Following the assassination of President James A. Garfield in 1881 by a disappointed office seeker, the U.S. Congress passed the Pendleton Act of January 16, 1883. The act established a Civil Service Commission to conduct examinations and rule out political interference in civil service appointments and removals. The Hatch Act of 1939 limited the political activities of federal employees and was intended to prevent them from using their power in order to bribe or intimidate voters. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 regularized labor-management relations, increased transfer opportunities for senior officers, and abolished the Civil Service Commission. Replacing the commission were the Office of Personnel Management and the Merit Systems Protection Board.