The Senate has passed S-1580, designed to speed up the process of filling federal vacancies by allowing agencies to review and select job candidates from other agencies’ “best qualified” lists of applicants, rather than having to rely on building their own lists.
The bill is meant to cut down on duplication for applicants who have already undergone a competitive assessment process and are certified as eligible for selection. Currently, agencies that have similar hiring needs cannot share applicant information with one another.
The bill has support from federal employee and management organizations, as well as from outside groups including the Partnership for Public Service.
It now moves to the House, where similar legislation (HR-2827) is pending.
