Chaffetz Warns Agencies Not to Hasten Hiring

Last week, Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter to agency heads, stating the anticipated hiring freeze did not entitle them to accelerate the hiring process to fill current openings. 

The letter cited a report from the Washington Post and data from the USAJOBS site, and asked for agency heads to provide the committee with a list of all job openings, GS-13 or higher since the election, and include:

• the job announcement, including name and grade of the position

• the description of the position, including any necessary skills and qualifications

• the number of applicants

• whether the position was a competitive service position, and if so, the number of individuals that were on the certification list for each such position

• the date of hire

“The accelerated hiring timelines create the appearance that some federal agencies are pushing to fill as many slots as possible without regard for identifying and hiring the most qualified applicants,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, on the Senate side, at least one Republican, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) has implored the incoming administration to reconsider their initial plans for a hiring freeze in some agencies. In a letter penned by Collins and fellow Maine Senator Angus King (I-ME), it was suggested the exception to the hiring freeze be extended to mission-critical employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs.