By Tom Shoop tshoop@govexec.com
September 29, 2008
President Bush issued an order last week granting federal agencies the authority to bypass competitive hiring regulations to appoint spouses of military service members to civilian government jobs.
"It shall be the policy of the United States to provide for the appropriately expedited recruitment and selection of spouses of members of the armed forces for appointment to positions in the competitive service," Bush's executive order <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/09/20080926-8.html> stated.
The order allows agency heads to make noncompetitive appointments to the following groups of people:
* Spouses of military service members who are on active duty under orders that authorize a permanent change of station move -- assuming the spouse is moving, too.
* Spouses of totally disabled retired or separated members of the armed forces.
* Widows or widowers (who have not remarried) of service members killed on active duty.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0908/092908ts1.htm
