The U.S. government, particularly the Department of Veterans Affairs, seeks exceptions to the hiring freeze for approximately 300,000 job openings.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking exemptions to the ongoing hiring freeze, as it looks to address the expanded eligibility for veteran benefits resulting from the Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act.
The VA's exemption list mirrors the 2017 hiring freeze, where around 100 occupational series were designated as part of the exemption request. Notably, the department has requested exemptions for more than 304,000 roles across 35 occupational series, with a focus on VA benefits positions.
However, the specific roles included in the exemption have not been publicly disclosed. Acting VA Secretary Todd Hunter has stated that VA health care positions would be exempted as a public safety need. Additionally, the hiring freeze saw continued hiring for doctors and nurses, but a moratorium on support and administrative staff positions.
The VA's efforts to seek exemptions come at a critical time for the department. In fiscal 2023, the VA hired 61,000 new employees, and it is currently awaiting a full-year appropriations package from Congress. The department is also seeking funding to cover a $6.6 billion budget shortfall for fiscal 2025.
To address the budget shortfall, several VA medical centers began taking cost-cutting measures and limiting new hiring in fiscal 2024. In response, VA Secretary-designate Doug Collins has expressed support for the VA's community care program, which pays for veterans to receive private care.
The VA's request for exemptions is also in line with the Defense Department, which has already exempted roughly 750,000 roles for national security needs. Meanwhile, the current hiring freeze guidance provides flexibility to exempt positions providing benefits, whether it be the VA or other programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Any other exemptions must be first submitted to the chief of staff for Veterans Affairs for approval. The department is working with the Office of Personnel Management to request exemptions for veterans benefits positions.
On January 21, a federal hiring freeze was instituted by the Trump administration, with exemptions for certain roles. Collins has stated that he is examining how the hiring freeze best applies to the department, and any further updates on the VA's exemption list will be announced in due course. Despite efforts to uncover the details of the VA-Exemptions list for the Trump administration's January 2025 hiring freeze, no available search results or public information have been found specifying which positions were included in that exemption.
Read also:
- United States tariffs pose a threat to India, necessitating the recruitment of adept negotiators or strategists, similar to those who had influenced Trump's decisions.
- Weekly happenings in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Southwest region's most popular posts, accompanied by an inquiry:
- Discussion between Putin and Trump in Alaska could potentially overshadow Ukraine's concerns
