5 U.S.C. § 3115 — Expedited hiring authority for college

Page 344 TITLE 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES § 3115 (6) the way in which managers were trained in the administration of the streamlined hir- ing system. (d) COMMISSION DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Se- curities and Exchange Commission. (Added Pub. L. 108–44, § 2(a), July 3, 2003, 117 Stat. 842; amended Pub. L. 111–203, title IX, § 929G(a), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 1855.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2010—Pub. L. 111–203 substituted ‘‘Appointment of candidates to certain positions in the competitive serv- ice by the Securities and Exchange Commission’’ for ‘‘Appointment of accountants, economists, and exam- iners by the Securities and Exchange Commission’’ in section catchline, added subsec. (a), and struck out former subsec. (a). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘This section applies with respect to any posi- tion of accountant, economist, and securities compli- ance examiner at the Commission that is in the com- petitive service.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Government Reform of House of Rep- resentatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Tenth Congress, Jan. 5, 2007. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of House of Representatives changed to Com- mittee on Oversight and Reform of House of Represent- atives by House Resolution No. 6, One Hundred Six- teenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2019. Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Accountability of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hun- dred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023. Committee on Governmental Affairs of Senate changed to Committee on Homeland Security and Gov- ernmental Affairs of Senate, effective Jan. 4, 2005, by Senate Resolution No. 445, One Hundred Eighth Con- gress, Oct. 9, 2004. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2010 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111–203 effective 1 day after July 21, 2010, except as otherwise provided, see section 4 of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as an Effective Date note under section 5301 of Title 12, Banks and Banking. § 3115. Expedited hiring authority for college graduates; competitive service (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the Office of Personnel Man- agement. (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). (b) APPOINTMENT.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency may appoint, without regard to any provision of sections 3309 through 3319 and 3330, a qualified individual to a position in the competitive service classified in a professional or adminis- trative occupational category at the GS–11 level, or an equivalent level, or below. (2) RESTRICTIONS.—An appointment under paragraph (1) shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Director. (c) QUALIFICATIONS FOR APPOINTMENT.—The head of an agency may make an appointment under subsection (b) only if the individual being appointed— (1) has received a baccalaureate or graduate degree from an institution of higher edu- cation; (2) applies for the position— (A) not later than 2 years after the date on which the individual being appointed re- ceived the degree described in paragraph (1); or (B) in the case of an individual who has completed a period of not less than 4 years of obligated service in a uniformed service, not later than 2 years after the date of the discharge or release of the individual from that service; and (3) meets each minimum qualification stand- ard prescribed by the Director for the position to which the individual is being appointed. (d) PUBLIC NOTICE AND ADVERTISING.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency mak- ing an appointment under subsection (b) shall publicly advertise positions under this section. (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para- graph (1), the head of an agency shall— (A) adhere to merit system principles; (B) advertise positions in a manner that provides for diverse and qualified applicants; and (C) ensure potential applicants have appro- priate information relevant to the positions available. (e) LIMITATION ON APPOINTMENTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- graph (2), the total number of employees that the head of an agency may appoint under this section during a fiscal year may not exceed the number equal to 15 percent of the number of individuals that the agency head appointed during the previous fiscal year to a position in the competitive service classified in a profes- sional or administrative occupational cat- egory, at the GS–11 level, or an equivalent level, or below, under a competitive examining procedure. (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Under a regulation pre- scribed under subsection (f), the Director may establish a lower limit on the number of indi- viduals that may be appointed under para- graph (1) of this subsection during a fiscal year based on any factor the Director con- siders appropriate. (f) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Direc- tor shall issue interim regulations, with an op- portunity for comment, for the administration of this section. (g) REPORTING.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30 of each of the first 3 fiscal years beginning after the date of enactment of this section, the head of an agency that makes an appointment under this section shall submit a report to— (A) Congress that assesses the impact of the use of the authority provided under this section during the fiscal year in which the report is submitted; and Page 345 TITLE 5—GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYEES § 3116 (B) the Director that contains data that the Director considers necessary for the Di- rector to assess the impact and effectiveness of the authority described in subparagraph (A). (2) CONTENT.—The head of an agency shall include in each report under paragraph (1)— (A) the total number of individuals ap- pointed by the agency under this section, as well as the number of such individuals who are— (i) minorities or members of other under- represented groups; or (ii) veterans; (B) recruitment sources; (C) the total number of individuals ap- pointed by the agency during the applicable fiscal year to a position in the competitive service classified in a professional or admin- istrative occupational category at the GS–11 level, or an equivalent level, or below; and (D) any additional data specified by the Director. (h) SPECIAL PROVISION REGARDING THE DEPART- MENT OF DEFENSE.— (1) AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section shall preclude the Secretary of Defense from exer- cising any authority to appoint a recent grad- uate under section 1106 of the National De- fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (10 U.S.C. note prec. 1580), or any applicable successor statute. (2) REGULATIONS.—Any regulations pre- scribed by the Director for the administration of this section shall not apply to the Depart- ment of Defense during the period ending on the date on which the appointment authority of the Secretary of Defense under section 1106 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (10 U.S.C. note prec. 1580), or any applicable successor statute, terminates. (Added Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title XI, § 1108(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 2006.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT GS–11, referred to in subsecs. (b)(1), (e)(1), and (g)(2)(C), is contained in the General Schedule which is set out under section 5332 of this title. The date of enactment of this section, referred to in subsecs. (f) and (g)(1), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 115–232, which was approved Aug. 13, 2018. Section 1106 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, referred to in subsec. (h), is section 1106 of Pub. L. 114–328, which is set out as a note preceding section 1580 of Title 10, Armed Forces. § 3116. Expedited hiring authority for post-sec- ondary students; competitive service (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the Office of Personnel Man- agement. (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). (3) STUDENT.—The term ‘‘student’’ means an individual enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an institution of higher education who is pursuing a baccalaureate or graduate degree on at least a part-time basis as determined by the institution of higher education. (b) APPOINTMENT.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency may make a time-limited appointment of a stu- dent, without regard to any provision of sec- tions 3309 through 3319 and 3330, to a position in the competitive service at the GS–11 level, or an equivalent level, or below for which the student is qualified. (2) RESTRICTIONS.—An appointment under paragraph (1) shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Director. (c) PUBLIC NOTICE.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency mak- ing an appointment under subsection (b) shall publicly advertise positions available under this section. (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para- graph (1), the head of an agency shall— (A) adhere to merit system principles; (B) advertise positions in a manner that provides for diverse and qualified applicants; and (C) ensure potential applicants have appro- priate information relevant to the positions available. (d) LIMITATION ON APPOINTMENTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- graph (2), the total number of students that the head of an agency may appoint under this section during a fiscal year may not exceed the number equal to 15 percent of the number of students that the agency head appointed during the previous fiscal year to a position at the GS–11 level, or an equivalent level, or below. (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Under a regulation pre- scribed under subsection (g), the Director may establish a lower limit on the number of stu- dents that may be appointed under paragraph (1) of this subsection during a fiscal year based on any factor the Director considers appro- priate. (e) CONVERSION.—The head of an agency may, without regard to any provision of chapter 33 or any other provision of law relating to the exam- ination, certification, and appointment of indi- viduals in the competitive service, convert a student serving in an appointment under sub- section (b) to a permanent appointment in the competitive service within the agency without further competition if the student— (1) has completed the course of study leading to the baccalaureate or graduate degree; (2) has completed not less than 640 hours of current continuous employment in an appoint- ment under subsection (b); and (3) meets the qualification standards for the position to which the student will be con- verted. (f) TERMINATION.—The head of an agency shall, without regard to any provision of chapter 35 or 75, terminate the appointment of a student ap- pointed under subsection (b) upon completion of the designated academic course of study unless the student is selected for conversion under sub- section (e).