OPM pushes plan to fast-track hires of former feds
Under a new rule proposed by the Office of Personnel Management, agencies would be able to offer reinstatement and higher pay grades to former federal employees who are looking to return to government after acquiring new skills.
Former feds looking to return to government service with new skills could get a break if a proposed Office of Personnel Management regulation is put into effect.
The proposed new regulations, scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Dec. 26, would allow former feds to accept noncompetitive job offers to return to federal service at pay grades that reflect their current skillsets or have higher promotion ceilings than their previous positions.
Currently, agencies are allowed to fast-track hiring of former federal employees to return to work at the pay grades they held when they departed. The rule would apply to former career employees but also to departed career-conditional employees – typically feds who left their jobs before completing three years of service.
The rule comes with a few stipulations. Feds must have received a "fully successful" performance rating in their most recent review and have been off the job for at least a year. The one-year gap " will prevent situations in which employees seeking a promotion quit and get reinstated to a higher-graded position (in essence a promotion) prior to meeting the specialized experience requirement," the document states.
Comments on the proposed rule change are due Feb. 24, 2020.