[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
From the 1995 Presidential Documents Online via
GPO Access [frwais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:pd18se95_txt-13]
[Page 1553-1554] Monday, September 18, 1995 Volume 31--Number 37 Pages
1531-1567
Week Ending Friday, September 15, 1995
Memorandum on Career Transition
Assistance for Federal Employees
September 12, 1995
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive
Departments and Agencies Subject: Career Transition
Assistance for Federal Employees
Our highly trained and dedicated Federal work force is
one of the Federal Government's most valuable resources.
In order to help Federal employees who
have dedicated their careers to public service find new job opportunities
as Federal organizations undergo downsizing and
restructuring, the executive branch must implement programs that provide Federal
employees with career transition
assistance. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Interagency Advisory Group has recommended that appropriate career
transition assistance services be
provided to Federal employees who either
have [[Page 1554]] been or are likely to be separated from Federal
service due to a reduction in force. The goal of such services is to
assist employees in taking charge of their own careers by
providing them with the support they need to find other job offers, either
with government or in the private sector. I hereby direct the head of each
executive department or agency (hereafter collectively ``agency'' or
``agencies''), to the greatest extent practicable and in accordance with
the guidance and any necessary regulations to be provided by OPM pursuant
to this memorandum, to establish a program to provide career
transition assistance to the agency's
surplus and displaced employees. Such a program shall be
developed in partnership with labor and management and shall include: (1)
collaborating with State, local, and other Federal
employers, as appropriate, to make career transition
services available to all of the agency's surplus or displaced employees;
(2) establishing policies for retraining displaced employees,
as appropriate, for new career
opportunities, either in government or with the private sector; (3)
establishing policies that require the selection of a well- qualified
surplus or displaced internal agency employee who applies for
a vacant position in the commuting area, before selecting any other
candidate from either within or outside the agency; and (4) establishing
policies that require the selection of a well- qualified displaced
employee from another agency who applies for a vacant
position in the commuting area before selecting any other candidate from
outside the agency. I direct the Director of the OPM, in consultation with
the Interagency Advisory Group, to: (a) prescribe minimum criteria for
and monitor the effectiveness of agency career transition
programs and (b) provide guidance and any necessary regulations for
the agencies on the implementation of this memorandum.
The OPM shall work with the Interagency Advisory Group to facilitate
interagency cooperation in providing career transition
services. The OPM shall work with agencies to maximize the use of existing
automated job information and skills- based recruiting systems and develop
new systems, as necessary. Nothing in this memorandum
shall affect the Priority Placement Program operated by the Department of
Defense. Independent agencies are requested to adhere to this memorandum
to the extent permitted by law. This memorandum is for
the internal management of the executive branch and is not intended to,
and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable by a party against the United States, its agencies or
instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any
other person.
William J. Clinton