way to get around the hiring freeze, though they are permitted to use contractors within their normal budgetary guidelines.
5. On January 25, 2017, Mark Sandy, acting director of the OMB issued the following initial guidance for those who have received a job offer: If you accepted a position, and have a start date prior to 22 February, you should show up on your start date. If you have accepted a position, but haven’t received a start date / your start date is after 22 February, your agency head will determine whether to revoke the appointment or not (if you haven’t received any details, get in touch with your HR contact).
6. The hiring freeze will expire once the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) implements their attrition plan. The OMB is responsible for developing a plan alongside the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to shrink the federal government through attrition, meaning that when vacancies occur as a result of someone leaving a position, that position is not filled.
What positions are exempt from the hiring freeze?
Under the memorandum, the head of an executive department or agency may create exemptions for positions they identify as necessary to “national security or public safety responsibilities.” The Director of Personnel Management may also grant exemptions.
Additionally, some “positions requiring Presidential appointment or Senate confirmation, the appointment of officials to non-career positions in the Senior Executive Service or to Schedule C positions in the Excepted Service, or the appointment of any other officials who serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority” are not impacted by the hiring freeze.
A brief list of positions that are exempt from the freeze as of 15 February 2017 includes:
-Positions that directly provide inpatient care as well as acute, emergency outpatient care in DOD Medical Treatment Facilities
-Positions that meet national security or public safety responsibilities (e.g. cybersecurity, positions that impact military exercises and missions, first responders, nuclear security and bio security)
-Appointment of seasonal and short-term employees to meet traditional seasonal workloads (as long as the agency gets the OMB’s written permission in advance)
-Hiring by the US Postal Service
-Federal civilian personnel hires made by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the CIA
-Appointments made under the Pathways Internship and Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Programs (though hires