Federal Hiring Process Improvement Act of 2010

Bill: 111-s-736
Sponsor: Sen. Akaka, Daniel K. [D-HI]
Introduced: 2009-03-30 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Performance measurement

Summary:
action_date: 2009-03-30
text: 
Federal Hiring Process Improvement Act of 2009 - Requires the head of each executive agency to develop a strategic workforce plan as part of the agency performance plan, including: (1) hiring projections; (2) strategic human capital planning to address critical skills deficiencies; (3) recruitment strategies to attract highly qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds; and (4) streamlining the hiring process. Requires each agency strategic workforce plan to be submitted to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
 
Requires: (1) the agency head to target highly qualified applicant pools with diverse backgrounds before posting job announcements and to clearly and prominently display job announcements in strategic locations; and (2) all federal job announcements for competitive positions to be written in plain writing.
 
Directs the agency head to develop: (1) processes that allow applicants to submit a cover letter, resume, and answers to brief questions to complete an application and that do not require lengthy writing requirements such as knowledge, skills, and ability essays as part of an initial application; (2) mechanisms under which each applicant shall receive timely notification of, or be provided the ability to check, application status ; and (3) a plan that requires the agency to fill identified vacancies within 80 calendar days.
 
Requires: (1) OPM to establish and keep current a comprehensive inventory of individuals seeking employment in the federal government; and (2) each agency to measure the effectiveness of recruiting and hiring.

action_date: 2010-05-18
text: 
Federal Hiring Process Improvement Act of 2010 - (Sec. 3) Requires the head of each executive agency (excluding the Government Accountability Office [GAO]) to develop a strategic workforce plan as part of the agency performance plan, to include: (1) hiring projections; (2) strategic human capital planning to address critical skills deficiencies; (3) recruitment strategies to attract highly qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds; (4) streamlining the hiring process; and (5) a specific analysis of the contractor workforce, the need to adjust the balance between work being performed by the federal workforce and the contractor workforce, and the capacity of the agency to manage employees who are not federal employees and are doing the work of the government. 
 
Requires: (1) each agency strategic workforce plan to be submitted to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM); and (2) OPM to develop a government-wide strategic workforce plan based on such agency plans, update it annually, and make it available to the President, Congress, and the public.
 
(Sec. 4) Requires the agency head to: (1) target highly qualified applicant pools with diverse backgrounds; (2) post job announcements in strategic locations convenient to and accessible by such applicant pools; (3) seek to develop relationships with such applicant pools to develop regular pipelines for high-quality applicants; and (4) post job announcements for a reasonable period of time. Requires job announcements for federal positions to be in plain writing and to include contact information.
 
(Sec. 5) Directs the agency head to develop processes that: (1) revise its hiring process to create a streamlined and timely system for hiring decisions; (2) allow applicants to submit a cover letter, resume, and answers to brief questions to complete an application and to submit application materials in a variety of formats; (3) do not require provision of personal identifying information unnecessary for the initial review of an applicant, lengthy writing submissions such as knowledge, skills, and ability essays as part of an initial application, or additional material such as an educational transcript, proof of veterans status, or professional certifications unnecessary to complete the hiring process; (4) provide for a valid, job-related assessment to identify the best candidates without placing an unreasonable burden on applicants; (5) include the hiring manager in all parts of the hiring process; and (6) allow an applicant to check or receive timely notification of application status.
 
(Sec. 6) Requires OPM to establish and keep current a comprehensive inventory of individuals seeking employment in the federal government to be made available to agencies for use in filling vacancies.
 
(Sec. 7) Requires OPM to develop, and requires agencies to submit to OPM a plan to implement, a training program for human resources professionals to implement this Act.
 
(Sec. 8) Directs each agency to: (1) develop a plan to reduce the length of the hiring process to not more than an average of 80 calendar days after a vacancy is identified; and (2) report to Congress annually on the average period required to fill jobs and whether such jobs are canceled or reopened.
 
(Sec. 9) Requires each agency to measure, collect, and submit to OPM annually information on indicators of hiring effectiveness with respect to recruiting and hiring, hiring manager satisfaction, applicant satisfaction, and new hire satisfaction. Requires OPM each year to provide such information in a consistent format to permit a comparison of hiring effectiveness and experience across demographic groups and agencies.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-05-19
text: Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
action_date: 2010-05-19
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2010-05-19
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2010-05-18
text: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S3947-3948; text as passed Senate: CR S3947-3948)
action_date: 2010-05-18
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S3947-3948; text as passed Senate: CR S3947-3948)
action_date: 2010-05-12
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 373.
action_date: 2010-05-12
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Lieberman with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 111-184.
action_date: 2010-05-12
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Lieberman with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 111-184.
action_date: 2009-08-05
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia. Hearings held.
action_date: 2009-07-29
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2009-06-09
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs referred to Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.
action_date: 2009-05-07
text: Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Hearings held.
action_date: 2009-03-30
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3991-3993)
action_date: 2009-03-30
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3991)
action_date: 2009-03-30
text: Introduced in Senate