Fed Hiring Freeze

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DHS employee here, just got guidance that the freeze only applies to positions that opened on 1/22 or later, so good news for all you guys with pending offers

That's great! And sensible.

[Anonymous]

Is this for real? Has anyone heard from DOJ or OPM, with regard to any other agencies? Are people with tentative offers safe?

[Anonymous]

pending background checks, with tentative offers, and no official start date yet?

[Anonymous]

NIH is asking for exemption for many people with TO's, nobody knows whether that will get accepted. I don't think people with TO's are safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:pending background checks, with tentative offers, and no official start date yet?

Why ask on here? Are you really going to rely on an answer you find on the internet? Why not call your HR person - I assume they are getting guidance that's more official than the speculation here.

[Anonymous]

Just hoping someone in similar situation might have heard something before bugging HR. I thought HR might not know yet

[Anonymous]

I have been bugging HR and they don't know yet. So internet speculation is all I have...

[Anonymous]

...and, maybe if someone hears we at least know they have figured it out and can start bugging people, or maybe have a little peace of mind.

[Anonymous]

I have a Final offer to start on 2/6/2017 , HR mentioned no change on it . They did mention that they are still waiting for updates from higher ups and update if needed but as of now no change on the offer.

[Anonymous]

I'm in this position. Accepted verbal offer on the 18th, sent in all paperwork that day, got my fingerprints taken yesterday morning. I feel sick about this. I called HR yesterday, but they didn't have answers. I've been waiting for a call from them all morning. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here you go - I don't know what it means if were selected before 22 Jan. Sorry guys, I know that make it harder for people who are seeking employment.

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
January 23, 2017
Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Hiring Freeze
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Hiring Freeze
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order a freeze on the hiring of Federal civilian employees to be applied across the board in the executive branch. As part of this freeze, no vacant positions existing at noon on January 22, 2017, may be filled and no new positions may be created, except in limited circumstances. This order does not include or apply to military personnel. The head of any executive department or agency may exempt from the hiring freeze any positions that it deems necessary to meet national security or public safety responsibilities. In addition, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may grant exemptions from this freeze where those exemptions are otherwise necessary.
Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with the Director of OPM, shall recommend a long-term plan to reduce the size of the Federal Government's workforce through attrition. This order shall expire upon implementation of the OMB plan.
Contracting outside the Government to circumvent the intent of this memorandum shall not be permitted.
This hiring freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies regardless of the sources of their operational and programmatic funding, excepting military personnel.
In carrying out this memorandum, I ask that you seek efficient use of existing personnel and funds to improve public services and the delivery of these services. Accordingly, this memorandum does not prohibit making reallocations to meet the highest priority needs and to ensure that essential services are not interrupted and national security is not affected.
This memorandum does not limit 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 C positions in the Excepted Service, or the appointment of any other officials who serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. Moreover, it does not limit the hiring of personnel where such a limit would conflict with applicable law. This memorandum does not revoke any appointment to Federal service made prior to January 22, 2017.
This memorandum does not abrogate any collective bargaining agreement in effect on the date of this memorandum

That's the key word for people already inside. The letter itself is not as bad as I thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here you go - I don't know what it means if were selected before 22 Jan. Sorry guys, I know that make it harder for people who are seeking employment.

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
January 23, 2017
Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Hiring Freeze
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Hiring Freeze
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order a freeze on the hiring of Federal civilian employees to be applied across the board in the executive branch. As part of this freeze, no vacant positions existing at noon on January 22, 2017, may be filled and no new positions may be created, except in limited circumstances. This order does not include or apply to military personnel. The head of any executive department or agency may exempt from the hiring freeze any positions that it deems necessary to meet national security or public safety responsibilities. In addition, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may grant exemptions from this freeze where those exemptions are otherwise necessary.
Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with the Director of OPM, shall recommend a long-term plan to reduce the size of the Federal Government's workforce through attrition. This order shall expire upon implementation of the OMB plan.
Contracting outside the Government to circumvent the intent of this memorandum shall not be permitted.
This hiring freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies regardless of the sources of their operational and programmatic funding, excepting military personnel.
In carrying out this memorandum, I ask that you seek efficient use of existing personnel and funds to improve public services and the delivery of these services. Accordingly, this memorandum does not prohibit making reallocations to meet the highest priority needs and to ensure that essential services are not interrupted and national security is not affected.
This memorandum does not limit 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 C positions in the Excepted Service, or the appointment of any other officials who serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. Moreover, it does not limit the hiring of personnel where such a limit would conflict with applicable law. This memorandum does not revoke any appointment to Federal service made prior to January 22, 2017.
This memorandum does not abrogate any collective bargaining agreement in effect on the date of this memorandum

That's the key word for people already inside. The letter itself is not as bad as I thought.

So retirement packages? Or more aggressively pushing people out? Or both?

[Anonymous]

This is the part I wonder about, "This memorandum does not revoke any appointment to Federal service made prior to January 22, 2017." Could it mean that an offer before the 22 can be honored?

At first I assumed that referred to appointees (i.e. political appointees) but those were discussed in an earlier paragraph. So is the sentence I quoted up to interpretation by each agency?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the part I wonder about, "This memorandum does not revoke any appointment to Federal service made prior to January 22, 2017." Could it mean that an offer before the 22 can be honored?

At first I assumed that referred to appointees (i.e. political appointees) but those were discussed in an earlier paragraph. So is the sentence I quoted up to interpretation by each agency?

I focused on another area of it:
As part of this freeze, no vacant positions existing at noon on January 22, 2017, may be filled

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the part I wonder about, "This memorandum does not revoke any appointment to Federal service made prior to January 22, 2017." Could it mean that an offer before the 22 can be honored?

At first I assumed that referred to appointees (i.e. political appointees) but those were discussed in an earlier paragraph. So is the sentence I quoted up to interpretation by each agency?

I focused on another area of it:
As part of this freeze, no vacant positions existing at noon on January 22, 2017, may be filled

If appointment is made, it's no longer vacant. If you got an offer before 1/22, you are good to go.