The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
December 27, 2010
EXECUTIVE ORDER
RECRUITING AND HIRING STUDENTS
AND RECENT GRADUATES
By the authority vested in me as
President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America,
including sections 3301 and 3302 of title 5, United States Code, it is hereby
ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy.
The Federal Government benefits from a diverse workforce that includes students
and recent graduates, who infuse the workplace with their enthusiasm, talents,
and unique perspectives. The existing competitive hiring process for the
Federal civil service, however, is structured in a manner that, even at the
entry level, favors job applicants who have significant previous work
experience. This structure, along with the complexity of the rules
governing admission to the career civil service, creates a barrier to recruiting
and hiring students and recent graduates. It places the Federal Government
at a competitive disadvantage compared to private-sector employers when it comes
to hiring qualified applicants for entry-level positions.
To compete effectively for
students and recent graduates, the Federal Government must improve its
recruiting efforts; offer clear paths to Federal internships for students from
high school through post-graduate school; offer clear paths to civil service
careers for recent graduates; and provide meaningful training, mentoring, and
career-development opportunities. Further, exposing students and recent
graduates to Federal jobs through internships and similar programs attracts them
to careers in the Federal Government and enables agency employers to evaluate
them on the job to determine whether they are likely to have successful careers
in Government.
Accordingly, pursuant to my
authority under 5 U.S.C. 3302(1), and in order to achieve a workforce that
represents all segments of society as provided in 5 U.S.C. 2301(b)(1), I find
that conditions of good administration (specifically, the need to promote
employment opportunities for students and recent graduates in the Federal
workforce) make necessary an exception to the competitive hiring rules for
certain positions in the Federal civil service.
Sec. 2. Establishment.
There are hereby established the Internship Program and the Recent Graduates
Program, which, along with the Presidential Management Fellows Program, as
modified herein, shall collectively be known as the Pathways Programs. I
therefore direct the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to
issue regulations implementing the Pathways Programs consistent with this order,
including:
(a) a description of the
positions that executive departments and agencies (agencies) may fill through
the Pathways Programs because conditions of good administration necessitate
excepting those positions from the competitive hiring rules;
(b) rules governing
whether, to what extent, and in what manner public notice should be provided of
job opportunities in the Pathways Programs;
(c) a description of
career-development, training, and mentorship opportunities for participants in
the Pathways Programs;
(d) requirements that
managers meaningfully assess the performance of participants in the Pathways
Programs to identify those who should be considered for conversion to career
civil service positions;
(e) a description of OPM
oversight of agency use of the Pathways Programs to ensure that (i) they serve
as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the competitive hiring process,
and (ii) agencies are using the Pathways Programs in a genuine effort to develop
talent for careers in the civil service;
(f) a description of OPM
plans to evaluate agencies' effectiveness in recruiting and retaining talent
using the Pathways Programs and of the satisfaction of Pathways Programs
participants and their hiring managers; and
(g) standard naming
conventions across agencies, so that students and recent graduates can clearly
understand and compare the career pathway opportunities available to them in the
Federal Government.
Sec. 3. Internship
Program. The Internship Program shall provide students in high schools,
community colleges, 4-year colleges, trade schools, career and technical
education programs, and other qualifying educational institutions and programs,
as determined by OPM, with paid opportunities to work in agencies and explore
Federal careers while still in school. The Internship Program would
replace the existing Student Career Experience Program, established pursuant to
Executive Order 12015 of October 26, 1977. The following principles and
policies shall govern the Internship Program:
(a) Participants in the
program shall be referred to as "Interns" and shall be students enrolled, or
accepted for enrollment, in qualifying educational institutions and programs, as
determined by OPM.
(b) Subject to any
exceptions OPM may establish by regulation, agencies shall provide Interns with
meaningful developmental work and set clear expectations regarding the work
experience of the intern.
(c) Students employed by
third-party internship providers but placed in agencies may, to the extent
permitted by OPM regulations, be treated as participants in the Internship
Program.
Sec. 4. Recent Graduates
Program. The Recent Graduates Program shall provide individuals who have
recently graduated from qualifying educational institutions or programs with
developmental experiences in the Federal Government intended to promote possible
careers in the civil service. The following principles and policies shall
govern the Recent Graduates Program:
(a) Participants in the
program shall be referred to as "Recent Graduates" and must have obtained a
qualifying degree, or completed a qualifying career or technical education
program, as determined by OPM, within the preceding 2 years, except that
veterans who, due to their military service obligation, were precluded from
participating in the Recent Graduates Program during the 2-year period after
obtaining a qualifying degree or completing a qualifying program shall be
eligible to participate in the Program within 6 years of obtaining a qualifying
degree or completing a qualifying program.
(b) Responsibilities
assigned to a Recent Graduate shall be consistent with his or her
qualifications, educational background, and career interests, the purpose of the
Recent Graduates Program, and agency needs.
Sec. 5. Presidential
Management Fellows Program. The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF)
Program is an existing program established pursuant to Executive Order 13318 of
November 21, 2003, that aims to attract to the Federal service outstanding men
and women from a variety of academic disciplines at the graduate level who have
a clear interest in, and commitment to, the leadership and management of public
policies and programs. The following requirements shall govern the PMF
Program upon the revocation of Executive Order 13318, as provided in section 8
of this order:
(a) Participants in this
program shall continue to be known as Presidential Management Fellows (PMFs or
Fellows) and must have received, within the preceding 2 years, a qualifying
advanced degree, as determined by OPM.
(b) Responsibilities
assigned to a PMF shall be consistent with the PMF's qualifications, educational
background, and career interests, the purposes of the PMF Program, and agency
needs.
(c) OPM shall establish
the eligibility requirements and minimum qualifications for the program, as well
as a process for assessing eligible individuals for consideration for
appointment as PMFs.
Sec. 6. Appointment and
Conversion. (a) Appointments to any of the Pathways Programs shall
be under Schedule D of the excepted service, as established by section 7 of this
order.
(b) Appointments to the
Recent Graduates or PMF Programs shall not exceed 2 years, unless extended by
the employing agency for up to 120 days thereafter.
(c) Appointment to a
Pathways Program shall confer no right to further Federal employment in either
the competitive or excepted service upon the expiration of the appointment,
except that agencies may convert eligible participants noncompetitively to term,
career, or career conditional appointments after satisfying requirements to be
established by OPM, and agencies may noncompetitively convert participants who
were initially converted to a term appointment under this section to a career or
career-conditional appointment before the term appointment expires.
Sec. 7. Implementation.
(a) Civil Service Rule VI is amended as follows:
(i) 5 CFR 6.1(a) is
amended to read:
OPM may except positions from the competitive
service when it determines that (A) appointments thereto through competitive
examination are not practicable, or (B) recruitment from among students
attending qualifying educational institutions or individuals who have recently
completed qualifying educational programs can better be achieved by devising
additional means for recruiting and assessing candidates that diverge from the
processes generally applicable to the competitive service. These positions
shall be listed in OPM's annual report for the fiscal year in which the
exceptions are made.
(ii) 5 CFR 6.2 is amended to read:
OPM shall list positions that it excepts from
the competitive service in Schedules A, B, C, and D, which schedules shall
constitute parts of this rule, as follows:
Schedule A. Positions other than those of
a confidential or policy-determining character for which it is not practicable
to examine shall be listed in Schedule A.
Schedule B. Positions other than those of
a confidential or policy-determining character for which it is not practicable
to hold a competitive examination shall be listed in Schedule B.
Appointments to these positions shall be subject to such noncompetitive
examination as may be prescribed by OPM.
Schedule C. Positions of a confidential
or policy-determining character shall be listed in Schedule C.
Schedule D. Positions other than those of
a confidential or policy-determining character for which the competitive service
requirements make impracticable the adequate recruitment of sufficient numbers
of students attending qualifying educational institutions or individuals who
have recently completed qualifying educational programs. These positions,
which are temporarily placed in the excepted service to enable more effective
recruitment from all segments of society by using means of recruiting and
assessing candidates that diverge from the rules generally applicable to the
competitive service, shall be listed in Schedule D.
(iii) The first sentence of 5 CFR 6.4 is
amended to read:
Except as may be required by statute, the Civil
Service Rules and Regulations shall not apply to removals from positions listed
in Schedules A, C, or D or from positions excepted from the competitive service
by statute.
The second sentence of 5 CFR 6.4 is to remain
unchanged.
(iv) The first sentence of 5 CFR 6.6 is amended
to read:
OPM may remove any position from or may revoke
in whole or in part any provision of Schedule A, B, C, or D.
The second sentence of 5 CFR 6.6 is to remain
unchanged.
(b) The Director of OPM
shall:
(i) promulgate such
regulations as the Director determines may be necessary to implement this order;
(ii) provide oversight of the Pathways
Programs;
(iii) establish, if appropriate, a
Government-wide cap on the number of noncompetitive conversions to the
competitive service of Interns, Recent Graduates, or PMFs (or a Government-wide
combined conversion cap applicable to all three categories together);
(iv) administer, and review and revise annually
or as needed, any Government-wide cap established pursuant to this subsection;
(v) provide guidance on conducting an orderly
transition from existing student and internship programs to the Pathways
Programs established pursuant to this order; and
(vi) consider for publication in the Federal
Register at an appropriate time a proposed rule seeking public comment on the
elimination of the Student Temporary Employment Program, established through OPM
regulations at 5 CFR 213.3202(a).
(c) In accordance with
regulations prescribed pursuant to this order and applicable law, agencies
shall:
(i) use appropriate
merit-based procedures for recruitment, assessment, placement, and ongoing
career development for participants in the Pathways Programs;
(ii) provide for equal employment opportunity
in the Pathways Programs without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion,
sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or any other non
merit-based factor;
(iii) apply veterans' preference criteria; and
(iv) within 45 days of the date of this order,
designate a Pathways Programs Officer (at the agency level, or at bureaus or
components within the agency) to administer Pathways Programs, to serve as
liaison with OPM, and to report to OPM on the implementation of the Pathways
Programs and the individuals hired under them.
Sec. 8. Prior Executive
Orders. (a) Effective March 1, 2011, Executive Order 13162 (Federal
Career Intern Program) is superseded and revoked. Any individuals serving
in appointments under that order on March 1, 2011, shall be converted to the
competitive service, effective on that date, with no loss of pay or benefits.
(b) On the effective date
of final regulations promulgated by the Director of OPM to implement the
Internship Program, Executive Order 12015 (pursuant to which the Student Career
Experience Program was established), as amended, is superseded and revoked.
(c) On the effective date
of final regulations promulgated by the Director of OPM to implement changes to
the PMF Program required by this order, Executive Order 13318 (Presidential
Management Fellows Program), as amended, is superseded and revoked.
Sec. 9. General
Provisions. (a) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(b) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by
law, regulation, Executive Order, or Presidential Directive to an executive
department, agency, or head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative
proposals.
(c) This order is not
intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United
States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
BARACK OBAMA
THE WHITE HOUSE, December 27,
2010.