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OPM drafts new hiring rules for spouses

Some military spouses are a step closer to being able take advantage of a new quicker, noncompetitive hiring authority to get jobs in the federal government.

Moving more swiftly than usual, the Office of Personnel Management has drafted new rules to implement an executive order allowing managers in all federal agencies to hire qualified military spouses without putting them through the normal competitive hiring process.

The proposed rules will be published in the Dec. 5 Federal Register and are already available online.

President Bush signed the executive order Sept. 25, and it applies to military spouses whose service members are incapacitated or killed, as well as those relocating on permanent change-of-station orders.

The proposed regulation would be retroactive for spouses who have relocated with their service member within one year before the regulation becomes effective.

But in its current form, the regulation does not specifically address retroactivity for spouses of service members who were incapacitated or killed.

Spouses would be eligible for a noncompetitive appointment for a maximum of two years from the date of the PCS orders, or the date of documentation verifying the service member is 100 percent disabled; or the date of documentation verifying the service member was killed while on active duty, the proposed rules state.

OPM has proposed allowing a 30-day public comment period.

Spouses must be qualified for the federal positions for which they apply. But the new rule would let some federal managers hire spouses without advertising the job, depending on other hiring requirements.

This is not a hiring preference program. No federal agency is required to hire a military spouse.

The proposed regulations define those who are eligible:

• The spouse of an active-duty member who is called or ordered to active duty for more than 180 consecutive days, has been issued orders for a permanent change of station, and is authorized for dependent travel as part of the PCS orders. Active duty is defined as full-time active duty in the armed forces, including full-time National Guard duty. For members of the reserve components, active duty does not include training duties or attendance at service schools.

The spouse must have married the service member on or before the date of the PCS orders and relocated with the member to the new duty station. The spouse’s eligibility is limited to the geographic area, as specified on the PCS orders. The head of an agency may accept applications from spouses and waive that limitation if no federal agency exists in the spouse’s geographic area.

A spouse would be able to receive only one noncompetitive appointment for each PCS move.

• The spouse of a member retired from active duty with a disability rating of 100 percent as documented by the service branch; or retired, or was released or discharged from active duty and has a disability rating of 100 percent as documented by the Department of Veterans Affairs. These spouses are not subject to the geographic area limitation.

• The spouse of a service member who was killed while serving on active duty. The spouse must be the un-remarried widow or widower of the service member. These spouses are not subject to the geographic area limitation.