Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work has issued a memorandum that lifts all restrictions on civilian hiring across the Defense Department and instructed all DoD officials to carefully examine recruitment activities, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday.
Jared Serbu writes Work noted the Feb. 1 guidance on civilian hiring freeze exemptions is no longer in effect and that senior department leaders should follow the Office of Management and Budget‘s new hiring guidelines.
The White House lifted the federal hiring freeze in April after OMB released a set of recommendations to downsize the federal workforce.
Work also identified three factors department officials need to consider when they consider to fill job vacancies such as whether the position includes duties that meet mission requirements or can be transferred to lower levels of an organization with lower pay and can adapt any appropriate changes, according to the report.
He also urged DoD managers to use temporary employees to fill urgent recruitment needs and restrict hiring within the Senior Executive Service to meet a provision in the 2017 defense authorization bill that requires department to cut SES positions by 25 percent through 2022, the report stated.
