OPM has made a renewed push for use of a special authority to hire military spouses into federal jobs, highlighting the issue at the recent annual public meeting of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council.
A series of laws and executive orders, most recently an order issued last year, create a special hiring authority designed to help spouses of members of the armed services overcome the disadvantages to their careers related to frequent moves, which can make it difficult for them to find new employment reflecting their education and experience—if any employment at all.
The authority allows agencies to recruit and noncompetitively appoint into temporary, term or permanent positions that otherwise would require competition, although it does not establish selection priority. Those hired are converted to competitive service status after completing a probationary period.
“I want to stress the high priority that the Trump administration places on hiring military spouses and I want the council to have a better understanding of what these spouses sacrifice so their significant other can serve our country,” OPM director Dale Cabaniss said in a statement.
New guidance on use of the authority is upcoming on the authority, which also applies to the spouse of a 100 percent disabled member of the armed forces and to the spouse of a deceased member of the armed forces.
