnel practices, and preference eligibles: The Tax Court’s personnel management system must—
(A) include the principles in section 2301(b) of title 5;
(B) prohibit personnel practices prohibited under section 2302(b) of title 5; and
(C) for an individual who would be preference eligible in the executive branch, provide preference for that individual in a way and to an extent consistent with the preference given to preference eligibles in the executive branch.

(b) Expenses for travel and subsistence: Tax Court employees must receive their necessary travel expenses and their subsistence expenses while traveling on duty and away from their designated stations, as provided in chapter 57 of title 5.

(c) Special trial judges: For the compensation and travel and subsistence allowances of special trial judges of the Tax Court, see section 7443A(d) and (e).