Issue Briefs

Agencies shall not acquire by contract with a commercial vendor services that are substantially similar to those that would have been provided by a Federal civilian in a vacancy covered by the PM. Image: Alexey Rotanov/Shutterstock.com

Following are the key portions of the guidance from OPM on the federal hiring freeze issued by the new Trump administration that addresses issues including general and special exceptions, movement and promotions of current employees and a prohibition on using contractors to fill vacated positions.


1. Purpose. This memorandum provides additional guidance regarding the freeze on the hiring of federal civilian employees as directed by the President on January 20, 2025, via Presidential Memorandum (PM) entitled “Hiring Freeze.” This guidance clarifies immediate actions to be taken by Heads of executive departments and agencies to implement the PM and provides information on the types of exemptions authorized under this hiring freeze as well as instructions on how departments and agencies can request exemptions from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for critical situations where additional exemptions may be warranted.

2. Coverage. This memorandum applies to all Executive departments and agencies regardless of the sources of their operational and programmatic funding and to all types of Federal civilian appointments, regardless of the length of the appointment, except as provided for below or otherwise provided in law. No vacant positions existing at 11:59 A.M. on January 20, 2025, may be filled and no new positions may be created, except in limited circumstances. For the purposes of this memorandum, a position is not considered vacant if an individual has been given an offer of employment prior to noon on January 20, 2025, has signed an offer letter in acceptance of the position, and has a designated start date on or before February 8, 2025. All positions that are not exempt from the hiring freeze must be unlisted from USAJOBS.gov and any other applicable websites no later than January 21. Any recruiters seeking to fill positions on behalf of the government must cease correspondence with candidates no later than January 21.

Contracting outside the Government to circumvent the intent of the PM shall not be permitted. For example, agencies shall not acquire by contract with a commercial vendor services that are substantially similar to those that would have been provided by a Federal civilian in a vacancy covered by the PM.

3. Mandatory Exemptions. For the following exemptions, hiring of veterans shall be prioritized in accordance with veterans’ preference statutes. The following exemptions to the Federal civilian hiring freeze are required:

a. Military personnel in the armed forces and all Federal uniformed personnel, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service, and the Commissioned Officer Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

b. Positions related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety.

c. The nomination and appointment of officials to positions requiring Presidential appointment or Senate confirmation, the appointment of officials to non-career positions in the Senior Executive Service or to Schedule A or C positions in the Excepted Service, the appointment of officials through temporary organization hiring authority pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3161, or the appointment of any other non-career employees or officials, if approved by agency leadership appointed by the President.

Agency heads shall consult with the OPM in determining the scope and extent of positions covered by these mandatory exemptions.

4. Other exemptions. For the following exemptions, hiring of veterans may be prioritized. In addition, the following exemptions to the Federal civilian hiring freeze are permitted:

a. Filling of positions under programs where limiting the hiring of personnel would conflict with applicable law.

b. Nomination and appointment of officials to positions requiring Presidential appointment, with or without Senate confirmation.

c. Appointment of seasonal employees and short-term temporary employees necessary to meet traditionally recurring seasonal workloads, provided that the agency informs its OMB Resource Management Office in writing in advance of its hiring plans.

d. Hiring by the U.S. Postal Service.

e. Appointments made prior to January 20, 2025, under the Pathways Internship and Presidential Management Fellows programs (this does not include the Recent Graduates program): Agencies shall review such appointments on a case by case basis. Agencies should ensure that such hires understand the provisional nature of these appointments and that retention is not guaranteed.

f. Conversions in the ordinary course to the competitive service of current agency employees serving in positions with conversion authority, such as the Veterans’ Recruitment Act (VRA).

g. Appointments made under 5 C.F.R. § 213.3102(r) (time limited positions in support of fellowship or professional/industry exchange programs) provided that the total number of individuals employed under this authority does not exceed the number of employees onboard (hired under this authority) on January 20, 2025.

h. Placement of persons with restoration rights accorded by law, such as restoration after absence with injury compensation and restoration after military duty.

i. Job offers made prior to noon on January 20, 2025, for which the individual has accepted the position and has a designated start date on or before February 8, 2025. Those individuals should report to work according to their respective designated start date.

j. Job offers made and accepted prior to January 20, 2025, but for which the individual has a confirmed start date that is later than February 8, 2025 (or does not have a confirmed start date), are revoked. If an agency head would like to renew an offer, the agency head should consider essential mission priorities, current agency resources, and funding levels when making determinations about whether to reinstate job offers. If the agency head decides to reinstate the offer, the agency head must seek written approval from OPM before proceeding to hire the employee.

k. Internal career ladder promotions.

l. Reallocations (i.e., noncompetitive reassignments and details) of current Federal civilian employees within an agency to meet the highest priority needs (including preservation of national security and other essential services) are not affected. Details (reimbursable and non-reimbursable) between agencies are also not affected; however, agency leadership should ensure that any reimbursable details between agencies are not being used to circumvent the intent of the hiring freeze.

m. Term and temporary appointments of existing Federal employees may be extended up to the maximum allowable time limit, consistent with the conditions/requirements of the legal authority originally used to appoint the employee.

n. A limited number of voluntary transfers of current SES between agencies, as necessary to secure the leadership capacity of agencies, and where needs cannot be met by reallocation of resources within an agency’s current workforce; however, filling of such vacancies is subject to OPM approval in accordance with section 5 below.

o. The head of any agency may exempt any positions that it deems necessary to:

i. Meet national security (including foreign relations) responsibilities, that are not covered by Section 3, or

ii. Meet public safety responsibilities that are not covered by Section 3 (including essential activities to the extent that they protect life and property). Agencies may refer to longstanding guidance, which provides examples of such activities in OMB Memorandum. Agency Operations in the Absence of Appropriations dated 11/17/1981 [see examples 3(a) to 3(k)].

Agency heads should consult with appropriate personnel, including the agency Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) or equivalent and agency counsel when determining what positions to exempt from the hiring freeze. Agency heads are also required to obtain the approval of the OMB Resource Management Office before seeking the approval of OPM to exempt positions using their agency head authority before implementing these exemptions. This approval must be requested and received in writing before any exemption to the hiring freeze is permitted. Note that in the case of an Inspector General’s (IG) office, the Inspector General is considered the agency head for the purposes of determining which positions in the IG office are exempt based on the definitions above, as well as for the purposes of the agency-head review of job offers in the IG office that either do not have a start date or have a designated start date beyond February 1, 2025.

5. Exemptions Granted by OPM. OPM may grant additional exemptions from the hiring freeze for critically important situations, such as ensuring the highest-quality possible provision of Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ benefits. Accordingly, if an agency head assesses that circumstances warrant additional exemptions to the hiring freeze other than those specified above, a request must be made in writing to OPM and signed by the agency head. OPM must approve the request in writing prior to moving forward. The request must:

● Explain the critical need and how it relates to essential services or critical mission requirements.

● Explain why reallocation (reassignment/detail) of existing staff within the agency is not possible to meet the needs outlined in the request.

● Explain the urgency of the need and the consequences of not filling the position within a 3 to 6 month timeline.

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