The Office of Personnel Management has published a proposed rule change in the Federal Register intended to make it easier for federal agencies to rehire former federal employees.
OPM says that the proposed regulatory change would “give agencies the discretion to reinstate certain former Federal employees without competition to positions at any grade level for which the individual is qualified.”
OPM also said that it will give agencies the benefit of rehiring individuals who have gained new knowledge or skills in the time they were away from the federal workforce.
OPM wrote in the details of the proposal:
The proposed rules allow an agency to reinstate a former career or career-conditional employee without competition, and regardless of the promotion potential, to a position at a grade level higher than that previously held by that individual to provide greater flexibility to agencies when they need to reinstate a former Federal employee. The proposed changes will benefit both agencies as well as individuals seeking to reenter the Federal workforce as the proposed rules seeks to encourage individuals who have gained additional skills and experiences to reenter the Federal workforce at grade levels equal to the grade levels they actually qualify for, not for grade levels they previously qualified for.
Comments on the proposal must be received on or before February 24, 2020.
