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By: FEDweek StaffThe Justice Department has not kept its personnel policies current to reflect changes in law and OPM guidance, says a report that found instances of policies out of date since as long ago as 2007.
The Justice IG noted that both it and the department itself have identified recruitment and retention as among the department’s major management challenges. It said that “dated, incomplete, and disorganized department-wide HR policies” such as those found in its review in Justice’s “Order 1200.1”—its overarching HR policy document—”exacerbate this challenge and have the potential to negatively impact the ability of DoJ components to recruit, hire, and retain a high-performing and diverse workforce.”
It found for example that the overall contains only interim policies on recruitment, retention and relocation incentive payments even though OPM finalized rules regarding them in 2007; further, a review by OPM last year of the use of those incentives in several Justice components found that the department lacked an overall strategic plan for using them.
The overall Justice policy similarly does not reflect OPM policies regarding the Pathways Program dating to 2012, changes to direct hire authority made in 2018 and 2019, it said. Meanwhile, it found several instances of policies “that appear to be current and active, yet we found superseding documentation that cancelled these policies.”
Said the auditors, “We are concerned that, due to these policy deficiencies, DOJ components may have under-utilized or lacked a full understanding of compensation and hiring flexibilities that would allow them to attract and compete for top talent. Beyond the impact on recruitment and retention, we are especially concerned that a lack of department guidance could contribute to instances of improper appointments and unfair hiring practices at certain components.”
“Accordingly, establishing complete and current HR policies at the department-level is the first step to ensuring that components comply with legal requirements and take full advantage of the human capital management tools available to them to compete for highly qualified individuals who can fulfill the DoJ mission,” it said.
Justice Department management agreed with the IG’s recommendations.
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