Agencies must seek OPM approval prior to hiring any current or former political appointee into a permanent non-political civil service position. Image: Mark Van Scyoc/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffOPM has sent a reminder to agencies on the limits on hiring former political appointees—so-called “burrowing in”—into career federal jobs, stressing that such placements are subject to OPM approval.
Although the numbers are small in the context of the federal workforce, burrowing in is a long-running issue both because of the loss of job opportunities for career employees and the potential for politicization in the workplace.
“This memorandum is a reminder of agency responsibilities related to these cases, including the importance of identifying cases and submitting documentation promptly to OPM prior to appointment. Additionally, pre-appointment checklists have been streamlined for ease of use in case submission. Lastly, to expedite our reviews, we are asking that agencies provide us access to the case in the automated staffing system within two business days of our request once a case is assigned,” it says.
“As part of this process, it is critical for your agency to identify applicants who are current or former political appointees. If not already doing so, we recommend your agency add a question applicants must answer that asks if they have held a political appointment with the federal government in the last five years and if so, to identify the position held, the employing agency/organization, and the dates of the appointment,” it says.
Agencies must seek OPM approval prior to hiring any current or former political appointee into a permanent non-political civil service position, including time-limited appointments that would allow for non-competitive conversion to a permanent appointment. A former or recent political appointee is someone who held a political appointment covered by OPM’s policy within the previous five years.
That applies to positions including current or former political appointees under the Executive Schedule, Schedule A, Schedule C, noncareer SES, and agency-specific authorities, and into positions filled both through standard competition and through alternative means such as direct hire authority.
In a separate memo on chcoc.gov, OPM called attention to provisions of the wrapup spending bill enacted in late December barring political appointees from receiving the raise effective with the start of this month.
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See also,
The Process of Retiring: Last-Minute Changes
The Process of Retiring: Check Your Agency’s Work
